Was Codric watching the view from his window down the corridor?
Nah, the jerk was probably sleeping, unperturbed by our spat of last night. Not that it bothered me all that much, not in retrospect anyway, but the result was that we had spent the night alone.
Well, I had slept alone, and I hoped that Codric hadn't already found a replacement for me and was now snuggling up to someone else's backside. We'd made a pact that we would be exclusive until we both decided that we weren't by a mutual agreement.
I was distracted from my annoyance by a pair of dragons sweeping past my window, their scales catching the colored lights and reflecting them in dazzling patterns. They were probably on dawn patrol, but from here it looked like they were dancing with the lights—magnificent, magical, the apex predators of Aurorys.
No wonder the Shedun wanted to destroy them. How could anyone who worshipped darkness stand to see such beauty in our world?
With a sigh, I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed.
Unlike me, everyone else was still asleep, so I got the bathroom all to myself, and when I was done, I went back to the dorm room that felt empty without Kailin or Codric.
Breakfast was still some time away, and I had nothing to do until then, or after, for that matter. Classes were still canceled and would remain so for the next three days.
We were supposed to self-study, but I hadn't made a dent in the stack of tactical manuals on my desk yet. I was too agitated to focus on flanking maneuvers or supply line logistics.
I needed to do something useful. Something that didn't involve memorizing the optimal dragon-to-ground troop ratios for urban warfare. If there really were traitors among us, then sitting around studying wasn't going to help find them.
Grabbing my jacket, I headed for Codric's room. If he was still upset about our spat, I would just knock it out of him. I needed a co-conspirator, and if anyone was up for a creative interpretation of self-study, it would be him.
I knocked twice, then entered without waiting for permission, hoping I wouldn't find him sleeping with someone else.
Thankfully, Codric was sprawled on his bed alone, save for the book that was balanced on his chest.
"Please tell me you've come to save me from death by boredom," he said without looking up. "If I have to read one more paragraph about proper saddle maintenance, I might throw myself off the roof."
Since he hadn't mentioned our stupid argument, I decided to do the same and pretend as if it had never happened.
"Funny you should mention that." I leaned against his desk. "How do you feel about a field trip to the main library?"
He sat up, interest sparking in his eyes. "Since when do you voluntarily seek out more books? Are we even allowed in there?"
"No one said anything about usnotbeing allowed in there. We are not supposed to go to the upper floors unless we are invited, but the library is a public space." I pulled out a chair and sat down. "We have a mystery to solve, and we need to seize the opportunity to access parts of the Citadel we normally can't."
"I love mysteries." Codric set his book aside and sat up. "Which one are you referring to?"
"We suspect that they sent Kailin on a vacation not only as a reward but because they want to use her as bait to flush out possible traitors, and that has to be connected to the sabotage on the pilgrimage trail."
Codric cast me an incredulous look. "And you think we will find answers in the library?"
He had a point, but I felt in my gut that the library would be a good place to start.
I shrugged. "Librarians are usually a good source of information, and they know what's going on. It will be much easier to coax one of them to talk than any of the military types."
"Good thinking." He reached for his boots and started pulling them on. "Besides, I'll take any excuse to get out of this room. Should we get Morek?"
"Definitely. Breakfast service should have started by now, so he's probably in the mess hall." I opened the door.
"I could eat," Codric said as he pulled on his jacket.
It felt weird to ignore our fight from last night, but the truth was that it didn't merit any more talking. That being said, it needed to be addressed before it festered.
"I'm sorry about what I said," I murmured under my breath.
"I deserved it, and you're forgiven."
The guy was too laid-back for his own good.
