I peer toward the long narrow window up here in the top of the tower. “Yes, please. I don’t think it’s safe for me to be walking around the academy.”
“No way,” Fly says. “Sterling’s doubled the number of soldiers patrolling here. They’re questioning students too.”
“Why is he questioning students?”
“He seems to believe that… well, there may be other people in the realm who have been working with the demons too.”
“That’s ridiculous!” I snap. “The only person who’s been working in league with the demons is the Madame – and she’s been working alone.”
“How about Fox?” Fly says quietly, not quite meeting my eyes.
I scowl at him. “Fox isn’t working with the Madame. You know that, Fly.”
He sighs dramatically. “Honestly, Cupcake, I don’t know what to believe anymore. There are so many rumors swirling – some really crazy stories. Some, like you destroying the wall, I was convinced were untrue and seems I was wrong.”
“There are always rumors at the academy,” I say dismissively.
“Not like this,” Fly says, shaking his head. “Everyone’s… well, everyone’s scared.”
“Everyone’s always scared,” I point out. With trials ever looming, I think every single student at the academy has some nerves lingering in the pit of their stomach – even the strongest and cleverest of students. We’ve always feared we’ll be the one heading back to our Quarter in a coffin.
“It’s different,” he says and for the first time I see real fear in his eyes. For all his bravado about wanting to be a badass, I can see he’s frightened.
“Fly,” I say, taking his hands in mine. “Has he questioned you? Has he questioned Clare?”
“Yes, and Damien too.”
“Did he …” I swallow. This is all my fault. I’ve wanted to keep the people I love safe and all I ever seem to achieve is throwing them in harm’s way. “Hurt you?”
Fly shrugs. “Nothing I haven’t endured a thousand times before at the hands of my loving older brothers.”
“Bastards!”
“I’m fine, Briony. I’m tougher than I look.” He adopts an unconvincing smile that makes me love him all the more.
“But Clare …”
“Is clever. She ran rings round that smarmy creep.”
“Good,” I say, “good for her.”
Fly leaves to fetch Clare, and fifteen minutes later we’re huddled in his freezing cold room together and I’m recounting the story of the last few days all over again.
“I’m guessing Fly’s told you what’s been happening here,” she says, her eyes darting behind her glasses toward her friend.
“Yeah,” I say. “He said you were interrogated.”
Clare shrugs. “He wanted information about you and the Princes. I don’t think they’ve worked out that you’ve been reunited with Fox yet.”
“One advantage we have then,” I mumble. “We think the Princes are being held in the Black Tower. I need to get them out and then…” I trail off, because then what? We’re still considered traitors in this realm. Even if we escape once, it doesn’t mean they’ll stop hunting us, that they’ll stop coming for us. The realm isn’t that big – there are only so many places we can hide, so many places we can run to. And then what?
My gaze falls to my hands in my lap.
“You really believe Bardin?” Clare asks. “You believe that the Empress was responsible for ordering the deaths of talented students in the academy?”
“As mad as it sounds, I do,” I say. “I know Bardin is evil and completely unhinged, but I think on this matter she’s telling the truth. I can’t believe that Bardin could have gotten away with all those murders for so long unless they’d been sanctioned by the Empress. And she never investigated those deaths. She never even questioned them. Which doesn’t make sense unless…”
“Unless she was behind them,” Clare says.
