My eyes squeeze shut as Sebastian steps into the room on near silent feet, returning from wherever he went after he stormed out of here. My hands fist the blanket that’s bunched up beneath my chin as I listen to him lock the door once more, then pad over to where I’m pretending to sleep. Because I’m a coward and don’t want to face him right now. I’m too tired for an argument and no doubt, if we spoke, that’s what it would turn into.
He stands there looming over me for so long that I have to fight the urge to open my eyes and make sure he hasn’t fallen asleep standing up. My heart is racing so hard I can hear it in my ears as I feel his eyes trace over my face. He’s watching me.Whyis he watching me? And what took him so long to come back? Did he go to his room? Or maybe he was with Lillian. He did tell Headmaster Zain and Kroff that he was with her last night. Are they … together?
A wave of what feels like jealousy – but surely can’t be – barrels through me, catching me off guard. I don’t care who he’s with. Stars, it’s not like he was mine or I had any claim to him. I had astupid crush, and we haven’t seen each other in almost a year for crying out loud. I tamper down that ridiculous surge of emotion, scolding myself.
Eventually, Sebastian’s weary sigh reaches my ears. Next comes the sound of his boots softly thudding along the hardwood floor. I crack my eyes open, just a bit, curious to see what he’s doing. It’s a colossal mistake. Sebastian has his back to me. His toned, bare back exposed, with muscles shifting under the dim lantern light as he drops his shirt to the floor at his feet. Stars, as much as I hate him, the big bastard is a work of art. His body tells the tale of years inside of a fighting ring. His muscles are honed to perfection. If I thought I struggled to fall asleep before, I don’t know how I’ll manage to sleep now. Slowly, he lowers himself to the flat bedroll and I swear I hear a muffled groan slip out as he lays down. As if he’s in pain somewhere. He lies on his side, back to me, and I feel my fingers twitch, as though they want to reach out and touch that smooth expanse of skin. He moves to extinguish the lantern’s flame, sinking the room into darkness. My body feels taut, the sound of my blood rushing in my ears. I only hope he didn’t pick up on the hitch in my breath—
‘Stop eye-fucking me and go to sleep,Ria,’ his voice is low, taunting.
I roll over, barely holding in a scoff.
Have nightmares, dick.
The bags under my eyes this morning are a testament to how little sleep I got. I feel like I’m about to collapse at any second and knowing I have CNM class in less than an hour has me wanting to curl up somewhere and hide.
‘Good morning,’ Tilly singsongs as she rushes over to join Xavier and me filling our plates at the food table in the dining hall. Her curly hair bounces around her shoulders as she takes up a spot beside me in the line, reaching out to grab her own plate. Her voice dips low as she bends past me to get Xavier’s attention, her hazel eyes flitting betweenthe two of us. ‘You are not going to believe what I saw during my late shift last night.’
Tilly, along with the other first -year acolytes in Opal are required to undergo occasional ‘in field’ work in the infirmary alongside an older student. Tilly’s first shift was last night.
She doesn’t even give us time to respond before she’s practically urging us forward in the line and out of earshot to anyone else. My tray, laden with fruit, toasted cheesy bread and a cup of rich -smelling coffee that required me to be brave and walk through a cluster of older students who spat insults at me to get it, wobbles in my hands.
‘I saw Headmaster Zain sneaking out of Professor Quinn’s office!’ Tilly whispers, leading us to an empty table.
My brows snap up in surprise. Professor Quinn is the High Healer for Opal. ‘What is he doing sneaking out of her office? Do you think they’re together?’ I ask, sliding into the seat opposite her. Xavier joins my side of the table.
‘Together?’ he asks around a mouthful of pastry.
‘Yeah. Maybe they’re fucking?’ I suggest.
His face contorts in disgust, choking his food down with a forceful gulp. ‘Gross. Isn’t Professor Quinn like a hundred years old?’
I look to Tilly for an answer because I’ve no idea what she looks like, only that according to Tilly, she’s strict and a bit of a cow.
‘She’s not a hundred, you moron,’ she replies. ‘Though she does look like it. But no, they’re not and please never put that idea in my mind again. The visual is disturbing.’
I shrug, hiding a smile behind my toasted bread, and take a bite.
‘Anyway, I asked Tanya, the girl who’s mentoring me, why he was coming out of her office at midnight. She said that Professor Quinn heals him from time to time and every few weeks Headmaster Zain comes in to visit, but recently he’s been coming in almosteveryweek. Sometimestwicea week.’
‘Who the hell needs to be healed that often?’ Xavier asks, voicing my exact thoughts.
‘Right!’ Tilly slaps her hands on the table and it’s just now that I realise she carried over an empty tray. She notices where my eyes have strayed to and with a bat of her hand, as if her empty tray is of no consequence, she says, ‘I ate already. Now what’s even stranger,’ she continues, animated as if this is the juiciest thing she’s heard all year, ‘Tanya made me promise not to tell anyone. Apparently, no one is supposed to know.’
Xavier and I shoot her a pointed look.
‘Oh, come on, you two don’t count. I know you wouldn’t blab to anyone about it.’
‘Why, because we have no other friends to blab about it to?’ I joke, even though it’s true. If I’m not with one of them, I’m usually holed up in my room alone.
‘Exactly.’ She smiles. ‘Anyway, it made me curious and now I’m thinking he must be sick. Why else would no one be allowed to know? He must be hiding it so he doesn’t get removed as headmaster.’
‘They can do that?’ I ask.
She nods. ‘If the Council gets a whiff that he’s unfit to lead, they can vote him out and revoke his status. If his visits are getting more frequent, whatever he has must be getting worse.’
The only physically distinct feature I’ve noticed about Bartollo Zain is his lack of sight. Other than that, he walks fine, he talks fine, he doesn’tlooksick to me. Though his eyes were clearer yesterday morning than they had been in the Grand Hall during welcoming night.
Maybe it’s his sight that’s declining and Professor Quinn is healing it for him. Keeping whatever she can at bay for a short amount of time. I think about suggesting this, but then I’ll have to go into details about why I was in his office yesterday and while I feel in my gut I can trust Tilly and Xavier, something still holds me back.
