Deviant Descendants (Descendants Academy #2) - Belle Malory Page 0,52

in the kitchen with her back against the side of the pantry. “Will you help me?” she said, grunting. She pushed her feet against the floor, trying to move a tall cabinet to the right.

“Are you sure that’s not nailed into place?” I wondered why she was going to all this trouble just to move it.

“It’s been pushed from its place.” She pointed to the scratches on the wooden floor. “I want to know why.”

She was right. It looked as if someone pushed the pantry away from the other cupboards on purpose, as if it used to sit directly beside them.

“Well, now I’m curious.” I joined her in pushing. We heaved once, the wood scraping as we pushed it back into place. Light streaked into the dark room.

“A window,” Riley said, breathless. “I knew it.”

Sure enough, there was a small window shaded by curtains. Whether it had been hidden for protection or to curb our curiosity, I didn’t know.

Riley drew back one of the curtains, revealing black bars caging it into place. We exchanged an eerie glance before moving our faces closer. “It’s the street corner.”

I stared outside, where creatures and mages went about their business. There was a pub on the lower level, called the Inky Snake, the same one I’d heard all night long. Some of its patrons were just now leaving, even as the hazy dawn had settled onto the horizon. A centaur stumbled out the door and clumsily trotted down the street, shouting curses at someone named Madam Elga. He was angry for getting cut off and sent home.

A market occupied the opposite side of the street. More apartments filled the second story of buildings, clothes hanging from string, smoke billowing from chimneys. Down a ways, an elderly harpy was busy setting up a vegetable stand. A carriage drove past, pulled by creatures I had never seen before, with shiny black coats and more horns than hooves.

“They’re called robaurs,” Riley said, noticing the direction of my wide-eyed gaze. “Big and burly, but they can be domesticated.”

“How do you know so much about monsters?” I said curiously.

“When I learned about my ability to summon them, I studied obsessively. I spent hours memorizing every book I could get my hands on.”

I couldn’t imagine having to learn so much without the help of bibliomagery. I realized I hadn’t told her about my own unique ability. For some reason, I kept it to myself.

“Look, there’s Toad,” Riley said, pointing out our security detail, hidden in plain sight. He sat on the corner, covered in crumpled newspapers and ashes. A fat cigar hung from the side of his mouth, huffs of smoke escaping every few seconds. Beyond Elysium, the Hollowed Castle’s black towers stretched into the violet horizon, a fortress of intimidation and power.

Our faces stayed glued to that window for what must’ve been hours, our only real source of entertainment in an otherwise empty apartment. “Do you think anyone will see us?” I said offhandedly, wondering if that was the reason the window had been hidden away. Or, the reason it had been barred.

“All the way up here? Doubtful.” Riley shrugged, but then she moved her face farther back. “But I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

After a while, our stomachs growled.

Riley went to the cupboards. “Let’s see what we can scrounge up for breakfast.”

Between the two of us, she was the better cook. Back in Davidson, she usually prepared the meals, and I did the dishes. If neither of us cooked, Dad resorted to takeout, pizza, or ramen noodles. In that area of our life, we had sorely missed having a mother.

“Five cartons of oatmeal.” Riley crinkled her nose. “I foresee a lot of porridge in our future.”

“At least it’s warm,” I said, trying to make the best of things. “This place is—”

“Freezing,” she finished for me, rubbing the sides of her arms. “I can’t imagine how much colder it gets in winter.”

Yikes. I hadn’t considered that it would get worse. I had become used to a perpetual springtime.

“Let’s add firewood and thick blankets to the list for Toad and Grey.”

She nodded. “Good idea.”

My gaze drifted around the apartment again. It was so small, and there was no TV or books or games or anything else that would have been nice to have in confinement. I stopped at the stone tablet I laid on the table, squinting. Was that…?

I ran to it and picked it up. It was!

“What is it?” Riley said, crouching by the stove. She put