The atrium was mercifully empty, but the sudden shroud of solitude threatened to break my composure. I sucked in a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and hurried in as ladylike a manner as I could back to the Ruby dormitory, envisioning a bath, and then my bed as a refuge. Missing dinner was a sacrifice I was willing to make to avoid seeing Scarlett again tonight.
But rather than solace, I saw Luther standing at the entrance, talking to a girl in his year whose name I didn’t remember. I pivoted mid-stride, hoping he wouldn’t notice me, and set my sights on the library instead. It would suffice as a haven in a moment of need.
“Hey, you there!”
I kept walking.
“Hatchling! Address your elder.”
Heart beating madly, I turned, swallowing my discomfort and plastering on a bored expression.
Luther strolled forward, hands hidden in his robes. For a moment, I flinched as I imagined him drawing out something else to throw at me. “Whoa, there. A little jumpy?” He surveyed me up and down. “Were you headed in?” He tossed his head back toward the house door.
I shook my head. “Library.”
He crinkled his nose, stepping back. “What’s that smell?” He raised one hand to his face. “Are you serious, Miro? Do you have no self-respect?” He walked backward, putting space between us. “Don’t come back in my house until you’re cleaned up.” His voice was louder now, drawing the eyes of the half-dozen other students in the hall. Lifting one finger, he leveled it at me. “I mean that, Miro. New rule: if dragon dung girl tries to enter House Ruby in those clothes, she’ll be forced to sleep on the school roof again. Alone.”
“But how…” I stammered, not knowing where I’d find clean clothesoutsidemy dormitory.
“Roof, Miro,” he repeated, loudly enough that no one in the hall missed it. He vanished into the house common room with a small flourish that was met with a smattering of applause from those watching.
I waited until dinner in the Great Hall was over, biding my time in the empty library. I’d picked up a book that sounded interesting,Blood Wars, but it turned out to be only a dissertation on the long and convoluted history of dragon breeding. I’d attempted a few lines on my end-of-term poetry assignment, but I’d given up after every line I tried included the wordbloodorfury.
Finally, I found Vanya in the hall and called her into an empty classroom.
“Where were you?” she asked, scanning me up and down, eyeing the smear on my shirt. Then she pinched her nose.
“I need to borrow a shirt.”
A few minutes later, I was wearing one of Vanya’s shirts as we stole back into the common room. I kept my head down, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Luther wasn’t in there, but Shep was, reading quietly in the corner, and he lookedup as we raced past. He could tell Luther I’d abided by his stupid rule.
As soon as we passed through the common room, Vanya and I ran to the girls’ bathrooms. I allowed myself a long, luxurious bath full of bubbles scented with lavender. I even indulged myself and dropped in some of the flower petals that rested in basins along the wall. I’d never taken such a lavish bath in my life, and in a way it felt wrong, wasteful, and yet it felt like the only way to scrub off what had happened. I scoured away the smell and the dirt, imagining that their laughing faces were washing away too.
I was grateful that I didn’t encounter Luther as I slipped back through the common room and ascended the stairs to the girls’ dormitory.
Vanya smiled at me when I entered. She set aside our current literature text, a sweeping epic about the knights who once paraded this land, defending it from rogue gods who attempted to reestablish their once powerful thrones among men. The story was part myth, part history, and Professor Siva enjoyed quizzing us on which parts were which.
“Ari,” Vanya said, her eyes averted, one hand pressed to her closed book. “I’m sorry for what happened today.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t you.”
She finally looked up at me. “I know. But it shouldn’t have happened.” She sighed. “I’m glad you’re a student here. I don’t think you’re…” She cut herself off, color flooding her cheeks.
“Think I’m what, trash to be thrown out?”
She cringed. “People like that, the ones who look down on others, are all the same. My family is the same way.”
My brows rose as I sat on my bed facing her. “But royalsareabove everyone else.”
Instead of laughing, she curled forward as if I’d slapped her. I reached out a hand to apologize, but she cut me off.
“In some ways, they are. But if I told you the half of what my family is really like, you’d be the one throwing dung at them.”
I was speechless for a moment. Trying to lighten the mood, I said, “But I’d get beheaded or something if I did that, so, I think I’ll leave those tactics for Scarlett and her awful friends.”
Vanya’s wide, dark eyes lifted slowly. They were sparkling with unshed tears, and I wondered what I’d said to make her so upset. I pulled my feet up into my bed and hunted for another subject. “So my poem is going to be awful…”
She sniffed and dabbed at one eye. “I’ve never told anyone this,” she began, not appearing to have heard my attempt at changing the subject. “But back home, being a princess isn’t what it is here. I’m the youngest of seven, and three are boys, leaving me last on the list to inherit, which means I’m essentially nothing more than a bargaining chip for my father, of little value other than the fact that whoever I marry gains direct access to my father, whichisvaluable.” I’d never heard her ramble quite so much. Usually, her speech was crisp and to the point. Her eyes remained pinned to the corner of the room as she spoke. “In my country, men can marry multiple women. It’s considered a mark of strength and power to have many wives. My father has three wives and six concubines.” I tried to hide my shock, but Vanya’s quick glance said she’d heard my quiet gasp. “He only considers his true children those born from his wives. I’m the last child of his youngest wife, and all my siblings are much older than I am.” My brows were nestled in my hairline now, but I sat and listened without a word. “My father sent me here not to bring a stronger union between our countries, though that sounds better than the truth. He sent me here because I was bringing shame on his name.”
