Page 28 of Devious Knight

I’ve been here for the last two hours working on sculpture for my application to Cambridge. I don’t have much left to do, so maybe I should have skipped today.

It’s nearly four in the morning, a time that is no stranger to me. I like coming here at this time because it’s peaceful and oftentimes, like now, I have the studio to myself. On the rare occasion when the odd student comes by at this hour, that peacefulness remains.

I’ve had no such peace tonight. It’s the first time I’ve ever been here and felt so unnerved.

My apartment isn’t safe either. My safe zone was shattered the moment I saw Kade watching me outside my bedroom window. That night he infiltrated my sanctuary and destroyed my inner calm. Now everywhere feels wrong.

I continue staring outside, taking in the shadowy woods and the trees swaying in the wind.

There doesn’t seem to be anyone outside, but that doesn’t mean he’s not there.

With a slow, steady breath, I look back at my sculpture and decide to stay for another forty minutes.

I study my work, appreciating all that I’ve done. I’ve been trying to get the waves of the girl's hair to look more precise, but everything else looks amazing.

This sculpture is possibly one of my finest pieces.

It’s an alabaster sculpture of a young woman running through the meadow. My inspiration is John William Waterhouse’s painting The Lady of Shalot.

My girl has the same sort of long flowing Medieval dress, but I have her hair swept up by the wind in long graceful waves.

Normally I’d finish a sculpture of this complexity in two to three months, but I whipped this up in three weeks.

I’m proud of myself for getting it done in such a short space of time, and I have no doubt it will get me into Cambridge.

Sculpting has always placed me in my element. Just like my mother, sculpting was where my heart lay. I do oil paintings and watercolors, too, but there’s always been something more to sculpting that speaks to my soul.

I love the aspect of creating three-dimensional figures that look like they could come to life at any moment. I always do people and try to capture emotions on their faces.

I tried creating animals and other landscapes before, but it didn’t work out as well as my people sculptures.

I think it turned out as well as it has because my heart went into it. All my love for art along with my desperation for freedom and life.

This masterpiece will be the ticket to securing my placement with Christian Degas. So I can’t mess it up because I’m anxious, or paranoid.

With that reminder, I set my chisel down, deciding it’s time to go. It’s practically four now anyway, so it’s not like I’m leaving earlier than I planned.

I need to head back to my apartment and grab a few hours of sleep.

Sleep will do me a world of good because I have a long day ahead of me.

At least I’ll be spending the first part of it with Annika and Mackenzie. We have English literature first, then we’ll be going into the city for lunch. That’s something to look forward to.

I’m trying to spend as much time with all my friends as I can before I leave. That’s just as much for me as it is for them. When I head off to England, I’ll truly be on my own.

I’m nervous but excited to see what that might be like. I’ve never been on my own before. It sounds strange to say that because going away to college is supposed to be that. But because I’m around people I’ve known all my life, it doesn’t feel that way.

I pack my things, lock up the studio, and head down that dark path through the woods. It’s the quickest way back to Myrridin House.

Usually I enjoy walking this way because it goes by the river, but the moment I’m in the thick of the trees my anxiety returns.

The wind picks up my hair and the ends of my ponytail dance around my shoulders. The soft breeze whispers over my skin like a lover’s touch.

Not that I would know what a lover’s touch feels like. I’ve never had one.

I’m probably one of the only girls in my freshman year who still has her V-card.

I’ll be nineteen in a few months. I thought I would have lost that card by now, but like many other things nothing is as I thought it would be.

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