Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,59
it before? “You love him. Rhaegar.”
The way he flinches confirms my suspicion.
“How long?”
His throat bobs. “Since we were children.”
“Does he know?”
His ears twitch. “No. I’ve never told anyone. But it doesn’t matter because the Rhaegar I loved is gone. Maybe he was never real in the first place.”
A sharp pain twinges deep inside my chest, and I make some excuse about needing to get back. Again, not a lie since Mack and Eclipsa will be freaking out.
“Hey.”
I turn around, half expecting Basil to tell me not to talk to him back at school. That this was a fluke. “Yeah?”
“You should know, there are hundreds of Fae who would rise up against Inara and the other bullies, if the right person came along.”
For the second time in the last five minutes, tears wet my eyes, but I blink them away. Mortals cry. Fae smile and plot revenge.
“If I find that person, I’ll let you know.”
“You do that.” He goes back to preparing food buckets for the other animals.
As I quietly slip out of the menagerie and back on the path, I decide maybe I’ve been searching for allies in all the wrong places. Maybe instead of looking for those with the most power, I should reach out to the powerless. The lesser Fae who are treated like servants by the Six. Who have watched year after year as rich Evermore from high-ranking families rule this school.
Kimber wouldn’t ally with me because she has too much to lose, but the common Fae?
They have everything to gain.
23
I hardly make it five feet out of the menagerie when the sensation of being watched sizzles over my skin. The feeling is subtle enough that I don’t outright run, but real enough that I pretend to tie my shoes and slip the dagger from my ankle sheath. I’m so focused on finding the peeping tom that I don’t pay attention to where I’m going. When I finally do tear my focus from the shadows, the path is gone.
I stubbornly push forward, sure I’ll stumble onto the trail soon.
“Screw you, monsters,” I murmur, turning a circle as I look for a break in the trees. “And screw you, stalker!”
I feel silly yelling at an imaginary person, but if they’re not real then no one can witness my mistake. And if they are . . .
They now know that I know.
Adrenaline makes me walk faster and faster until I’m half jogging, stumbling over tree roots and ducking under limbs. I yank out my phone again for light before the epiphany that I can call someone hits.
Followed by the devastating realization that I have no service.
Fighting the rising panic clawing up my throat, I slash at the underbrush, searching for the hint of a path. Experts say if you’re lost to stay where you are, but that advice doesn’t help when the woods are crawling with bloodthirsty creatures.
A tiny yawn next to my eardrum nearly sends me jumping out of my skin. Ruby wakes from nap ten thousand and fifty-one, stretches, and then takes in our surroundings. “Why are we in the woods? At night? Surrounded by ancient predators?”
Her voice goes up an octave with every word until she’s practically screeching, which probably isn’t the best way not to attract predators.
I sigh, swinging my blade at a cluster of brambles. “Maybe if you could keep your eyes open for longer than five seconds you would have the answer to that question.”
“Hmph.” I don’t have to see her face to know her bottom lip is puffed out in an epic pout. “I have a condition.”
“Really?” I hate how snappy I’m being, but my panic is giving way to true fear. The Darken comes to mind. If he found me once he can easily reach me again.
Mid-swing of my blade, the thick wall of branches falls away to reveal a clearing. The full moon dances off the surface of a small pond. Frogs croak all around its shore and crickets chirp in the nearby grass.
But my fascination beelines for the mid-sized building beyond. The dilapidated structure is tucked into the top of a tall rocky cliff overlooking the clearing. Made of multicolored yellow and white stone, the peaked Tudor home looks completely out of place compared to the rest of campus.
Motivated by both curiosity and the very real need to find shelter, I stride toward the house.
“What are we doing?” Ruby squeaks.
“Breaking in.” I ignore Ruby’s muttering as I climb the stone steps carved into the cliff.