“Do you greet every door with such aggression, or just mine?”
He arches a brow. “Do you want to be late?”
“No, but I need to be dressed. Needs come before wants.” She slams the door and runs her fingers through her hair while darting across the room to her wardrobe.
“Thirty seconds,” Cassius warns.
She groans, throwing open the wardrobe doors and pulling on a robe over her chemise. Shit, it’s backward. She tries to pull it off, but her arm is stuck in the wrong sleeve. Why is this robe so damn complicated? She wrestles with the silky fabric when Cassius yells, “Fifteen seconds, Jolicoeur. I’m not letting you make me late.”
Finally, she gets the robe on correctly and yanks on her stockings. While she’s stepping into her black shoes, Cassius throws open the door. Bishop is lying in full view on the bed, and he makes eye contact with the intruder. Cassius gasps, jumping back, straight into Claudia.
Panicking, he grabs her shoulders and says, “Don’t move. There’s a snake on your bed. Stay still and I’ll kill it.”
“You most certainly will not. He’s my pet.”
Claudia tries to push his arms off, but he’s too strong. This close, she can take in his spiced, almost smoky scent. He smells like coffee on a cold autumn night.
His eyes narrow and his jaw drops. “You have a snake in your room on purpose? Are you mad?”
She shrugs. “He’s friendly. His name is Bishop.”
“You named asnakeafter the clergy?”
“No, I named him after the chess piece because of the shape of his head.”
He palms his forehead and laughs in disbelief. “You can’t possibly think you’re going to be able to keep him here.”
“I haven’t seen any rule stating he’s not allowed.”
“It’s common sense, Jolicoeur. The High Sage will never allow this.”
“Well, who’s going to tell him?”
“I will,” a girl snaps from the doorway. She lets herself in and stands before Cassius and Claudia with her hands on her hips. It’s the singer who scowled at her yesterday during their tour. Exceptionally tall with sleek black hair down to her waist, the girl looks like a heroine on the cover of a penny dreadful. The purple Musices emblem on her chest sits like a badge of honor.
Cassius finally lets go of Claudia, and she rushes over to Bishop to pick him up from the bed. He wraps around her arm and his head settles in her hand. He’s calm until Claudia approaches Cassius and the girl—then Bishop hisses. Claudia bops him on the nose with her finger.
“Don’t come any closer,” the Musices student says, lifting her hands as if she’ll shove Claudia if she takes another step.
“You don’t get to command me in my own room.”
“This is Odette’s room. Not yours.”
“Odette is dead.”
The girl winces. “You would know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
Oh, not this again.Claudia scowls at the girl, then at Cassius, then back at the girl. “Who are you to barge in here uninvited and accuse me of something I didn’t do?”
“I’m Marcherie. Odette’s partner. And I know it was you.”
Bishop hisses again and Claudia doesn’t punish him, but his hostility is not helping their case. She takes a deep breath and a step back.
“I promise, Marcherie, I had nothing to do with Odette’s passing. I’m very sorry for your loss. I know how it feels to lose someone you love and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Now, I’m sure you’ve decided not to like me because I’m taking Odette’s place, and that’s fine. Honestly, I don’t care. But please, please, don’t take it out on Bishop.”
Marcherie and Cassius look at each other and seem to have a conversation with only their eyes. Is that some sort of power from the gods that Claudia doesn’t know about? She feels so far behindeveryone here. She can barely pronounce the names of the gods, much less understand the full capabilities of their magic. To get caught up, she’s at the mercy of people like Cassius who only want to see her fail.
Finally, the two of them look back at her and Marcherie asks, “Where are you keeping him?”
