“If there’s no map of all the ruins.” Lorien grinned. “No one said we can’t make one ourselves.”
With a plan in place, we all piled into the carriage. All three of our hands went out to help Fern inside, and I couldn’t help but grin when she clasped mine. It meant I took the seat beside her when she sat in the corner.
“We need to have a discussion about sharing,” Kael growled, but his gaze softened when he looked Fern over far too thoroughly. “Something that could bring us all pleasure.”
Her gasp, the resultant good natured jibing washed over me as I looked past the other two to where Dain was staring resolutely out the window.
“Perhaps after you share what you saw when you touched the sculpture?” I said.
Dain ignored this, but Fern spoke up.
“I was in some kind of underground cavern, tied to a post.” Kael’s leer grew. “About to be sacrificed to the three white-gold queens…”
His smile faded as she told us the alarming story of her experience. The second hand horror of it was still washing through me as we arrived back to the keep, only to find a much more concrete threat waiting for us.
“Afternoon, cadets.” Frederick approached, slapping a roll of papers against his free hand. “No need to salute.”
“Wasn’t going to,” Lorien muttered.
“Here’s your new class schedules.”
The way his eyes sparkled, the smile he shot me, made clear that no one was going to like the changes.
“What classes have you been assigned to?” I asked as I looked over Kael’s shoulder.
“Animal husbandry,” he replied. “Carpentry, metal work.”
All physically demanding manual labour, and most importantly, classes that as a woman, Fern would not be admitted to.
“What’s this about, Frederick?” I asked.
“General’s orders,” he said. “Got any questions? Take it up with him. Speaking of which, the general asked you to drop by his office, Lance.”
“Guess we better get to class then.” Kael’s innocuous reply, the fact he walked away without further comment to the officers, let me know he had something else planned. “And while we waste our time learning skills we picked up years ago, you can do a little recon for us,” he told me.
“Recon?”
Fern and I looked at him, confused.
“The library is ‘closed for fumigation,’” he replied as Lorien came to stand beside him. “Mad Murdoch’s office was ransacked. Seems like someone else is chasing the same information we are.”
“You think the general is behind all of this?” I said. “The man is a bastard, but all he has to do is walk into any department of the university and demand to see the results of their research and it would be handed over.”
“Not if he doesn’t want anyone to know what he’s looking for.” Dain was usually a sullen presence lurking at the edges of our group, but right now those dark eyes bore into mine. “Whatever was taken from that office, it wasn’t something he wanted to request through official channels.”
So I needed to search for hints in the general’s office to see if I could determine what it was. I stood outside the general’s closed door, my hand hovering as I considered what they were saying. General Rex tearing the room apart, tossing books and papers everywhere. It felt too ridiculous to consider, but… I’d learned first-hand the terrible things people are prepared to do when they feel like their grip on power was slipping, so I rapped my knuckles on the door.
“Come in.” The general’s voice had a distracted air and when I walked in, he glanced up, closing the book he was reading and then setting it on the stack on one corner of his desk. “Lance, m’boy. I heard you made a little trip down to theuniversity today?”
Gods, did he watch our every move? Academically, I knew the man had people reporting to him throughout the keep, but his words gave me pause. When he gestured to the seat in front of him, I sat down.
“Yes. I know I was supposed to be teaching a class today, but?—”
“The Lady Fern wanted to leave the keep. Don’t worry, lad. I can cover your swordsmanship classes, but unfortunately, she has not been receptive to any of the other men's overtures. You took the silver riders with you.”
That was said less as a question and more a statement of fact.
“They invited themselves along,” I replied, and that was true. All the best lies were grounded in the truth. “Not something I appreciated, but I was willing to tolerate them for Fern’s sake.” His brows drew down. “However, I was the only to kiss the lady.”
