Belinda rocked back and forth on her toes. “We’re all having dinner together, right?” To me, she added, “We eat at the fourth-year table, and you should absolutely join.”
Vyra gave her a not-so-subtle look.
“I mean” — Belinda swallowed, fixing on a smile — “until the other students get here. Then you can join the first years.”
Vyra angled her head at me. “Is she technically a first year? She won’t have spellcasting magic, so it’s not like she’ll be doing anything besides staring at her crush.”
“She is,” Rayne said calmly. “And she didn’t choose this.”
My eyes wandered up the spiral. “Actually,” I started.
A mosquito buzzed by my face, and Leland leapt up, one arm tight around Vyra’s midriff to hold her steady as she gracefully recovered from being thrust from his lap. I swerved to dodge the mosquito as it doubled back. And back. And back. Was itsniffingme?
“Call her off,” Leland said sternly.
Vyra scoffed.
“Vyra, I said call Sutter off.”
The mosquito flitted back to her. A Familiar.Yet another Aspirant in Leland’s circle,I thought.
“You must smell . . .” Vyra paused. “Sweet.”
“She smells like almond pastries!” Skye contributed.
And for the first time since I set foot in the arcade, Leland looked at me. Stared, actually. I wondered if he’d heard my erratic heartbeat. If they all did. I had cooled to him since wearing the cuffs, but the look he was giving was . . .
Fire.
I quickly glanced away.
“So.” Belinda clapped. “Ready for dinner?”
“Ember’s tired,” Leland said.
Everyone looked between us.
I was hungry, but if he was going to bite Vyra’s ear all night, fine. I’d rather starve and put my clothes away. “Maybe tomorrow,” I said. “Some quiet and a change of scenery would be good.” I blatantly looked at Leland’s fingers splayed on Vyra’s mini skirt.
“Your room’s the last one at the top of the spiral,” he said. “You and Skye will share. Do you need one of us to show you?”
“I’ll take her!” Belinda said, notching her arm to me before I had a chance to say no.
Skye hung back with the fourth years, watching me climb the long way up the spiral, smirking because she’d figured me out. She knew I got tired, that at the end of the day I wanted to be alone, zoning out, happy to live in my memories, especially when I couldn’t fall asleep. Not that she always respected it, but she knew.
I didn’t mind Belinda, but my brain struggled to keep up with her fountain of information. She pointed out the cafeteria, laundry, library, the passage to the classrooms, the passage tothe hatch, Starvos’s office, and where the fourth-year teachers slept in the first five rooms closest to the arcade, the one next to Leland’s — Aila’s old room — now vacant. She explained the washroom situation. One on each level, all unisex, technically open to everyone, but —
“Stay out of the fourth-year one?” I guessed correctly as we came upon the very last door, four levels up from where Leland’s room was.
“Hear me out,” said Belinda. “Worst location. Seriously, you’ll be getting up half an hour before the rest of us if you want breakfast.But.” She squealed. “Best, best room.” There was a hip bump. “You have to turn the knob yourself. Wards and all won’t let me in without you.”
I opened the door, walked into my new bedroom, and said goodnight to Belinda from across the threshold.
* * *
Our room was what I imagined a shared suite would look like at an expensive boarding school, full of velvet fabrics and rich tones. On the back wall, an enormous fireplace vibrantly crackled. And plush under my feet was a giant, scarlet area rug.
We had a quiet location. The very top of the spiral was a place absolutely no one had a reason to go, unless they specifically wanted to visit. I’d turned over my hefting satchel, dumped everything on one of the canopied beds, and a few hours later, all my clothes were hanging and color-coded. Skye would sneak into my closet and do it if I didn’t.
