Page 69 of The Hunt of Night

Anticipation coils through my bones as we turn down the pathway to find Professor Tora standing by the entryway to the campus. The rest of Thornhill’s students are gathered around him, Vallie included, and the air around the space feels thick. A sense of unease vibrates through the atmosphere. Even when Tora hollers for everyone to follow him, it remains.

The gates separating us from the outside world open, and all too quickly, the cobbled streets are underfoot. They feel familiar as we head under the archway and through the square, and for the first time in my life, I’m not hiding beneath my black cloak. My gray academy-issued cloak is draped over my shoulders and the hood remains down. I take the view in without a shadow cast over me. There’s something about this place that takes purchase in my chest, warming my limbs and fueling my heart.

I spy the castle looming in the distance and my chest tightens. This is our home, this ismyhome, and I no longer want to live in the shadows and hide from it all. I want to prove I’m worthy. I want tobeworthy, and that all starts now.

Professor Tora leads us toward the clock tower, and we climb the stairs, one stone slab at a time, until we reach the top. The view of the city is even more spectacular from here, which means the vantage point when the vampires show up will be perfect.

“Now what?” Vallie asks with her hands on her hips, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Now we wait,” Tora offers, the curl to his lips overshadowed by the furrow of his brows.

“For what?”

He glances around the group and shrugs. “For chaos.”

29

ADRIANNA

Someone stifles a yawn. I’m not entirely sure who, but it sets off a ripple through the group and I have to clamp my hand over my mouth to refrain from doing the same.

We have to remain alert. Vigilant. Just because there’s no immediate threat doesn’t mean we won’t need to act at any given moment.

Rolling my shoulders back, I move from my spot, doing a slow, measured patrol around the limited space we have. It earns me a few deathly glares from other students, but it didn’t bother me the first time they were inconvenienced by my surveillance, so it doesn’t bother me now. Especially when there’s a likely chance I’ll observe the city below just like this in the near future.

I have to prove I can handle situations like this. Not to the academy. Not even to Professor Tora. But to myself. Particularly after the shitshow that went down in Raiden’s room. I can handle my Kryptos’ desire to help, but their need to overstep is not going to be tolerated, and I meant every word I said.

“Anything new?” Flora asks as I settle back into the space I had occupied moments earlier, and I shake my head with a sigh.

“It’s weird. In one sense, I want to see them right now, but in the other, I hope they don’t show up at all so the civilians will remain safe.”

Flora offers me a soft smile as she nods in agreement. Her hands band around her waist as she holds back a slight tremor. It’s getting colder now that the sun has settled, and the moon glistens in the sky. Arlo must notice the same shiver because he wraps his arm around her shoulder a moment later. Flora leans into him, and I wonder if they’ve figured things out, but a heavy sigh cuts through the air, disturbing the peace.

“Professor Tora, don’t you think it’s safe to call it a night?” The whine comes from Vallie as she pouts, rocking on her feet and fluttering her eyelashes.

“Does she think that look is going to work in her favor?” Brody whispers against the shell of my ear, and I grin, fighting back a snicker. At least I’m not the only one put off by her shit. “Now, if you were to do that, I?—”

“I would never,” I interject, peering over my shoulder at him with a pointed look, and he chuckles, the sound thankfully muted by Tora’s sharp words.

“Vallie, please walk yourself back to the academy if you don’t have the stamina and patience to perform a proper patrol. It’s not like it’s for the good of our kingdom or anything,” he snarls, and when I turn to see him among the crowd, I find a deathly glare on his face.

Vallie flusters, throwing her hands out at her sides as her leg bounces, and I’m certain a foot stomp is due at any moment. “We’ve been waiting almost four hours. They’re not coming,” she insists.

I tilt my head as I look at her. She seems certain of the fact. Her eyes are wide, pupils filled with truth as she nods profusely.

Why?

Why would she be so certain? How?

Confused, I turn, glancing over my shoulder at Cassian, Raiden, Kryll, and Brody, and I find my vampire staring at her with narrowed eyes.

I shake my head. He’s notmyanything.

Fuck.

“Raiden?” His name is a breath on my tongue, and his gaze whips to mine. I look back to Vallie and then to him, and when our gazes connect again, he nods. Once. That’s all it needs to be for now. We can discuss it in more detail later, but it’s clear he senses what I do.

“I don’t care if we stand here until dawn and no one shows. It’s for our kingdom,” Tora bites, the words rattling inside me as they take purchase, settling deep in my gut.

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