“I’m not interested in conversing.”
She rolls her eyes and retreats from the balustrade. They’ll never get along, will they? She shouldn’t care. Shedoesn’tcare. But she does want to know—
“Do you still think I killed Odette?” she says, leaning over the edge again. Her wild curls wave in the wind.
“Sometimes,” he says without looking up. “Other times, I think you’re not nearly clever enough to get away with it.”
She tears a blank page from her journal, balls it up, and throws it at him. He winces when it hits his nose. He glares up at her, and she smiles.
“How right you are,” she says mockingly. “I’m just a silly girl who wouldn’t know where to begin when it comes to murder.”
Why is she taunting him about this? If anything, she should encourage his underestimation of her. Damn her pride, she can’t help but want to prove him wrong, even if it would mean revealing what haunts her every day: Sheisa killer.
“It has nothing to do with your gender. I imagine the killer would have had to be much smarter than Odette, and you aren’t.” He looks down. “Even as she declined toward the end.”
She crosses her arms, but she lets go of her retort with a sigh. Ever curious about her predecessor, Claudia ignores the insult and asks, “What happened toward the end?”
He pauses, seemingly unsure of how—or if—he should answer. His gaze drifts to the sky and his sharp jaw tightens. “She was seeing things.”
“Seeing what?”
He wipes any expression off his face and runs his hand through his wavy black hair. “I’m not discussing this with you.” He stands, stretches, and salutes up to her. “See you around, Star Girl.”
For a second, she leans down as far as she can, trying to keep him in her eyeline. Staring at his back, she can’t help but notice his charmingly messy hair, the impressive width of his shoulders, and, lower, his perfectly sculpted—
She nearly falls over the ledge.
Pulling herself back, she buries her face in her hands and groans. She cannot be attracted to Cassius MacLeod, of all people. He’s the one she needs to destroy.
CELESTIAL MAGIC
I do believe that there are gods, and in a far higher sense than that in which any of my accusers believe in them.
Plato,Apología Socrates
Professor Lamour is waiting for her in front of the locked gate of the Astrologia wing. He holds one candle, its light hugging the bones of his face and skipping over the hollows, making him look strange and skeletal. With his red robes shrouding his frame, he could be death itself.
She doesn’t know how to begin the conversation. To get him to meet her, she’d employed a part of herself that felt desperate and unnatural—devilish, even.
If she was a good person before she came here, this school is making her bad.
If she was already bad, she’s getting so much worse.
In the end, they exchange no pleasantries before Professor Lamour unlocks the gate with the glittering key Odette described in her diary.
“The lock is made of celestial magic. Even with the right key, only a celestial witch can unlock it. When we’re here, we’re safe.” The gate swings open with a metallic groan. He pulls a second key from his pocket and hands it to her. “Here is yours. If you lose it, we’re finished.”
She gets a sudden whiff of alcohol on his breath. It makes her eyes burn.
“Are youdrunk?”
He pulls a flask from his pocket and takes a swig. “Not nearly enough.”
Towering over her, he looks a bit like her father—tired, resigned, full of hate and anger. She doesn’t feel safe with him, nor inside the condemned Astrologia wing while they walk through. The scent of decay is heavy in the unmoving air. Spiderwebs stretch from wall to wall, and large white tapestries blanket the furniture. The floor threatens to drop them at any second. It feels mushy and soft like treading through a marsh. When they reach the spiral staircase, Claudia hesitates to follow her professor. Many of the wooden steps are missing, and some look like they’re one wrong move away from collapsing. She taps the first step with her toe and jumps back at the harsh creak of the warped wood.
“Are you sure it’s safe to walk up there?”
Professor Lamour shoots a glare over his shoulder. “None of this is safe. You know that, and yet you demanded to come here anyway. Step up and stop wasting time.” He continues up the stairs until he’s out of view, and Claudia follows as fast as she can while refusing to look down. Her foot dips into an open space where a step should’ve been, but she catches herself on the metal railing before she falls. Only a small yelp escapes her. She clambers upthe rest of the way in silence and reaches Professor Lamour while he unlocks the observatory. When he opens the door, bright starlight floods through the hall. Breathless, Claudia walks inside and stands next to the gigantic telescope underneath the domed glass ceiling. The seam where the glass meets the walls is lined with silver molding. Above her, the stars seem near enough to touch. Up close, they look less jagged and teeth-like than they normally do. They’re softer here, like white magnolias scattered across the tallest trees.
