Page 132 of Serpent and Shadow

Breakfast began at seven o’clock on Saturdays. On Sunday, it started at eight and went until eleven, but on Saturday it began two hours earlier and ended at nine. I tried to let myself sleep from about five until eight-twenty, but I struggled to get out of bed at the first cacophony of alarms. I finally forced myself up at eight-thirty-five, when the skeleton began banging pots and pans together it must have found in the kitchen.

I’d fashioned the spell to be utterly ruthless when I cast it the night before.

I staggered into the shower, and stood with my eyes closed under the hot water.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stay in there as long as I wanted, either.

I’d only stood there for maybe four minutes when the skeleton began making noise in the other room, and I worried it might tear up the kitchen if I didn’t get out soon. I smacked my cheeks a few times, turned off the water, and wrapped one of Bones’s huge, gold-colored towels around my body.

Exactly seventeen minutes later, I jerked open the glass door on the east side of the tower, my reddish-gold wings strapped on my back. I knew I could probably walk to Valarian and still catch Mir and Draken as they were heading back up to the dormitory floors. They would wait for me, especially given how late they left last night, but I didn’t want to be anything even approximating late, and it took over fifteen minutes just to get from the top of the tower to the glass doors on the east end of the south corridor.

I wouldn’t get there until at least nine-thirty, and that wasn’t going to work for me.

It was the last thought in my head before I jumped out the window, gasping a little in those few seconds before my wings caught the air and I soared upwards again. I angled them into a swooping turn to get around Malcroix Mansion’s main tower, and straightened my flightpath once I could see Valarian just past the first years’ college, all its windows shining with sunlight.

I’d forgotten everything, I realized.

I’d brought no books, no bag, no food, no water, not even the invisibility charm Alaric gave me that I hadn’t left the tower without in over four months. I didn’t even think to grab the snake bracelet Bones gave me and wrap it around my wrist. I wore a silky green tank top that clung to my upper body, because I’d had the presence of mind to remember it was supposed to be hot that day, loose beige trousers, a belt, Bones’s cat ring, and sandals.

I’d remembered to feed Wraith, at least, but I knew she’d be peeved when I came back to the tower and smelled like Jolie, Draken, and Miranda and she hadn’t been invited.

Next time, I promised myself silently.

I swooped around in a curve to reach the back entrance to Valarian.

The fewer people who knew I was here, the better.

Right as I landed lightly on the grass near the steep row of steps, I heard the bells chime inside for the end of the morning meal. I was packing up my wings, folding them into the kind of backpack shape they formed when they weren’t in use, when the door opened in front of me, and a group of students piled out, all of them laughing.

They stopped dead when they saw me, and stared.

I stared back, feeling the blood drain from my face.

It was Nicolai Panzen, or “Pants,” as everyone called him, Scarpen Maskey, better known as “Scar,” Norrick Voltaire, nephew of the headmaster who just got ousted for being a member of Dark Cathedral, Christian Orrin, who I’d once gone on a horrific date with as a first year, Vlad Mordopast, another royal with Dark Cathedral ties, and Elysia Warrington, Bone’s ex-girlfriend.

I knew every one of them.

None of my experiences with any of them had ever been good.

I probably felt the warmest towards Elysia, or the least hostility anyway, which was laughable considering she’d probably stab out my eye as soon as look at me. I knew Bones had some fondness towards her, so maybe that was it. Or maybe it was simply because she hadn’t actually tried to stab me yet, and a number of the mages in front of me actually had tried to hurt me in one way or another, some of them more than once.

“Well,” Norrick said, stepping heavily down the steep steps on black, thick-soled boots. “What have we here? I haven’t seen this little mongrel in an owl’s age.”

His eyes gleamed with excitement as he looked at me, and alarm bells immediately went off. I stepped back, and shook off the wings I’d just taken off, gripping the strap in one hand. I knew they had me, though, as far as that went. There was no way I’d be able to get the wings back on and take off in time to keep them from dragging me back down to the ground.

I took another handful of steps backwards as Pants, Scar, and Christian, and Mordopast ran quickly down the steps to join Norrick.

Only Elysia stayed at the top of the stairs. She frowned and scowled in my direction like I smelled bad, and the odor offended her sensibilities even from ten feet away. Even so, I found myself looking at her, seeing her as my own hope for any kind of assistance.

I don’t know what look I had on my face, but something in it caused her to avert her gaze. She stared off to the side, her eyes stony, her thin arms folded. If she felt any misgivings about the five royals coming for me, it didn’t show in her expression.

She seemed to be making it clear she wasn’t going to do anything about it.

ALARIC! I called out frantically, using my mind. ALARIC! I NEED HELP! GET HELP! Thinking, I switched tacks. CORVID! I’M AT VALARIAN!

I’d never used Blackstone’s first name before, not ever.

I hoped, if anything, it might annoy him enough to pay attention.