Chapter Eight: Map and Mystery

  We exit the closet with all the pomp and circumstance of a mob boss and her gang leaving the scene of a crime. Myself, with the pocketed iPod and a destination in mind, led the way. However, that quickly changed when I realized not only do I not know where the market is, I don't know where . . . anything is. I'm a newcomer to this world.

  When did I even become the leader of this little gang? I don't even want to be here. I'd rather be blind and relaxing at home than questing after the source of a mysterious iPod. What a world. . .

  "So . . ." Lyra said, clearing her throat as we walked from the scene of the crime. "What is an iPod?"

  I stopped, realizing I had led them on a chase with barely any context. I'm surprised they followed me. Well, I guess they are supposed to watch me. However, it's surprising that even Mira helped. I half expected her to stay back and watch even if I was punched in the face by the boy. She probably would have laughed.

  "An iPod plays music and games." I say, pulling the device from my pocket and showing the group. "This would be a screen that would show you options, and you can select your option with the touch screen." I say, pointing at the screen and holding it up to show Kaela, who was almost leaning on top of me with interest. "Its from my world. I'm surprised he figured out how to use this . . . or keep it charged for that matter." I said, pressing the home button and watching nothing happen. "He must have played around with this for a long time. I almost feel bad taking it."

  "He's terrible," Lyra adds, walking ahead. "Last semester I had general runework with him and he kept copying me." Her hands are clasped behind her back, her tail swinging widely as she walks.

  "Anyway . . ." I say, trying not to get distracted as the group starts to discuss how terrible the boy was. "This market he mentioned, do you know where it is?"

  Kaela lights up. "Oh yeah! There's a town near the academy with a market. He must have gone there."

  Mira turns to look at me, narrowing her eyes. "Don't think I'm going to let you leave the academy. We're supposed to be watching you." She speaks with all the enthusiasm of a retail worker asked to do something outside of their job description.

  "Then you'll just have to come with me." I shrug.

  Kaela bounces forward. "That's what friends do, right? They go places together and help each other and . . ."

  "Whoa, hold on." I raise my hands. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

  "Why not?" Kaela's face falls slightly. "Don't you want to be friends?"

  "I. . ." I pause, trying to find the right words. "You all tackled me just yesterday. You're also literally assigned to watch me. That's not exactly the foundation of a beautiful friendship."

  "We did just help you corner someone in a closet?" Lyra points out.

  "See?" Kaela's enthusiasm returns full force. "We're totally friends!"

  "That's a pretty low bar."

  "It's a start though," Kaela insists. "We're going to the market together. We're helping you find answers. That's what friends do."

  I look at the three of them. Kaela, vibrating with energy. Lyra, watching me with that steady, patient gaze. Mira, looking like she'd rather be literally anywhere else but resigned to her fate.

  "Fine," I say finally. "But I still think you're all kind of weird and monstrous."

  Kaela gushes, raising her hands to her mouth and gasping. "We're friends! Oh I knew we were growing on you. No take backs, that's confirmed." She says, lunging forward for a hug only to be stopped by Mira.

  "Not on your life creature." She says, holding back the wriggling Kaela who was now running face first into Mira's hand. "You might be their friend, but not me. I have no interest in you."

  "Says the one who literally spent all night staring at me." I said, smirking as I see both Lyra and Kaela immediately react.

  "You what?" Lyra said, more curious than surprised.

  "What what?" Kaela said, surprise filling her voice as she stops her wriggling to look up at the now red faced Mira.

  "I was watching a potential threat!" She says, turning away from us. "Nothing more, what would you have done? Would you have been able to sleep in the same room as a creature from another world? What if she tries to kill us again?"

  "I never tried to kill any of you." I said, crossing my arms.

  "You did try to bite Mira." Lyra said, her hand on her chin as she thinks. "And you did yell at a couple students in that weird language you were using."

  We've stopped walking now, clustered in the middle of the corridor while students flow around us.. Someone bumps my shoulder and mutters an apology. The illumination from the wall lanterns flickers slightly, casting shifting shadows across Mira's still-red face.

  "That was before," I say, looking directly at Mira. "I promise not to try and kill any of you if you promise not to try and kill me."

  I hold out my hand.

  She stares at it like I've just offered her a live snake.

  "What is this?"

  "A handshake?" I say, keeping my arm extended. "You know, a deal? Peace treaty? Mutual non-aggression pact?"

  "I know what a deal is." She points at my outstretched hand, her expression caught between confusion and suspicion. "What is this?"

  I blink. "My hand. For shaking. Do you not. . ." I look at Lyra and Kaela. "Do you guys not have handshakes here?"

  Lyra's tail flicks once. "No."

  "We do not," Kaela confirms, though she's leaning forward with interest, studying my hand like it might do something unexpected.

  "Seriously?" I lower my arm slowly. "How do you make deals?"

  "We just... agree," Lyra says. "With words."

  "Or blood oaths," Mira adds.

  "Only for really important things," Kaela says quickly, like that makes it better.

  A group of students squeezes past us, forcing us closer together. One of them, a tall guy with horns that curve backward, gives me a curious look before continuing down the corridor.

  Great. Just what I need. An audience.

  "So no handshakes," I say, trying to refocus. "Got it. How about we just verbally agree not to murder each other? Does that work for everyone?"

  Before anyone can answer, Kaela darts forward and wraps her arms around my side in a hug. Her horns press against my shoulder, and I have to raise my arms quickly to avoid getting jabbed.

  "We're friends now, confirmed." She says, rubbing her face into my side. I take care to raise my arms, her horns brushing against my shoulder each time she turns her head.

  "Anyway . . ." I say, stepping to the side as more students fill the hallway. "We're going to the market right?"

  Lyra and Kaela look at Mira.

  "Fine," she says, extracting herself from Kaela's enthusiasm with the careful precision of someone defusing a bomb. "But we can't leave without permission. Students can't leave the grounds without a professor signing off."

  The corridor is getting more crowded now. Classes must be letting out, students pour from doorways in clusters, their voices echoing off the stone walls.

  "What if we said Fey tried to escape?" Kaela offers, her face lighting up with what she clearly thinks is brilliance. "And we had to follow her to bring her back?"

  "That won't work." Mira's hand rests on her hip, her posture radiating the kind of authority that comes from never having been told no. "Remember the tracking runes in our uniforms? Unless we go naked, the professors will be after us in minutes."

  They all turn to look at me.

  "My species are not nudists," I say quickly, not needing any more context. I can tell by their expressions exactly where their minds went, probably back to me in that medical gown. "That's not happening."

  "Shame," Lyra says, deadpan.

  "Lyra!"

  Her tail flicks once. "What? I'm just saying it would solve the problem."

  "It would create several new problems," I mutter.

  More students push past, and we're forced to shuffle closer together. Someone's bag catches on Kaela's horn, and there's a brief moment of tangled apology before they extract themselves and hurry on.

  "So what do we do?" Kaela asks, looking between Mira and Lyra like they might have answers. "We need permission, but from who?"

  "Headmaster Aldric?" Mira suggests, though her tone makes it sound more like a question than a statement.

  Kaela perks up. "Oh! Yes! If we explain it's to help Fey get home, he'd have to say yes, right? He's reasonable."

  "Is he?" I ask.

  "Sometimes," Lyra says.

  "That's not encouraging."

  The crowd thins slightly as students disperse down different corridors. The noise level drops from overwhelming to merely loud. I can actually hear myself think again, which isn't necessarily a good thing given what I'm thinking about.

  "Professor Willas?" Lyra says suddenly.

  I turn to look at her. "The guy who just watched me fail at magic for an hour?"

  "He's accessible," Lyra says. Her tail flicks once. "And he's a professor."

  "He didn't seem particularly interested in helping me," I point out. "He basically dismissed the rune as something he didn't recognize and moved on."

  "Exactly," Mira says, nodding slowly. "He's not invested. That means he won't ask too many questions or try to stop us. He'll just sign the permission slip and let us go."

  Lyra nods. "He's practical. If we give him a reasonable explanation he'll approve it just to get us to leave him alone."

  "That's... actually not a terrible plan," I admit.

  "Fine," Mira says. "Professor Willas. Where is he?"

  "Probably still in the classroom," Lyra says, glancing back the way we came. "Class just ended."

  We start moving back down the corridor, fighting against the current of students still flowing out. It's like swimming upstream, bodies pressing from all sides. Someone steps on my foot. I bite back a curse.

  "There," Lyra says quietly.

  I follow her gaze down the corridor to where Professor Willas is emerging from the classroom we left a few minutes ago. He has a stack of parchments tucked under one arm, and he's navigating the chaos with the practiced ease of someone who's done this for decades. We catch up to him just as he's turning toward what I assume is his office.

  "Professor Willas?" I say, managing to weave through the crowd.

  He stops, but his eyes don't quite focus on us. He's still looking at something in the distance, probably some runic equation he was working through during class. The parchments shift under his arm.

  "Mm?" It's barely a question. More of an acknowledgment that sound happened near him.

  "Professor Willas," I try again. "We need permission to leave the academy. To visit the market in town."

  "It's about a rune," Kaela adds quickly.

  His eyes snap to mine.

  "No," he says flatly.

  I blink. "No?"

  "No." He adjusts the parchments under his arm, his posture straightening and looking at me. "I cannot in good conscience authorize any excursion that takes Miss..." He pauses, clearly searching for my name and not finding it. "You . . . off academy grounds. All the professors have been instructed to keep you here."

  "But. . ."

  "The answer is no." His tone is final. Then his gaze shifts to Mira, and something like disappointment crosses his face. "I'm surprised that you of all people are going along with this."

  Mira's face goes carefully blank. "Professor. . . I . . ."

  He's already turning away, dismissing us, leaving us standing in the corridor like scolded children. For a moment, none of us move. We just stand there in the hallway while students flow around us. "Well," I say finally. "That went great."

  "Shut up," Mira says, but there's no heat in it. She's staring at the empty corridor with an expression I can't quite read. The disappointment in Willas's voice seems to have actually landed.

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  Kaela deflates visibly, her earlier enthusiasm draining out. "What do we do now?

  "We could sneak out," Lyra suggests, her tail swishing thoughtfully. "The tracking runes on our clothes only work within academy grounds. Once we're past the gates. . ." She's quiet for a moment, then straightens. "The library."

  "What?"

  "We go to the library." She's already turning, her decision made. "We can't go to the market right now, fine. But we can look into those tracking runes, see if there's a way around them. And we can research that rune you drew."

  "That's actually not a terrible idea," Mira says.

  "Don't sound so surprised." Lyra starts walking, and we follow behind her. "I do occasionally have good ideas."

  We wind through corridors I'm already starting to recognize, down a staircase that spirals into the lower levels of the academy. Students thin out the deeper we go, until it's just the four of us and the echo of our footsteps.

  Then we round a corner, and there it is.

  The library doors are massive, dark wood bound with iron, carved with intricate patterns that might be decorative or might be functional runes. They hung open, clearly serving as more of a display to the grandeur of the library than serving any functional purpose. They looked heavy, and I doubted any single person could pull them shut on their own.

  The library, itself, matches the grandeur of the doorway. It is enormous in a way that makes the word "room" feel inadequate. The ceiling soars overhead, lost in shadow despite the lamps hanging at regular intervals. Shelves stretch in every direction, creating corridors and alcoves and small clearings filled with tables and chairs. The shelves themselves are carved from the same dark wood as the doors, and they're packed with books. Hundreds of books.

  The air smells like old paper and leather.

  "How do you find anything here?" I say.

  "Practice," Lyra says. "And the card catalog. Though most people just ask the librarian."

  "There's a librarian?"

  "Somewhere." Kaela gestures vaguely at the vast space. "She's usually at the front desk, but I don't see her right now."

  The front desk is near the entrance, currently unoccupied. Behind it, I can see more shelves, more books.

  "We should split up," Lyra says, already moving toward the shelves. "Cover more ground. Kaela, you go with Mira. Look for anything about tracking runes and how to bypass them. I'll go with Fey."

  "No." Mira says, short, clipped. "I'm not letting her out of my sight."

  "I think you saw enough of me while I was sleeping." I point out.

  "Plus the last time we left Kaela alone in the library she started drawing in the books." Lyra adds.

  "I did not!" Kaela shouts, quickly being shushed by Mira who then turns to look at me. Multiple expressions I don't recognize flash across her face.

  "Fine..." She eventually says, grabbing Kaela's hand and already leading her towards a staircase that leads to the second level. “Lyra is in charge.” Mira says, before walking up the stairs with Kaela. When Mira and Kaela are up the stairs, Lyra turns to me.

  "We're going to research the rune you drew." She pauses, looking at me. "Wait... you... can't read Trelk yet..."

  "Trelk?"

  "It's our language." Lyra pulls a book off the shelf, flips it open. "Follow me. Let's see if we can find anything."

  We spent the next hour searching the shelves, and I would kill for a watch. The irony isn't lost on me, I spent my entire life on Earth unable to see, and now that I theoretically could, I don't have one. I keep asking Lyra what time it is, and she keeps saying "after third bell" like that means anything to me.

  The books aren't helping either. I pull one off the shelf, flip it open, and I'm greeted by squiggles that might as well be abstract art. Another book. More squiggles. A third book. Squiggles with occasional diagrams that look vaguely threatening.

  I tried another shelf. Same problem. The letters swim across the page like they're actively mocking me.

  "Anything?" Lyra asks without looking up from her book.

  "Yeah, tons. I'm practically an expert now." I shove the latest book back onto the shelf. "In squiggles."

  She makes a noncommittal sound, already absorbed in whatever she's reading.

  I pull down another book. More incomprehensible text. I'm about as useful here as a screen door on a submarine.

  "I'm going to look around," I announce, more to myself than to Lyra.

  "Don't go too far," she whispers, still not looking at me.

  Right. Because getting lost in a magical library is exactly what I need today.

  I wander away from Lyra, trailing my fingers along the shelves. The books are all different sizes, different colors, different levels of wear. Some look brand new, their spines uncracked. Others look like they might disintegrate if I breathe on them too hard.

  I turn a corner and nearly walk into someone.

  "Oh!" The girl steps back quickly, clutching a book to her chest. "Sorry, I didn't. . ."

  She stops mid-sentence. Her mouth is still open, her eyes wide behind a pair of dark glasses that remind me of the ones I used to wear. The ones doctors told me I needed to protect my eyes from the sun. The irony isn't lost on me, what I couldn't see could in fact hurt me.

  She's staring.

  "I. . ." She blinks, shakes her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm just..." Another breath. She seems to physically collect herself, straightening her shoulders. When she speaks again, her voice is steadier, warmer. "You're the new student. Right? I heard the new student was a creature . . . but. . ."

  I brace myself for the usual reaction, the staring, the "creature" comments, the wariness. But she just smiles at me, friendly and open.

  "Yeah," I say cautiously. "It's me."

  She tilts her head slightly, studying my face with an expression I can't quite read. "I'm Willow," she says after a moment. "It's nice to meet you. How are you settling in?"

  "It's been a lot. . ." I answer honestly, feeling at ease. Willow seems to be friendly despite how other students act when they see me.

  "I bet. It must be overwhelming." She glances around the library, then back at me. "Are you looking for something specific? I know this place pretty well. I practically live here."

  "Just browsing," I say. Then, because she seems genuinely helpful and hasn't called me a creature even once, I add, "I can't actually read Trelk yet. So mostly I'm just looking at the pretty covers."

  Willow laughs. It's a warm sound, unguarded. "That's fair. The covers are sometimes the best part." She hesitates, then says, "I could show you a few things, if you want. Help you get oriented."

  I should probably say no. I should get back to Lyra. But Willow is the first person other than Kaela in this world who's treated me like a normal person instead of a curiosity or a threat, and I'm not quite ready to give that up yet.

  "Sure," I say. "That would be great."

  Her smile widens. "Excellent. Come on, I'll show you the map first. It's one of my favorite things in the library."

  She leads me through the shelves to a large open area near the center of the library. In the middle of the space is a table, and on the table is a map.

  It's a three-dimensional model carved from wood.. It's beautiful and intricate and completely mesmerizing.

  "This is the world," Willow says, gesturing at the map. "Or at least, the part of it that matters."

  The map is circular. Perfectly circular. At the center is a massive tree, carved from white wood. Its branches hang over the entire map, barren of leaves for obvious reasons. It looked like a brown spiderweb, with branches extending in all directions.

  "The World Tree," Willow says, touching the map gently. "Everything radiates out from it. The tree is the source of all mana in the world. Without it, there would be no mana, no life. Just darkness."

  I lean closer, studying the map. Around the tree, the land is divided into regions, each marked with tiny cities and roads and geographical features. There seems to be an ocean to the east, with a coastline visible.

  "These are the six regions," Willow continues, pointing to each in turn. "The north, in the mountains. Coldest region, but they have the best metalworkers. Then west, the agricultural heartland, that's where the Academy is. Willow points to a red painted wooden block in the shape of a castle. It was near the edge of the map, maybe an inch away from the edge of the circle.

  The south, which is mostly forest and known for their hunters. To east, along the coast, they're known for their fisheries. And the center, right at the base of the tree. That's where the capital is." Willow says, finishing by pointing to the center of the map.

  I can see it on the map, a cluster of wooden blocks at the base of the tree, larger than any of the other settlements.

  What Willow does not mention is why the center of the map is entirely bright yellow. “Why is the center of the map yellow? I commented, silently thanking Kaela for teaching me colors yesterday.

  “Oh that? That’s Yellowman territory.”

  “And . . . what is a Yellowman?” I say, still confused.

  “Oh, I forgot. You wouldn’t know.” She says, clearing her throat.

  “Yellowmen are creatures that appeared a long time ago. They invaded the capital and the surrounding territory. We call them Yellowmen because I hear they all wear identical yellow armor. They don’t speak our language and people think they are from the Darklands.”

  “So an ongoing war?” I say, glad the Academy was as far from that territory as possible. "And this?" I point to the edge of the circle, where the carved land gives way to flat black painted wood.

  "That's the Darklands," Willow says. "Everything beyond.. It's an expanse where monsters dwell."

  "Sounds cheerful."

  "It's not." She glances at the map, then back at me. "The academy is at the edge of the world."

  I look at the tiny wooden castle again, so close to that black void. Great. Not only am I trapped in another world, I'm trapped in a ring of inhabitable land surrounded by enemy-occupied territory and monster central. The thought sits heavy in my chest.

  My eyes drift from the map to Willow, who's still standing close enough that I can see the fine details of her uniform. The dark fabric, the careful stitching. We're practically shoulder to shoulder, both leaning over the table. I can smell something faintly floral, maybe from her hair.

  That's when I notice them. The silver wings embroidered on her chest, catching the lamplight. The same symbol I've been seeing everywhere since I arrived. On banners, on doors, carved into stone. Always those wings.

  "Can I ask you something?"

  "Of course."

  "Why does the school crest have angel wings on it?"

  Willow's face lights up. "You noticed that! Most people don't even think about it anymore. Come on, I'll show you."

  She leads me to a nearby shelf and pulls down a book. The cover is dark blue leather, embossed with silver wings that catch the light.

  "The Winged Ones," she says, settling into a nearby chair and patting the seat next to her. "Sit. I'll read it to you."

  I sit, and she opens the book carefully. The pages are thick and yellowed with age, covered in text I can't read and illustrations I can. The first page shows figures with wings. They looked like angels to me.

  "The Winged Ones were mysterious protectors of the world," Willow reads, her voice taking on a storytelling quality. "They were caretakers, guardians, teachers. They taught people how to use mana safely. They fought back the darkness and kept the monsters contained."

  She turns the page. The next illustration shows Winged Ones standing at the edge of the Darklands, their wings spread wide, mana pouring from their hands.

  "And then, one day, they disappeared. All of them. No warning, no explanation. They were just... gone."

  "When?"

  "It was a long time ago. Some people think they died. Others think they abandoned us. And some people don't believe they existed at all. They think the Winged Ones were just myths we use to explain relics."

  "But you believe in them." I say, noticing her pained expression.

  "I know they were real." I could hear certainty in her voice. "The academy uses their symbol because we're supposed to carry on their work. Protecting people. Fighting the darkness. Being the guardians they used to be." She closes the book gently. "That's why the wings are on the crest. It's a reminder of what we're supposed to be."

  "That's a lot of pressure," I say.

  "It is." Willow sets the book aside. "But it's also kind of beautiful, don't you think? The idea that we're continuing something important."

  Before I can respond, I hear footsteps approaching quickly. I turn to see Lyra, her expression tight as she spots us.

  "Fey!" she says, her voice exhausted like she had just been running. "When did you wander off . . . I've been looking everywhere for you."

  "I was just. . ."

  "I can see what you were doing." Lyra's eyes are fixed on Willow, and there's something in her gaze I can't quite read. Not quite hostility, but close. "We need to go. Now."

  "But. . ."

  "Now." Lyra's hand closes around my arm. She's already pulling me away from Willow.

  "It was nice meeting you Fey!" Willow calls after us, waving cheerfully. "Come find me if you want to learn to read Trelk! I'd be happy to teach you!"

  I wave back awkwardly as Lyra drags me through the shelves, away from the map and the book about angels and the first person in this world who treated me like a normal person.

  "What was that about?" I ask once we're out of earshot.

  "Don't talk to Willow," Lyra says flatly.

  "Why not? She was nice."

  "She's been at the academy for ages. It's a miracle she hasn't been kicked out yet."

  "Why would she be kicked out?"

  "I don't know." Lyra's tail lashes behind her, agitated. "No one knows. She just... stays. She doesn't take classes anymore, doesn't participate in anything. She just lives in the library and talks to people and..." She trails off, shaking her head. "Just stay away from her."

  She leads me to a table near the back of the library, where Mira and Kaela are surrounded by open books. Mira has one particularly large tome spread in front of her, and she's studying it with intense concentration.

  "There you are," she says without looking up. "We found something."

  "About the tracking runes?" I ask, sliding into a chair.

  "About your rune." Mira turns the book around so I can see it. The page is covered in runes and diagrams.

  "That's it," I say, leaning forward. "That's the rune I remember from the portal."

  "It's a targeting rune," Mira says. "Specifically designed to lock onto someone specific. The professor probably didn't recognize it because it's not commonly used.

  "Someone targeted me specifically?"

  "Yes."

  "But why? Who would even know I exist?"

  "That's the question." Mira's expression is troubled. "Portals are legendary. The knowledge was lost when the Winged Ones disappeared. For someone to not only create a portal but to target it at a specific person from another world... That's something else entirely."

  "Maybe it was an accident?" Kaela suggests. Lifting her nose out of a heavy book spread out in front of her to look at me.

  "Targeting runes don't work like that," Lyra says. She's pulled up a chair and is flipping through another book. "They're precise. If this rune was used, it was because someone wanted Fey specifically."

  "This is giving me a headache," I mutter.

  "Wait!" Kaela suddenly interrupts, her eyes wide. "I found something."

  "Is this another recipe for pie?" Mira says, rubbing her nose with her forefingers.

  Oh so they have pie but not cheesecake. . . nice. I think, sighing mentally.

  "Not this time!" Kaela says, beaming. "It's a shielding rune, specifically designed to block magical signals. If we sew this into cloaks, it would create a barrier around the wearer that prevents runes from working."

  Mira leans over to look, her face surprised.

  "It blocks all mana," Kaela admits. "Not just tracking signals. Everything. You wouldn't be able to see while wearing it. You'd be effectively blind."

  "So we'd be like Fey was on Earth," Lyra says.

  "Exactly. But we'd only need to wear them until we're outside the academy grounds. Once we're far enough away, the tracking runes on our uniforms wouldn't matter anymore. We could take the cloaks off."

  Mira studies the page, her expression thoughtful. "It could work. We'd need cloaks, and someone who knows how to sew runes properly."

  "I took a class in sewn runes last semester," Lyra says. "I can do it."

  "I can get the cloaks," Kaela adds, already bouncing in her seat. "There's a storage room near the dormitories. They keep extra uniforms and supplies there. I bet they have cloaks."

  They all turn to look at Mira.

  She stares back at them. "Don't look at me."

  "You're okay with this?" I ask.

  "I didn't say that." She closes the book in front of her with a decisive thump. "I'm not going to help you break academy rules. But I'm also not going to let you wander off unsupervised into what will inevitably become a disaster. So I'll watch Fey while you two handle the preparations."

  "That's basically helping," Kaela points out.

  "It's babysitting."

  "Same thing."

  "Absolutely not the same thing."

  "You're literally enabling us to break the rules," I say. "That's helping."

  "I'm preventing you from dying. There's a difference."

  "Is there though?"

  Mira stands abruptly, gathering the books they've been using with more force than strictly necessary. "Yes. One involves active participation. The other involves damage control."

  "Sounds like helping with extra steps," Lyra says mildly.

  "I hate all of you."

  "No you don't," Kaela says, grinning.

  "I'm reconsidering my position."

  Kaela bounces to her feet. "This is going to be amazing."

  "This is going to be a catastrophe," Mira corrects.

  "Same thing!"

  "Not even remotely the same thing."

  They're still bickering as they gather their things and head toward the library exit.

  Lyra and Kaela both split from us, walking off to get cloaks. I follow Mira, who was turning back every so often to glance at me as we walked.

  I follow her through the corridors, back toward the dormitory, and I can't shake the feeling that Lyra is right. This isn't random. This isn't an accident. I'm here because someone wanted me here, and until I know why, I'm just a piece on a board I can't even see.

  But at least now I have allies. Strange, monstrous, rule-breaking allies who are willing to risk expulsion to help me find answers.

  It's not much. But it's more than I had yesterday.

  And right now, that's enough.

  Even if Mira is definitely going to spend the next hour glaring at me from across the room.