I shake my head. “We’re going to the canteen.”
“You need to rest,” Beaufort repeats.
“I need some air,” I tell him, “and some space. I’m going to the canteen. You’re welcome to come with us if you want.”
Dray pulls a face like I’ve just asked him to eat his own sports socks. “We could take you to the shadow weaver common room instead if you like,” he offers.
Fly swings his head in my direction with an expression that’s clearly begging me to accept this offer.
“No,” I say. “We’re going to the canteen.”
I take Fly’s hand in mine and scowl at the three men. “I’m not going to run away,” I say. “I know what I did earlier was stupid. But I do need to eat, and I want to see what the gossip is out there.”
“I didn’t take you as one for gossip, Briony, sweetheart,” Beaufort says.
“Sometimes gossip’s useful.”
“There are soldiers out there, Nini,” Thorne says next.
“Soldiers?” I say.
He nods. “So be careful.”
“Why do I need to be careful?” I say with a frown.
“Kitten,” Dray says, “Just don’t end up getting into any trouble.”
“Be serious,” Fly tells him. “She can’t promise that.”
My feet are wet by the time we make our way through the puddles submerging the academy pathways and arrive at the canteen. It’s already full, the windows steaming up and the air inside muggy.
I brace myself as I push my way through to the main body of the canteen, ready for the usual silence, followed by intense whispering. But today, I guess there’s too much to discuss, and I’m just a side note buried among it.
We’re late, as usual, and I’m trying to work out exactly what kind of meal I can cobble together from what remains in the pots on offer when a small girl with curly hair grabs Fly by the arm and pulls him to one side, jabbering away at him.
I pick up a plate and make my way around the pots, scooping soggy vegetables and limp meat onto my plate. I’m halfway around the table when my path’s blocked. I’m about to apologize and step around the person in front of me when their voice has my gaze snapping up to their face.
Stanley. His hands are buried in his pockets, his body facing mine, his face unreadable.
“You’re in my way,” I snarl, because while I’d happily step around anyone else in this academy, I won’t be stepping around Stanley.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he says.
“Oh well, isn’t that nice?” I say. “Please move out of my way.”
“Where were you?” he says. “You weren’t in your tower room.”
“I don’t live there anymore, Stanley. I live with the Princes.”
I’m sure he knows that. I’m sure everyone in the academy knows that.
He sneers at me. “You’re such a little slut.”
“Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?” I say, placing my plate down on the table and glaring up into his face. I once thought he had a kind face, a caring one. I don’t see any of that kindness anymore. Although, I have to admit, he’s still handsome – though there’s a coldness to it now, and a bitterness.
“They’re saying you have a dragon,” he says.
“Are they?”
