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Why did I never ask her that before? Jurnus doesn’t just preside over communication and travel but weather as well.
What better way to convey a missive swiftly and directly than on the wind?
But it never occurred to me that the details of her magic would be important. She was so fuckingnice.
Esmae lets out a dark laugh. “I don’t think that really matters at this point, do you?”
I fumble for something else to say, some part of me desperately hoping that if I give her the right opening, she’ll reveal this is all some horrible joke. “And knives… I suppose they could be considered a sort of message, huh?”
Esmae shows no sign of misunderstanding my meaning. Her eye narrows, and her fingers tighten around the letter opener.
Another chilling thought hits me. “When I was drugged in the cafeteria—you started asking me about Julita. Was that a trick to get my guard down?”
She wrinkles her nose. “That isn’t how I’d have done it. Once it was done, why shouldn’t I have taken advantage?”
Because we were friends, I want to say. But obviously that was never true.
The question tumbles out in a weaker voice than I like. “Why?”
“I’ve worked too hard,” Esmae says flatly. “I gave too fucking much to let her steal my opportunities away from me, and I’m not going to let you ruin my life either.”
I feel it would be unwise to point out to her that the life ruining seems to be mostly happening in the opposite direction.
What is she talking about?Julita says with obvious distress.I barely even talked to her when I was alive. I certainly never interfered with any of her career ambitions.
I hold up my right hand in a placating gesture. “What opportunities do you think Julita was trying to steal from you?”
Even more anger sharpens Esmae’s voice. “She was cozying up to the professor I’d want for my recommendations. He only puts forward one student in each graduating class. Her gift wasn’t even in his specialty, but she had to weasel her way in there…”
I swear, Ivy, I have no idea what she’s talking about. I’m not—I wasn’t—even on the same track as Esmae. I’ve told you before, I was studying so I can take over my family estate. She wanted to get a job with one of the courtly families. I didn’tneedrecommendations.
I will my own voice to stay steady. “She told me she was planning on taking over as countess in Nikodi after she was done here. Why would she have been angling for a recommendation to the court?”
“She must have lied to you! I saw it with my own eyes. He told me I should keep an eye out, and then I saw her going to Ster. Lezek’s quarters… laughing with him… conniving her way into his good graces like she did with everyone…”
Julita sounds even more bewildered.Ster. Lezek? I’ve never even had a class with him. I went to his office one time because I got a note asking me to, but when he met with me, he was confused about it too. We had a little laugh, and then I left…
A note. Like the one that had me following Romild but apparently went nowhere too?
A shiver runs down my spine. Oh, no. Oh, please, no.
“Esmae,” I say, soft but steady, “who’s ‘he’? Who told you that Julita was out to get in your way?”
Not Ster. Torstem. No, it would have looked strange for a professor to insert himself into student affairs.
But Torstem was never who made me look at Romild either.
It was…
“Wendos,” Esmae declares with an emphatic slash of the letter opener. “Wendos of Nikodi. He should know her, shouldn’t he? He said they grew up together, and she told him things; he didn’t think it was fair not to warn me. To point me in the right direction to do what I had to do.”
Thatbastard,Julita snarls.When we’re through with him—
I raise my placating hand higher. “Esmae, you need to listen to me. Wendos had his own agenda. He wanted you to hurt Julita. Did he point you toward me too?”
She scoffs. “He didn’t need to. You told me what you were about the moment you came in here looking through her things. For a little while, I thought maybe I didn’t need to worry after all, that you really didn’t care… but then it became obvious.”
There’s nothing but determined ferocity in her eye now. Wendos must have seen it in her—the insane dedication behind the quiet front, the fanatical need to ensure her future place.
