by Cora May
Prisanni seemed to understand what Addy was now asking, and she eyed her carefully for a moment.
“Alright, then,” she said. “You are excused. You may return to your classes now.”
Addy left the office promptly.
Attending her classes was one of the hardest things she had done all year. The students gathered outside of the halls never seemed to leave. Some of the faces seemed to change from class to class. It appeared that not everyone felt that they could miss an entire day of school, even if it was to comfort one of the favorite students in the entire castle. However, the one student at the center of each circle, the one clearly in the most distress with the reddest, puffiest eyes, had never changed. And Addy could not help but go from class to class weighed down with a heavy sense of grief and guilt. She could not run from the knowledge that she had caused this ongoing scene. It made it nearly impossible to concentrate on her classwork.
That would hopefully work in her favor, she decided, since she obviously could not fool Prisanni completely. The headmistress must know that she knew something more than she was letting on, since there was not enough shock or appropriate emotion in Addy’s responses to anything. She would have to count on her professors reporting her weird behavior, as Prisanni had most likely already told them to watch her, and letting it chalk up to Brin’s disappearance.
At least she had nothing to hide in her room anymore.
Classes dragged by, and by the end, Addy had developed a nasty headache. She was glad when her last class let out. She made for her room quickly, hoping that Chanta had beat her there already.
But again, she was intercepted and taken on a detour. Standing in front of her with crossed arms and dominating stances were Kameron and Viktor. She sighed as she came to a stop. She had expected this, too, though she had hoped Nessi had been appeased earlier.
“Can you please move?” she asked as she stood in front of them. “I need to make sure Chanta’s okay. Haven’t you heard? Brin’s gone.”
“Oh, we’re heard,” Viktor said with an amused and controlling grin. “Haven’t you heard the other news, though? The Anam Hunters are out.”
Addy’s heart stopped in her chest as she watched Viktor’s eyebrow raise. There was no way he could know what she had done, was there?
No, there wasn’t.
And yet, that eyebrow was so telling. Addy looked to Kameron. He had been silent, but he still looked at her in a way that made her squirm.
“You’re going to have to come with us now,” Viktor continued. “I think there’s some catching up we need to do, right, friend?”
Addy cringed at his use of the word ‘friend.’
“Look, I heard the news, and it’s really tragic,” she offered, trying still to get around the boys. “I really do need to get to Chanta, though. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“Your portal opener is just fine,” Viktor said firmly, blocking her attempt to move around him. Addy was caught by his particular phrasing. It sounded so cold and knowing at the same time. How much did he know? “You’re going to come with us,” he continued, “so we can have a little chat.”
“You can talk to me right here,” she said. “What is this about?”
Viktor looked pointedly around at the still crowded hallway. In fact, they had even caused a bit of a scene, and several students were lingering just to watch them out of the corners of their eyes.
“What we have to say to you,” he said, “and, by extension, what you have to say to us is rather sensitive. I don’t think either of us wants this entire hallway to know our secret, do we?”
He winked at her.
He winked at her?
Addy was dumbstruck for a moment. None of his actions seemed to make sense to her now. Especially the way he had emphasized the word ‘secret.’ He had made it sound far more intimate than Nessi’s army. He had to know something else, then.
She swallowed a hard lump. She knew she had to find out.
Viktor reached out and aggressively took her wrist—but immediately dropped it. Addy had felt it, and she wondered if he had, too; an undeniable electricity. He must have felt it, she decided, because he froze for a beat or two and just stared at her, his mouth open and his eyes questioning. But without waiting too long, he shook his head once to clear it and quickly walked ahead of her, motioning that she should follow willingly rather than let him grab her.
She stared after him for another beat, her mouth and eyes a lingering mirror image of his, until Kameron grabbed her by the arm and thrust her forward to follow Viktor. Her legs began to walk, at first just to keep herself from falling, but then she fell into step just behind Viktor, and Kameron behind her.
Curious, she thought. There had been no feeling of electricity when Kameron had touched her, and yet with Viktor, it had been so real it was almost painful. Almost. It had sped her heart rate, caused her cheeks to flush, and made them both flinch away, but it was not entirely undesirable. She wondered for a moment if it had something to do with the stones in their wrists. She could not confirm it, but she had suspicions that all of Nessi’s army had them, and therefore, the reaction could have been due to the stone. It certainly was no little crush—the shock was too real.
But such matters would have to be pondered later, she decided as she was led up a winding staircase that led to an empty hall. The hall was short and dark, lacking completely of any decoration or color aside from brown. It was filled with cobwebs and dust. Dead bugs speckled the ground around them, the carcasses of a forgotten room. It was like an attic in the middle of the castle. It was yet another place that Addy hadn’t known existed, but Nessi’s army seemed privy to. She wondered if the whole army had been given the plans to all the secret tunnels and rooms in the castle, and when she might be given her copy.
The small hallway led to an even smaller balcony. The boys led her outside, and each one of them took a seat around the small glass table that was left there. The table was covered in dirt and water spots, its glass no longer transparent and shiny. It looked like it would have been grainy to the touch, and Addy decided she very much did not want to touch it. She didn’t even want to touch the chair she was sitting on, and placed her hands carefully in her lap. There were two empty chairs at the table, one on either side of her, that looked as though they might fall apart simply from weather wear. She hoped hers would hold up—at least for the duration of this meeting.
Viktor looked more relaxed than she felt. He kicked his legs up on the empty seat next to him and relaxed back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He was awarded a meaningful look from Kameron for this behavior—a look that demanded a more serious tone in this serious moment. Addy had to admit, she felt more comfortable when no one was comfortable. She had only seen the militant side of any of the boys, save for Jace—and even then, he was militant in his personality anyway. Viktor, however, seemed content to relax without being under the watch of the school.
“Do you like the place?” he asked her. “Some of us found it last year. I like to come out here to think. It was abandoned a long time ago, so it’s always empty.”
“It’s a little dirty,” she told him flatly.
“Yeah, well,” he said with a shrugged shoulder. “We haven’t had the touch of a woman up here yet. Maybe that’s where you come in.”
Addy’s brows raised. She was feeling more and more confused with each word that came out of anyone’s mouth that day, it seemed. Wasn’t this some sort of interrogation meeting? But instead, he was inviting her to be his maid?
Fat chance of that happening.
She looked to Kameron. Apparently, Viktor’s attitude had only been a show up until that point, and she wanted to know what was going on.
“Why did you take me here?” she demanded bluntly.
Kameron opened his mouth to answer, but Viktor’s voice flooded their ears instead.
“It’s nice out here,” he said, looking out at the view, “because no one is watching us. None of
the faculty has eyes out here. We’ve checked. There are no cameras, no visitors, nothing. We’ve even camped out here for a few days, and the faculty seemed to have gone mad, assuming we ran away, back to home, because this place is just so forgotten, they can’t even expect that someone playing hooky would be hiding here. Perhaps your friend Brin found a similar place around the castle. Who knows?”
He finally looked at her, one brow raised. A question. Addy gulped. He knew that there was more to the story than a runaway, that much was clear. However, it was also clear that he didn’t know what the rest of the story was. He could not guess. As long as she didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t know.
“Anyway,” he continued after a small stare down. “The point is that we are completely and truly alone up here—and how often does that happen? Whatever you say, whatever I say, no one will hear it. There is no need for secrets in this place, isn’t that nice?”
“Are you threatening me?” Addy asked dryly. She wasn’t afraid of his threat—he couldn’t do anything too serious—but she felt like she was in a game and she was sick of it.
“No,” he said as if her question had merely been about the décor. “Of course not. I’m only trying to help you understand that whatever secrets we might keep to ourselves are safe to share here. Get it?”
Addy looked at him without saying a word. She really wasn’t sure what words she could have said anyway.
How much more bizarre can this day get? she thought to herself.
She continued to watch like that as the boys fell into an awkward sort of silence. Kameron had slipped into his place as second in command, settling back and just watching the two, waiting for their next words. Viktor had seemed to stop to listen to the birds. Addy had never seen him so relaxed.
“Here’s the deal,” Viktor finally said, breaking the silence after a drawn-out moment. “You have a secret, don’t you?”
Addy tried to keep her face straight. There was a lump in her throat that she needed to swallow, but she was afraid they would have been able to hear it or see it or something—so she let it awkwardly and uncomfortably sit at the back of her throat.
Truth be told, she had a great many secrets nowadays. Even if she wanted to share a secret with him, which one would be safe to share? And, more importantly, which one did he already know about? Assuming, that was, he actually knew and wasn’t just talking a big game. This could be just that—a game. A trick. A trap.
So she didn’t say anything. She tilted her head slightly, studying him as much as he was studying her.
“I don’t blame you, I suppose,” he said, settling back into his chair and looking off into the sky. He sounded in control in such a way that he could afford to relax. Addy got the sense that he was enjoying this moment. Or maybe he was just enjoying the sound of his own voice. “I drag you down here, a boy you just barely met over the weekend, and demand you tell me your biggest secret? One that you have trained yourself to keep from even your best friends? I’m sure Brin doesn’t even know—Jace hasn’t even told her. We’ve barely learned to trust each other. We were all terrified at first, too.”
Addy’s brow suddenly crinkled tightly in on itself.
“We?” she repeated.
Kameron looked quickly at Viktor, and Addy thought she caught a flash of fear in his eyes.
“We shouldn’t have taken her here,” he said almost in a whisper. “She doesn’t know. We made a mistake.”
“No,” Viktor argued stubbornly. “I don’t make mistakes. I saw what happened. I know it was her. She knows it, too,” he eyed her. “She just needs to tell us.”
“She’s not going to,” Kameron rebutted. “Even if we’re right, she’s not going to tell us anything.”
Viktor’s fist came down hard and sudden on the table, causing both Kameron and Addy to flinch back.
“If you don’t have anything helpful to say,” he told Kameron, “then just shut your mouth! Let me handle this.”
Addy watched as the boys took their turn to stare each other down. Kameron looked frightened, and Viktor’s anger wasn’t going to back down. Kameron was the first to break the stare, suddenly finding the glass of the table to be very interesting. But Viktor didn’t stop staring for quite some time. Finally, Kameron stood, pushing back his chair as he did.
“Fine, then,” he said, trying to sound angry, but it came off as afraid and resigned. “Do what you will, but I will have no further part in this. Is that clear?” He paused to look at both of them. “When she goes and blabs to the whole school, I don’t want my name stained by this incident. You took her back here yourself.”
That was all he had to say, it seemed. He left the balcony in a rush then.
Neither Addy nor Viktor moved until they heard the door to the inner room shut tightly. Addy’s eyes were wide with confusion now, and when she looked back at Viktor, he was still angry. But not at her, he was glaring in the direction of the door.
When he finally looked over at Addy, his expression softened quite a bit. In fact, his entire façade of the cocky, relaxed student seemed to have dissipated entirely. The best word that Addy could use to describe him now was… real. It actually stunned her to see. She wasn’t sure if this was still part of the game—perhaps he was just lulling her into a false sense of security.
He looked at her with pleading eyes.
“I’m really sorry about that,” he said, his ego dropping. “I can’t say I blame him, really. It’s a big deal, to let someone in on this. That’s why we want you to talk first.”
“I can’t say anything,” she said quietly, “if I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He sighed.
“I know. And I really, really shouldn’t be doing this, but I know I’m right, and I know you understand. You’re one of Nessi’s favorites, which means I have to be right.”
He was about to ramble; Addy could sense it.
“The point, Viktor?” she asked.
He paused, looking at her and grinding his teeth loudly. Addy tried not to flinch at the sound as she gave him room to think about his next words. He seemed more nervous now than she had been.
Eventually, though, he cleared his throat and leaned across the table.
“Addelai…” he began, but then he trailed off again. This time, he was looking her straight in the eye when he trailed off, as if he already knew what to say, he simply didn’t know how to trust her.
So Addy smiled her softest, warmest smile at him and leaned over the table to mirror him.
“Addy,” she told him kindly.
He stumbled for a beat but quickly recovered with an answering smile.
“Addy,” he repeated. “I like that. You’ve got such a beautiful name.”
Addy tried her best not to look confused by the compliment—but in truth, it was the most confusing thing he had said so far. She would never have expected a person like him to notice something about someone else.
“I suppose so,” she said lightly. “Really, I just wonder why my parents gave me such a hard name to spell.”
“It’s unique,” he told her, “and people don’t know how to deal with unique. Even the students and professors here, who are unique by nature of their Blessing—and the fact that they’ve been Blessed at all—are not capable of dealing with unique on a greater level. I mean, just look at what they thought to do with Chanta.”
“Chanta!” Addy said, her face suddenly falling as she remembered her roommate. She sat up straighter in her chair. “I really do need to get back to her. I need to make sure she got through today okay.” She looked at Viktor with pleading eyes, willing him to understand.
“No,” Viktor said, his face also fallen. He scooted over, taking the chair closest to Addy and inching it even closer, all the while still leaning into her. “I really do need to get this out, you can’t leave yet.”
“I’m listening,” she said, encouraging him and at the same time rushing him.
Viktor took her hands off of the chair, ho
lding them in his instead. The same electric rush pulsed through Addy’s skin, beginning with a sharp shock at the point of contact and spreading upwards until her arms were warm up to her biceps. She knew Viktor felt the same thing because he eyed their hands together, but he ignored it and chose instead to hold her there as he looked into her eyes.
“Addelai,” he said. “Addy. There is so much going on in this school, and I know you know that.”
Addy held still. She wished her heart wouldn’t have skipped a beat, though—if Viktor heard or felt that, it was sure to give her away.
“I know that joining Nessi’s army was not your idea, but hers. I know that every day, you’re terrified that your secret is going to be found out and that you will be expelled—if not executed—for what you have done. But I also know you don’t even know how you do it. I know that you wake up from a bad dream at least once a week, only to discover that it was not a bad dream at all. It was real, and now you’ve got blood on your hands.”
He paused then, looking at her with intense eyes. Her own stare, she was sure, was just as intense, because she knew the next words that were about to come out of his mouth. And, as her expression had changed over the course of his short speech, she was sure that he now knew that he was right.
“The blood of an Anam,” he continued.
Addy didn’t know what to say. She could feel the color drained from her face now, and Chanta was once again a thought that escaped her mind completely. She was dumbfounded, to say the least, and couldn’t figure out how to close her mouth. Or, if not to close it, to get sound to come out of it at least. The electric feeling in her veins didn’t seem to bother her anymore, although she still felt the pain of it. Instead, it was like a comfort, warming up her empty body.
He was waiting for her to speak, though. He didn’t seem to mind the silence as she processed his words. Somehow, that was not the secret she expected him to tell her about—at least not in that way. She expected accusation and anger, but instead, she was confronted with understanding as he held her hands tight in his.
