AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The cutting tone, somehow even more hostile than what he usually aims at me these days, kindles my temper and burns away every shred of sympathy. As if I’m not already dealing with enough without him becoming an even bigger jerk.
I stay where I am, crossing my arms and glaring right back at him. “Waking you up from what sounded like a pretty unpleasant dream. You’re welcome.”
His lips draw back from his teeth. “I don’t needyoufighting any battles for me. Worry about yourself. What happened in the woods?”
“I didn’t cause any disasters,” I shoot back. “And I think I played the part well enough that I’ll get deeper into the conspiracy. They’re too cautious to give away much at the beginning, of course.”
“So you’ve got nothing useful after all that fuss.”
I swallow a hiss of exasperation. “Nothing that’ll take down the scourge sorcerers right this minute, but I’m on the right track.”
“Wonderful. If you haven’t set the school falling down around our ears, get out of my bedroom and I’ll hear about the rest with the others.”
The dismissal stings, which maybe is why I let my curiosity get the better of me as I scoot into the doorway. “Who’s Michas?”
The snarl in Stavros’s voice confirms just how unwise a question that was. “You’re the last person who should be bringing up that name. Get the fuck out!”
With a wince, I scramble over the threshold and yank the door shut behind me.
I’ve never heard him talk about anyone named Michas before, Julita murmurs.What under the gods’ gaze is the matter with Stav tonight?
Stavros’s parting words have made me abruptly sure of the answer, with a sour taste that’s crept up the back of my throat.
Who would enter one of his nightmares that he’d be particularly offended by me talking about? What are the chances it’snotthe one person close to him who was murdered by a riven sorcerer like me?
And if he came out of a dream about monstrous magic only to see the most recent person he’s witnessed working it… I can’t say I forgive him for his animosity, but I can understand it.
Even if I can explain his reaction to myself, that doesn’t make the atmosphere in his quarters any more comfortable. I drift over to the sofa, but my skin is itching, my heart beating at an anxious pace.
I’m not getting any sleep like this. How can I drift off with just a door between me and a man who’s looking like he wants to murderme?
My head feels heavy with fatigue after the late night and the stress of everything I’ve been through, but with every second I stand within these walls, my nerves twitch with more agitation.
My magic will act up even more if I’m in a panic. I need to walk it off. Clear my head, give Stavros time to simmer down.
Maybe by the third bell, I’ll feel like I can take a little rest.
Julita stays silent as I slip back into the hall. She’s been with me through enough turmoil to know my usual habits for dealing with fraught situations.
I don’t want to roam around inside the building where I might disturb the other inhabitants. So I descend the back stairwell again and step out into the cool night air.
My feet carry me of their own accord across the courtyard. I tip my head back and take in the vast stretch of stars in the clear sky above me.
A pang like homesickness runs through my chest. The tops of the buildings on either side of me cut off a lot of my view, though.
I sneak through one of the Quadring’s side halls to the broader fields of the outer courtyard. There’s a gazebo a short distance behind the stables, where I often see students gathered to gossip and flirt during the day.
At night, it’s just an empty shell. An empty shell with a conveniently placed railing for my purposes.
I hang back at the edge of the entranceway while a soldier on patrol marches past. When he’s disappeared around the front of the Quadring, I steal across the field to the gazebo.
Clambering up the side isn’t quite as easy in a gown and cloak as it would have been in my typical outer-wards tunic and breeches, but I manage with a minimum of fumbling. My sliced palm doesn’t even sting in its bandage of healing fabric.
I haul myself onto the slanted roof and lie back on the smooth boards with the sky spread above me.
“Now that’s a view,” I whisper.
I’ve never paid much attention to the stars,Julita admits.I suppose if I was up after dark, it was usually at a dance or a pub, not out in the open.
