“You… you saved me.”
His hand rests on her cheek. “What happened?”
“I was sleepwalking and I… I just…” She swallows hard, shaking her head. “I jumped.”
“Has that ever happened before?”
“No. But I have these nightmares, and they’re getting worse.” A small, pathetic whimper escapes her. “I’m scared, Cassius.”
He runs his hand up and down her arm. “I will not let anything happen to you, Claudia.” Gently, he guides her to lie down next to him and pulls the blankets over both of them. He drapes his arm over her. “Sleep here tonight. Sleep hereeverynight if you wish. I will make sure you’re safe.”
She shouldn’t. Dorian will only punish her more. But when she tries to get up, her body is too weak to move. And Cassius is so, so warm.
While he strokes her hair, she nuzzles into him, and sleep comes easier than it ever has before.
In Lamour’s class the next day, Claudia can’t take her eyes off Cassius.
He can’t be the killer.
Hesavedher. He kept her safe all night.
It would’ve been so easy to let her die if he wanted to. All he would’ve had to do was nothing at all.
“Your thoughts, Miss Jolicoeur?” Lamour asks.
“Hm? Oh, my thoughts?” She hasn’t been paying attention to the lecture.
“Do you think love is madness?”
A few students glance her way, but her eyes remain fixed on one. Cassius smirks.
She turns back to Lamour and nods. “The purest kind.”
After class, she flings herself into her room, locking the door behind her as fast as she can. Then she turns, and immediately freezes in place.
Something is different.
Someone has been in here.
She knows for certain because in the center of the room, just below the crystal chandelier so that the glow acts like a spotlight, is an enclosure for Bishop. It’s a glass cage padded with mulch and leaves and straw. From corner to corner, there is a large stick, around which Bishop is curled and smiling wide, the way he does when he gets crickets or live birds. She kneels down before him, reaching inside and tapping his head.
Awestruck, she says, “What’s this, Bishop? A real home?”
He nuzzles up against her palm. His head is dry, likely about to shed. In the corner of his tank is a water dish that’s big enough for him to soak. The entire thing is perfect, meticulously designed and environmentally conscious in a way that only an expert could manage.
Alistair, of course. Claudia can’t help herself—she wraps her arms around the cold, angular structure and hugs it. Maybe she’s going a bit mad, but it’s the most thoughtful and generous gift that Claudia has ever received. Bishop is so happy he hardlyknows what to do with himself. If he were a dog or a rattler, his tail would be wagging right now.
Her heart swells. Even when things are terrifying and confusing and strange, there is still love in this school, still hope in these halls.
What would be proper thanks for this? If only there was a mice infestation in Alistair’s room. Bishop would love to remedy that for him. Claudia settles on writing a thank-you letter—two entire pages, front and back, letters kept small.
There’s a knock at the door. Claudia opens it slowly to find Cassius waiting on the other side.
“Hi.”
He dips his chin. “May I come in?”
“Oh, yes,” Claudia says, stepping out of the way.
