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Benedikt twirls his quill at Alek. “Isn’t he the staff leader for at least one of the clubs in your list of the ones that make regular trips off campus?”
Julita pipes up.Yes, exactly what I thought. And Wendos is all mixed up in it too.
Alek’s eyes cloud with thought. “He has a group of elite law students who he takes on regular trips to the surrounding cities to observe provincial and county legal processes. The entomology club goes on periodic insect-observing and collecting expeditions. And his late wife was originally from Icar—he takes the Silanian-Icarian brotherhood on excursions to towns along the border.”
“So he’d have lots of chances to lead illicit rituals away from the prying eyes of the capital,” I fill in with a grimace, and then add reluctantly, “Julita says Wendos is part of the ‘bug club.’”
The others get that expression like they’ve smelled cow dung, but then all four gazes turn more intent.
Benedikt fixes his on me with the unsettling impression I’m getting used to that it isn’t me he’s looking at right now. “Has Jules noticed anything else intriguing since she started traveling around with you on campus?”
Julita sighs.I wish you could say I have.
I shake my head. “She’s been pointing out people I should keep an eye on and observations she’s made before, but we haven’t uncovered anything new other than the Torstem thing.”
Disappointment flickers across the men’s faces, but Casimir smooths the moment over in typical graceful fashion. “Whatever exactly is going on, it’s definitely an unusual situation. We need to determine what Ster. Torstem’s intentions are.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “There’s got to be a way to find out where that kid—and any others he’s brought around the school, if he has—came from. Surely he isn’t randomly plucking them off the streets of Slaughterwell or Tangleside.”
Benedikt snaps his fingers. “And if we find out where he got the kid, we can find the kid himself and ask him what Torstem was up to!”
“You want me to abuse my staff privileges again,” Stavros says dryly. “I’ll see what I can discover through my access to faculty records.”
Alek glances around the room. “I might be able to trace some of his connections outside of the school through the general records as well.”
“Don’t go approaching anyone from the fringes without talking to me,” I say, shooting a firm look at all of them. “Especiallyif he’s done something they’re uncomfortable talking about, they’ll only clam up more if some noble starts badgering them. I should handle any inquiries beyond the inner wards.”
Casimir beams at me. “Of course. It only makes sense. That’s why we’re lucky to have you working with us.”
I contain the giddiness his compliment provokes. “We should keep in mind Alek’s point about families too. Are there any staff or students at the college who’ve had spouses, siblings, or children make unusual sacrifices or outright disappear? I assume there are familial records somewhere.”
Benedikt shoots me a grin. “And also good old-fashioned gossip.”
Alek is already turning toward the door to the adjoining rooms. “We do have family trees for many of the prominent lineages…”
An unfamiliar sensation that’s much more than giddiness sweeps through me from head to toe.
They’re listening to me. Taking my suggestions as commands and springing to action.
Like I really am an equal partner in this investigation instead of an unexpected interloper.
I’ve never had a chance to establish anything I could call comradery before. I had no idea collaborating could feel thisgood.
It’s not the closeness I so often craved when I watched Ewalin and her mother bantering by the bee hive… but the sudden wash of warmth fills the same hollow inside.
Then Stavros pops the bubble of my exhilaration with a low chuckle and an offhand jab. “Look at you taking over. I don’t know whether we should be thanking you or Julita chatting away in your head.”
My spirits plummet as quickly as they lifted. “When something’s from Julita, I tell you so,” I say tartly, but my gut has twisted.
Will any of them totally believe that?
As if I’d have brought you here if you weren’t capable of thinking for yourself,Julita says with a sniff.You’re handling them wonderfully, Ivy.Someoneneeds to keep them on track.
I don’t know why, but her assessment of the situation only deflates me a little more.
I take a step back from the men. “I’ll continue making my own inquiries as I can. It seems like we all have plenty to do now.”
So there’s no reason for me to linger and continue being reminded of how I’m not really meant to be here at all.
