She was watching me with a cold and calculating expression. She said nothing, but she didn’t need to. I knew what she was thinking because it was the same thing I was thinking.
When am I going to get this bitch alone again?
Chapter 18
Caelan Feanor, Escort Extraordinaire
ANNA
Ididn’t think it could get any colder, but as the ice formed outside my window, I knew it was going to be a long winter. Blake was nowhere to be found and I was beginning to have doubts about that night in the tower. Maybe I wasn’t as interesting as he thought I’d be. The whole thing had me fully giving myself over to my classes.
The semester was quickly drawing to an end, and I was buried in assignments. Isabella and I had been studying night and day, skipping meals in Veynara Hall, instead opting for the delivery option to the dorm that was available during the two weeks leading up to finals.
When we finally made it to the hall for dinner, I was stunned by the transformation for the Year’s End Celebration. Evergreen garland was strung throughout the hall, and candles were burning along every table with beautiful table centerpieces of garland and small red lingonberries. A violinist played a festive and beautiful melody near the fire, the gentle draw of their bow in perfect sync with the movement of their body.
The grounds had been lit to welcome the new year. The trails through the gardens were cleared of snow, while the pristine white snowflakes glittered in the light of thousands of candles lining the paths. The village was lit long into the night, and live festive music could be heard if you listened hard enough.
In classic Nightfall tradition, a gathering was held on the rooftop to celebrate the coming winter break—a final event before finals and the Winter Ball. I questioned my sanity for agreeing to go as I tugged my fur-lined cloak around my shoulders. The cold was brutal. But when I saw the glow of hundreds of tiny golden lights flickering against the vast landscape, it took my breath away.
The flames glowed against the backdrop of mountains silhouetted beneath a starry night sky. The scent of fresh pine and melted wax warmed me from within. Fresh garlands adorned the archways and wrapped the railings while snowflakes fell like glitter across the terrace. The candles were clustered everywhere I looked, some within lanterns, and others in varying heights as they burned bright.
Students huddled in groups, laughing and staying close for warmth and conversation. Many sat around the great stone hearth with a crackling fire burning with glowing embers that would ensure a long evening of warmth.
Isabella joined me and handed me a steaming mug of hot chocolate. I took a sip, and it immediately warmed me from within.
“Could you have imagined this moment at the top of that waterfall?” she asked.
I chuckled, my lips still at the edge of my mug, but stopped the moment Cody’s face came to mind.
The cheer was palpable, and she was right—it was jarring. How could somewhere with such brutal requirements for entrance have such spirit and culture? Surely he was okay,somewhere out there, right? I set my hot chocolate down, no longer wanting it.
Isabella had certainly decided to embrace the moment. She was dressed like a winter catalog cover model with a fuzzy headband holding her hair and stretching over her ears. She shook her head, eyes looking into the distance.
“I wonder what Adept will be like,” she mused.
I’d wondered that too.
“What’s different about it? Some of them strut around here like they’ve been anointed the newest Aurkai,” I muttered.
Isabella glanced at a group of them. “You’re right. I’ve hung out with some of them and they act like they own the place. I did hear something, though—Jared was talking to Eli and me the other day and he said that once you get to Adept everything’s different. He said it as if it were a secret or something.”
My brows furrowed. “Different how? Don’t they take more advanced classes and train in a different hall? Do they tell them about the secret ingredient in the meatloaf?”
Isabella giggled. “I don’t know, but they get access to the village—after that, I can visit my dad more.”
I smiled. I knew it’d been bothering her that she wasn’t allowed to visit him except with special permission. Despite that, Isabella became the most popular Initiate in our group. She seemed to have friends in every clique in the school. I was always impressed with how easily she made conversation with everyone we encountered. Only recently had I started to notice how much information she’d been gathering. Nothing she spoke about was random. Her greetings and conversations were targeted and rooted in fact-finding.
It made me wonder how much she remembered and I wanted to ask her, but Blake’s warning was going off in my head like a siren. Revealing that their little mind trick hadn’t worked on me might get me kicked out and then I’d never figure out what wasgoing on. I glanced around for Blake, not really hopeful I’d see him—and I was right.Where was he?
Giving up on him showing up and asking me to the ball, another thought entered my mind—beneath Isabella’s detailed makeup and infectious smile was a sharp mind constantly assessing her surroundings. I wanted to tell her the truth, to warn her—especially about Malakai. Ever since that moment on the cliff, we’d naturally stuck together through classes and had each other’s backs. Still, I didn’t feel like I knew her. She kept a pristine façade up that was hard to see through and it was only in rare moments like this one that I was certain there were layers deep underneath that never saw light.
I wanted to know that I could trust her with this, but I wasn’t there yet. I’d have to keep an eye on her.
“Anna?” she called.
I blinked. “Sorry, got lost thinking about the tasks.”
She scoffed. “We need to stop talking about that. This is supposed to be a fun night! Look, here comes Eli and Ji-Han. Maybe one of them will ask you to the ball! Don’t forget, if you get asked here, tradition says you have to say yes or it’s considered rude.”
