Page 83 of Under Restless Skies

“It’s fine.” Nelly smiles at me. “We all have our secrets.”

Celine grimaces. “Of course it’s not fine. Are you going to torture me with curiosity?”

“Give me some time. What about you? How was the ball?”

Nelly looks up, her eyes dreamy. “I really enjoyed⁠—”

“Nope.” Celine clamps a hand on Nelly’s mouth, her tone playful. “We’re not telling anything. Equal measures.”

“That’s fair.” I nod.

Nelly swats at Celine’s hand with a grin. “Let’s not be ridiculous. The ball was fun, and went on for a long time. We danced.”

That’s odd. I thought the ball had been interrupted. “Was there any warning? Bell?”

“No.” Nelly frowns, confused. “Wouldn’t you have heard it?”

It’s true. There was no bell. Even though there was an intruder alert, I didn’t hear anything else. “I heard guards running,” I explain. “I thought it was strange. But I guess it was nothing.”

Celine mock-glares at me. “You’re making me very intrigued, Mayara. That won’t do. I’m warning you. I’m going to find out what happened.”

“I’ll tell you,” I whisper. “Later.”

She’s still looking at me, a finger on her chin. “We know you weren’t with the prince.”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

Celine shrugs. “He was at the ball.”

“Not all the time,” I say.

“Ha!” Celine’s grin is triumphant. “So that’s what happened. A discreet—and very fast—encounter. Wow, I’d think he’d last a little longer.”

I can’t help but laugh. “We just talked. That’s it.” Then, in a lower voice, I add, “He’d been wanting to get me into the academy for a while. Last night, he was able to arrange it.”

There. This explanation makes sense and doesn’t require me to reveal anything about the hatchlings, the rider, or even my encounter with Commander Mallor. I don’t want to lie to my friends, but at the same time, I don’t want to risk my secrets getting spilled.

“Did it hurt?” Celine asks.

“What?” I’m truly unsure what she means.

She rolls her eyes. “To tell us, silly. It’s not like it’s some big secret.”

“But it hurt, though. Ouch.” I clutch my side. “I think I broke a rib.”

We laugh together, then finish eating.

Nelly heads to her first flying class while Celine helps me carry my things to her dorm. Our dorm. On the way, she points out the bathing chamber—a circular room lined with individual stalls. At the center, pitchers of water and containers with soap and cloths sit on a stone table. It’s not that different from what I had in the cleaning crew, just bigger.

The pot chamber down the hall is similar, with tons of stalls.

She leads me to the common room just off the dormitory corridor, a space with worn wooden chairs and tables.

“We can study here, or just relax.” She grins, then adds, “But the doors lock at midnight. To the dorms too. Something about ensuring proper rest.” She rolls her eyes and I can’t help but laugh.

Still, my heart is singing. This is my new home, and I’m happy to share it with a friend. Even Nelly is going to move into our dorm, which makes it all the more wonderful.

When I finish unpacking, Celine leads me down a hallway on the first floor and stops at a railing. Below us, maybe a dozen gliders hang suspended from the ceiling on long cables, their wooden frames and canvas wings hovering just a few feet above the ground.