My morning is a goddamn disaster.
And something tells me it is only the beginning.
Because I have the distinct feeling this year is going to be a wild one.
Chapter 10
Octavia
I don’t know how many hours have passed while I lose myself in my canvases, but when I finally look up, the light is gone, and only the glow of my lamp reflects in the wet paint.
After the cafeteria, I escaped to my dorm, and that is all I have done.
Paint.
I step back and glance out the window. The sky is pitch black.
I sigh, wash the paint from my hands, pull on a light jacket and my boots, and head towards the main academy building.
The path is long, but the cold air clears my thoughts, and the music in my ears drowns out the noise that lives in my head.
And has the audacity not to even pay rent.
I grimace.
Lame, even for me.
I enter the building and make my way to the library.
Once inside, the scent of old pages hits me, and I love it. It is quiet, everyone minding their own business.
I move through the rows, heading straight for the Art History section.
I have an upcoming project, and I need to start gathering notes. I meant to work on this earlier, but a particular canvas was calling my name, and now it is nine in the evening.
My fingers trace the spines.
Until, finally, I find it, after what feels like ten thousand volumes in this section alone.
I pull it free and turn, just in time to see Milo Markev walk out of the library. My jaw tightens on instinct.
But then I see her.
Talia.
She follows him.
My eyes narrow, and I start after them.
Talia is a year or two younger than me. I know very little about her, mostly because I never bothered to learn more.
Before the academy closed for the summer, the Thirteenth Circle threw a party.
She was crying, big, fat tears, sobbing uncontrollably, while a few of her friends tried to calm her down.
Long story short, I found out someone had hurt her.
And me being who I am, I could not simply let it go. After all, this is my calling in life. To rid the earth of the filth.
