People started to stir as we ran through the hall. They came out of their rooms with sleepy gazes. A crowd began to grow around the entrance to my room.
“No one woke up when this happened? I can’t believe no one heard the attack,” I asked Ethan as we ran.
“Not if she was attacked from behind and didn’t have time to scream,” Ethan said.
We reached the medical ward in what seemed like minutes. The doctors and nurses wasted no time in getting Morgan onto a gurney and wheeling her into emergency. After she was taken back to surgery, we were escorted into the waiting room by one of the nurses. I stared at the blood drying on Ethan’s shirt and tried not to be sick.
I didn’t like Morgan. She’d been a bitch to me ever since I’d arrived. But that didn’t mean I wanted her to die.
“Breathe, Emma.” Ethan poured water out of a plastic white jug and into a paper cup. He forced me to drink it and take deep breaths, rubbing my shoulders in tiny circles. How the hell could he be so calm at a time like this?
A short time later, Lady Magdalina came storming into the waiting room like she was leading a warrior’s brigade. She had Lady Korva flanking her, as well as Lord Lucien.
Lucien seemed pale and bothered. Korva’s face was red with rage. Magdalina turned toward me with a calm expression and asked, “What happened?”
Ethan rushed to explain before I could. “Emma and I returned to her dorm around a half an hour ago. When we got there, we found Morgan inside. She’d obviously been attacked, though we weren’t sure by what.”
“Why were you not in your dorm this time of night, Miss Sosna?” Lady Korva’s tone was firm and demanding. She was acting like I’d been the one to hurt Morgan.
“She was with me,” Ethan said immediately, before I could answer. “We were exploring the grounds together and lost track of time.”
I did my best to hide my surprise. Ethan was covering up for me?
Lady Korva’s nostrils flared. “Students should not be outside their rooms after midnight.”
“That is beside the point now,” Lady Magdalina said quickly. “I am more concerned about how and why Miss Bianca was injured in the first place.”
Lord Lucien hadn’t said a thing since he arrived. He looked like a ghost. His eyes kept fluttering back and forth, to me and then to the floor. It was weird.
“What was Morgan doing in my room anyway?” I asked.
Lady Korva narrowed her eyes. “You are not in a position to ask questions, Miss Sosna. You’ve been a troublemaker since you’ve arrived at this school. I personally am regarding you as a key suspect.”
“Be reasonable,” Magdalina snapped. “Morgan’s injuries were caused by magic, power that is beyond Emmaline’s current abilities.”
Lady Korva kept her lips tightly pinned together, but the look she gave me clearly said she still thought I was responsible.
Lucien broke his silence and reached into his pocket. “This was in Morgan’s pocket. It seems she snuck into your dorm to pull a prank on you.”
He handed me a small jar of silly string. I really had to resist rolling my eyes. Really? Morgan was so immature.
Then I realized she was paying for it. She wanted to prank me, sure, but now she was fighting for her life. A knot rose up in my throat.
“You two are dismissed,” Lady Magdalina said. “We will do what we must to find the perpetrator of this heinous crime. The rest of you, with me.”
Lady Magdalina swept away. Korva gave me a hated stare before she left with a sniff.
Lord Lucien seemed apologetic. He gave a quick nod of his head and bounded after the sorceresses.
I sank slowly into a chair. “I just don’t get it. Why would anyone want to attack Morgan? She’s mean, but she’s harmless.”
Ethan’s face was dark as he said, “Morgan wasn’t the target, Emma.”
The meaning of his words sank in slowly. As they did, a cold terror overtook my body. Ethan was right. The attacker didn’t mean to go after Morgan. They wanted me. That’s why they’d been hiding in my dorm. Someone had been waiting in my room, to do to me what they’d done to her. She’d just gotten in the way.
I’d become a target. Here at Arcanea University, there was someone who wanted me dead.
The only question was… who? And why did they consider me a threat?
