“I don’t know, I don’t know, okay?” Irina whimpers. “You should leave.”
She pulls her hands free, and then Nils and I do the same.
“Are you sure?” Nils asks. “We can help—”
“Just go.” Irina eyes me distrustfully, looking at me the same way Amund does.
Nils and I climb back onto our feet and head out. The door slams shut behind us, even though Irina didn’t move from the floor.
Nils seems shaken up. “That was… not what I expected.”
“Me neither.” When I turn to him, he has a slice across his forehead, red blood welling. I frown. “You’re hurt.”
Nils reaches for his forehead, smearing the blood. “And for nothing, too.”
“Notfor nothing,” I tell him. “I noticed a strange scent on Emilía’s side of the room. Aberserkrscent. Emilía must have brought them there when Irina was working in the library. Which means she was seeing a berserkr. And I’m going to find out who.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEENAMUND
As Nils and Edith leave the dorm room, I duck around the corner and flatten against the wall. Finally, I have something on Edith that can get her expelled. There’s just one problem—if I report this, my brother will be punished too.Damn it, Nils. Why couldn’t he have stayed away from her like I told him to?
I can overhear their conversation, just like I heard everything that happened in that room. When the screaming started, it took all my willpower not to break down the door and charge inside. A good hunter knows to stay out of sight, to watch without being seen.
No matter how badly I want to intervene.
You’re hurt,Edith had said.
I know she must have meant my brother. She’d better not be responsible for it. Though it’s hard for me to reconcile the fact that her voice held genuine concern for Nils. Maybe my brother isn’t the only one developing feelings.
But neither of them broached the most concerning revelation. When Edith asked Emilía who killed her, her reply was clear as day:You.Edith is guilty. Emilía said so herself. Why aren’t they talking aboutthat?
I grit my teeth as I listen to their receding footsteps. Something must have gone awry though. That’s why the use of seer techniques is forbidden. I should report them immediately. Father would. But I can’t do anything that would harm Nils.
Once they head down the stairwell, I glance around the corner. The hallway is empty, so I head silently after them—
A door flings open as I walk past.
“Oh my gods!” a girl screams, her hands flying to her chest. She has brown hair pulled into a bun and large, round glasses. She’s the witch who was with Edith and Nils earlier. No, not just a witch. A seer.
I hold a finger to my lips. “Irina, right?”
“S-s-sorry, you startled me,” Irina says. “What is a hunter doing here?”
My jaw works. “I was looking for Nils.”
Not the truth, but not a lie, either.
“Oh… H-he just left.”
“I know,” I say, glancing down the hall. I can’t let them get too far ahead of me or they’ll be harder to track down. I’m not supposed to let Edith out of my sight. But I can’t ignore Irina breaking the rules either. “You should stop messing with things you don’t understand.”
Her eyebrows fly up. “I-I have no idea what you mean.”
I give her a long look. “I overheard everything. If I were you, I’d stay far away from Edith.”
“I didn’t know that would happen, I swear. I’ve never even done a séance before.” Irina fidgets with a loose strand of hair. “Do you really think she did it?”
“You heard Emilía.”
