How? How could she not remember her?
My door slammed shut with a thud, and I paced from my window to my four-poster, cradling my head in my hands.
Did I confront Malakai?
No.
That would be the worst thing I could do.
Roslyn?
She was one of them—but could I trust her?
Everson didn’t like me. What if Riya said something? I couldn’t let him realize whatever they were doing to make us forget people didn’t work on me.
Again.
A sharp knock on the door halted my pacing.
“Yeah?”
“Anna? I’m heading to Raicanya, are you coming?”
It was Isabella.
“I’m not feeling well,” I said. “I think I’m going to skip it today.”
“Okay,” she said through my locked door. “Riya said you were acting oddly. Are you sure you’re alright?”
I gritted my teeth in silent irritation and tried to think of an excuse.
“I had some weird dreams last night,” I said. “I must need some rest. I think I have a fever. Check on me later?”
“Oh no!” she said, “I’ll tell Caelan you’re not feeling well and I’ll get you some soup later! Get some rest!”
I held my breath until I heard the common room door shut with a thud.
I released it, sinking to the floor and bringing my knees to my chest.
Roslyn and Isabella were wonderful to be around. Friendship I hadn’t expected when I came here. It reminded me of the bond I shared with Katie.
But right now, I was alone, and I didn’t know who I could trust.
And the worst part was that maybe it was me that I couldn’t trust.
I had to know.
Night descendedupon the grounds like a pall being pulled over a casket.
I waited long after everyone was typically asleep. Feigning illness had been the best way to have space and to think. The soup that Isabella brought still sat on my bedside table, now ice cold.
I slipped out of my dorm room; a black cloak pulled tightly around my shoulders.
My mom used to accuse me of being foolish. I liked to think I was brave. I think the actual term for it was impulsive, but I tried not to dwell on it. It hadn’t gotten me killed yet.
I moved silently and quickly, avoiding the moonlight streaming into the corridor. I passed Meridian Hall and ascended two flights of stairs. The shadows and castle alcoves hid me well as voices sounded in the distance. Slipping through one of the winter gardens bathed in the silvery light, I took the adjacent corridor to the Aurkai wing.
From the moment I stepped into the wing, it was eerily silent, my own breath startling. The thrumming in my veins I’d noticed a few times before surged through me, and the air thickened like the calm before a storm. The arched ceilings soared above me, and pale blue light spilled into the corridor, painting fragmented patterns of shadows across my path.
