“Let me see.” Dori took the book. “Thatisweird.”
“He has to be one of the blurred prints,” Clary said.
“There is no way they would have published those like that,” Benedict said. “They’d have gotten new image prints made. In fact, I’m not sure how Timothy checked this book out. It’s a reference text.”
A shadow fell over the book. “Hi…” Cami stood at our table. “I, uh… I wanted to thank you for the other day, for saving me when the water dragon attacked. I’m sorry I ran off and…yeah…”
I smiled up at her. “You did the right thing getting out of the way. Do you want to sit with us?”
“Oh…” She brightened at the offer. “I have class, but thank you. Next time?”
“Sure.”
She hurried off, looking back over her shoulder a couple of times, all smiles.
“I think you made another friend there,” Dori said.
Anotherfriend…because they thought of me as a friend. To be part of their group for real…
My chest tightened, and I fixed my gaze on the windows, on the view of the sea and the calm way it moved, until the vise gripping my lungs melted away.
“Hey.” Clary covered my hand with hers. “You okay?”
“Are you still spooked about the mirror guy?” Dori asked. “Whatever it was, it can’t hurt you.”
I’d filled them in on what I’d seen in the bathrooms earlier. “How can you be sure?”
“The rumors have been around for decades,” Benedict said. “No one has been hurt by the shadows in the mirrors.”
The man in the mirror had been more than a shadow. “But doesn’t it bother you? Like…what are they?”
“Who knows,” Dori said. “Mirrors are powerful tools used in scrying and as portals by the Arcanus for centuries. Nightsbridge is a magnet forotherenergy. But you can be certain that the Coterie has put precautions in place to stop any negative forces from getting in.”
“Food’s here!” Benedict rubbed his hands together as several trays floated toward us.
My stomach growled in appreciation.
Mirror men and shadows would have to wait.
* * *
I spentthe afternoon catching up on my reading before heading back to the Main Building for my meeting with the resident counselor, Mandy Snap.
There was so much to learn about Nightsbridge—from The Overshadowing to the Land-Sea Pact to the histories of each bloodline that had stepped forward to bind themselves to keep the Horrors contained. I learned that not everyone was here because of that Covenant, though. Some families sent students here as punishment or to gain favor with other bloodlines or the Coterie. But every student had one thing in common—none of them wanted to be here.
They studied and worked hard because the alternative was becoming domestic staff, pandering to the whims of the Hunters and the Carvers. There was no leaving Nightsbridge if you failed, only drudgery, and in some cases, a trip to the catacombs to be consumed by the Weave Watchers.
Deep in thought, I drifted toward the Main Building in a daze. Only when I stepped out of the cliffside lift and onto the grounds did the howling wind and crashing waves register.
The sky hung low, dark clouds churning, warning of an approaching storm.
Hopefully, the meeting would be over before it broke. I hurried up the path, eager to get into the building, then yelped and leapt back as a huge shape darted in front of me.
Ruspin lowered his head and whined softly in apology.
It took a moment, my hand on my heart, for my pulse to steady. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Areyou? Okay?” He lifted his head in what I assumed was a nod. “Good. I’m glad you’re free.”
“Thank…you…” His voice was gritty and broken, sending a shudder up my spine.
