“That is a question for Horror 101,” Selethis said. She clicked again and showcased an illustration of a man leaning over the side of a small boat, talking to another man, who was partially submerged in the water. “Alfred Regent was the human emissary who first made contact with the seafolk and brokered the deal that led to them working with us to keep the sea around Nightsbridge free of threat.”
“What kind of deal?” Pouvoir asked.
Selethis’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “Read pages 221 to 300 inAbove and Beyond the Wavesbefore your next lesson. There will be a quiz.” She clapped her hands sharply. “You’re dismissed.”
The students were quick to fly off their seats and out the door.
I lingered as the last students cleared out. It was almost lunchtime, and my stomach was growly. Dori and the others would be in the dining hall, and if I followed the crowd, then I’d find it easy enough, but by the time I got out of the room, the corridor was empty. “Damn, things move fast here.” My stomach grumbled. “Don’t worry. We’ll get some food.”
“Hey.” I turned to find the wild-haired girl from earlier standing in the doorway behind me. “I’m Cami. Jay’s cousin. He mentioned you.” She smiled shyly and nudged her glasses up her nose. “You want me to walk you to the dining hall? I’m headed there anyway.”
Now that we were out of the gloomy lecture hall, the similarities in their features were obvious. “Meeting friends?”
She ducked her head. “Not really.” We set off down the hall. “I haven’t made any friends yet. I’m sure I will, though. Soon. I mean, I have Jay and the pack so…” She shrugged. “But they’re older so…” Her throat bobbed, her gaze darting away, clearly embarrassed.
I knew what it was like to be lonely, better than most, but telling her to learn to love her own company probably wasn’t what she needed to hear right now. “Friends come in all ages.”
Her smile returned. “That’s what Jay says.”
We took a left into a wide hall that I recognized because of all the vaulted windows looking out toward Coral Isle.
“This way.” Cami led me through an arch and into a huge common room area.
It was the most modern room I’d come across since getting to Nightsbridge. The standard redwood of this place was offset with lighter, brighter colors in an attempt to create a welcoming atmosphere. There was a variety of seating options, ranging from chairs to armchairs to squishy sofas decorated with throws and patterned cushions. Books sat higgledy-piggledy on a bookcase built into the far wall, next to a large ornate mirror—the only old-fashioned item in this room. There was a coffee station with a huge silver machine, the kind found at the bistros back in the nicer parts of Carlston, and several students stood around it, nursing cups of coffee and chatting.
The machine stood out like a beacon. “You must have some powerful magi-generators here.”
“We’d be lost without them. The ports rely on them. There’s a master generator and several smaller ones, all connected by a network of underground cables. They all link to the lightning rod, so we get extra energy from the storms. We get plenty of those here.” We passed students playing billiards. “Through here.”
She led me beneath another arch and into a familiar passage. If I wasn’t mistaken, the dining hall came off here. “I know where we are now.”
“Good. The common room is kinda central to this floor. I call it the anchor room.”
“Good to know. But what would be better is if I had a map of this place. Do you know where I can get one?”
“Oh, there are no maps,” she said. “We just have to…figure it out.”
I lengthened my stride to catch up to her. She walked fast for someone so small. “Wait, are you saying that no one has a map of the Main Building?”
She shook her head. “Not as far as I’m aware.”
“Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“I mean…I did…at first, but it’s such an old building, and there are off-limit zones, so…” She shrugged. “Administration probably thought it best to leave us to map out the routes we needed, and there’s always someone to show you around if you get stuck. And here we are.”
The dining room doors were open, welcoming us into a room buzzing with activity and filled with delicious aromas. The midday sun streamed in through the wall of windows across from us, bathing the room in honey tones.
My altercation with Tamina meant we hadn’t eaten our meal here last night. Pip had been kind enough to provide a light supper at Bramble, but I was determined to taste my mother’s hot pot today. There were a lot of younger students about, but no sign of any older ones. No Arcanus or hulking Therianthropes. The Hunters were probably training or on duty. I spotted a couple of boys who had the pallor associated with sith or dhampir, but it was impossible to be certain without asking.
But Dori was here, as promised, along with Benedict, at the same table we’d shared yesterday. They waved me over.
“Okay, well…I’ll see you.” Cami backed away, her smile still in place, but her eyes dull.
I knew that look. And the feeling associated with it. “Do you want to join us?”
She blinked. “Really?”
“Of course.” I offered her a smile of encouragement.
