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Before I could politely decline, he pressed a piece of the bread into my hands, squishing it when he squeezed my fingers excitedly. I did my best to smile, though a bit of grease soaked into my gloves. “Thank you, Professor. If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to meet the other students.”
Professor Radu pushed his glasses up his nose, leaving a cloudy grease smudge on one lens. “Didn’t the headmaster tell you?” He eyed us closely, then clucked. “Everyone’s clearing out now. Some will visit Brasov, if you’d care to join them. Don’t want to walk down the mountain alone, now, do you? The woods are filled with creatures that snatch children from the path and gnaw the flesh from their bones.” He sucked grease from his fingers in a show of medieval manners. “Wolves, mostly. Amongst other things.”
“Wolves are eating students?” Anastasia asked, her tone implying she didn’t believe it for an instant. “And to think Uncle didn’t warn me at all!”
“Oh! Pricolici! That will be the first myth to discuss in class,” he said. “So many delightful folklore rumors and legends to denounce and argue over.”
The mention of child-snatching wolves chilled my blood a few degrees. Perhaps I had seen signs of them while on the train, and then again in the woods close by. “What is a prico—”
“Pricolici are the spirits of murderers who come back as giant, undead wolves. Though some also believe they are wolves and they become strigoi when killed. I do hope you enjoy the lesson. Now, remember, stick to the path and don’t venture into the woods, no matter what you may see. Many, many glorious dangers there!”
He tottered off, humming a buoyant tune to himself. For a brief moment I wondered what it might be like, being so utterly lost in daydreams and fiction. Then I recalled the fantastical visions my mind had produced over the last few weeks and chided myself. “Why are they teaching folklore and mythology when the course is only four weeks long?”
“All part of the mystery you’re to unravel, I suppose.” Anastasia lifted a shoulder. “Though Uncle believes science explains most legends.”
A statement I very much concurred with, no matter how I despised agreeing with anything Moldoveanu said. I watched the professor drop his breakfast again. “I cannot believe he ate that piece of bread,” I said. “I’m certain a dead bug was stuck to it.”
“He didn’t seem to mind,” Anastasia said. “Perhaps he enjoys a bit of added protein.”
I cringed as the professor bumped into another student—a bulky, dark-blond-haired young man with a jaw too square for him to be considered handsome.
“Ai grija, batrâne,” the behemoth hissed at Radu before shouldering his way into the dining hall, knocking a smaller student aside without apology. Nasty brute. My Romanian was decent enough that I knew he’d told the old man to watch out.
“That charming specimen is Romanian nobility,” Anastasia said as the blond boy disappeared into the dining hall. “His friends are slightly better.”
“I can’t wait to meet them,” I said dryly. I deposited the oil-soaked bit of bread into a rubbish bin and blotted at the stain on my gloves. I’d need to fetch another pair before I left. “Why do you think students are traveling into the village?”
“I don’t know, nor do I care.” Anastasia lifted her nose in a faux-regal manner. “You won’t catch me going out in this snowy weather. I doubt the others will venture far from their chambers either. Oh! I’d meant to ask Radu if I could sit in on his lessons.” She bit her lip. “Would you mind if I caught up with you in a while? Will you be staying in?”
“If we’re not forced to go, then I don’t see why I’d leave. I’d
rather explore the castle. I saw a taxidermy room I’d love to inspect.”
“Extraordinar!” Anastasia exclaimed, kissing my cheeks. “I’ll see you soon, then.”
Raucous laughter echoed inside the room as I watched Anastasia hurry after our professor. No matter how much I wished to not do this alone, it was time to greet my fears and introduce myself to my classmates. Gradually. For now I’d show my face and take it slowly from there. Plus, it wasn’t as if I didn’t know anyone. Thomas would surely show up soon enough.
With my head held high, I marched into the dining hall. Five rows of long tables held curious students who grew quiet as I made my way to the opposite end of the room. One table held three young men, one being the rude, bulky boy from the hallway.
Another table had two brown-haired boys who didn’t bother glancing up from their books, presumably the Italians. Their skin was a rich bronze, as if they hailed from a place near the ocean. One of them was the smaller student that the brute had bumped into without apology.
A wiry young man with dark yellow-brown skin sat across from a boy who wore spectacles and had thick ginger curls. They tucked into their meals but lifted their eyes to gawk at my arrival.
My cheeks warmed as the sound of my skirts swishing together rose above their scattered whispers. At least I had Thomas. Even if we needed to battle for spots in the academy, we could fight together. And commiserating with Anastasia was also something to look forward to.
One of the boys at Bulky’s table snickered quite loudly, then whistled as if I were a common dog to be summoned. Of all the… I stopped walking and leveled a severe glare at him, cutting off his smirk with precision.
“Something amusing?” I asked, noticing the silence that descended on them as if they were soldiers who’d been called to war. When he didn’t respond, I said it once more, in my best Romanian, my voice ringing out loudly in the sudden quiet.
The young man’s lips twitched ever so slightly while I studied him. His hair was a shade darker than Thomas’s, and his eyes were a deeper hue of brown. His deep olive complexion was alluring in the way most enjoyed in a dark hero. He was rugged, though I assumed he held a rank of sorts, based on what Anastasia had mentioned.
Bulky snickered from the dark-haired boy’s side, upper lip curled. I had a feeling it was his normal expression thanks to genetics, and not one I should be offended by. How unfortunate for his parents.
I waited for the dark-haired boy to break away from my gaze, but he fixed his eyes stubbornly on mine. A challenge to gauge how easily I could break, or something more flirtatious, I didn’t care. I’d not tolerate being harassed because of my sex.
We were all here to learn. He was the one who had a problem, not I. Perhaps it was time for fathers to teach their sons how to behave around young women. They were not born superior, no matter how society falsely conditioned them. We were all equals here.
“Well?”
