She clears her throat, straightening her shoulders. “No.”
Tossing a cautious glance ahead and behind us, I ask, “Did Lady Bethany upset you?”
She snorts. “Always.”
“What happened?” I grab her forearm when she still won’t look at me. Then I squeeze. “You’re upset. Why don’t we go to the library so we can talk?”
She pulls her arm out of my grasp. “No. I think I’d rather go back to my room and rest.” She takes a sharp right turn at the end of the hall leading to our rooms.
Aelia brushes a hand against my back as I slow and watch Marcella disappear down another turn. “I can go to the library with you. Maybe she’s shaken from the trial. Best to let her rest.”
“Right…” I mutter, slowly peeling away from the hall and following Aelia down toward the library. Marcella can be a bit temperamental, sure. But I thought by now we had grown some sort of friendship. The fact that she’s blocking me out for whatever reason sows doubt. That perhaps all our relationship is for her is insurance for getting her way—for freeing her brother.
As we get to the library, several women are already curled up in the chairs with books. Aelia and I pull ones from the shelves and find ourselves a seat near the others. Moe and Stella are on a loveseat together, and I quickly avert my eyes before I make eye contact. Aelia and I are seated on a long couch.
As I flip to the first few pages of the book on birds I’m reading, I pause at the whispered conversation I pick up between Moe and Stella.
“You’re sure about it?” asks Moe.
“Yes. You haven’t seen her since last night, have you? She wasn’t at breakfast, and Lady Bethany said nothing about it,” Stella whispers back.
I slowly lift my gaze off the pages to them across from me.
Moe mutters, “I mean, no, I hadn’t seen her since her little scuffle with…”
The both of them turn their attention to me, and I dart my eyes back down to my book, flipping to the next page and praying they didn’t think I was paying attention.
Willow’s missing?
Sinking further back into the couch, I begin to recall our conversationsfrom last night. My head throbs at the mental stretch. The night had become so blurry.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you, Lyra. It’s the trials, they’ve been getting to me.”
“Lady Bethany assures me they’re figments of my imagination. And soon, I won’t have to worry about them anymore.”
The memory is like a stab through my lungs, and I flinch forward, trying my best to hold back my reactions.
“Are you alright?” Aelia’s hand grazes my shoulder, her voice distant as I work through the muddied pool of my memories.
Of Willow grabbing my wrist with a crazed urgency, her eyes distant and glossy as we danced. Completely different from the woman who had invited me out onto the dance floor. And whenWillow had stared up at the ceiling, I remembered seeing her earrings glittering in the lights.
I drop my book onto my lap and Aelia squeezes my shoulder. As I meet her worried blue eyes, I nod. “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry.”
She keeps her eyes on me for a long while as she slowly turns her face away and back down to her book. I slip a hand down and slowly retrieve the earring in my pocket. As I pull it out far enough to confirm the diamond and ruby earring, I bite my lip to keep myself from whimpering, then shove it back into my pocket.
It's Willow’s. And if it was left out in the hallway, hidden by a curtain, she didn’t just simply run away. How would someone getbloodon their earrings?
I slap the book closed and rise to my feet, everyone’s attention snapping to me. Striding across the room, I place my book back where it was as pattering footsteps follow after me.
“Lyra!” Aelia hisses. “Lyra, where are you going?”
I can’t turn to face her as my thoughts begin to spiral. The most I can do is keep moving forward as I slip out of the library.
Aelia grabs my shoulder and turns me toward her. Her book still in her hand. “What’s going on?”
“Have you seen Willow since last night?” I whisper.
Her eyes flash a tad wider before she lets go of my shoulder. “Lady Bethany said she went missing last night. They went to retrieve her earlier this morning, and her room was empty. They think she might’ve snuck outthe window and run home. Perhaps too afraid of what the next trial holds. I heard she was quite traumatized from the last one.”
