Page 25 of A Dusk Of Stars

I stop and go back to peering into the gym to search for the source of commotion, my eyes finally landing on one of the male students producing choked-up sounds, standing surrounded bycolleagues with his hands wrapped around a throat that’s too thick to be human.

Blood curdles in my veins when I realize he seems to be in the middle of an unsuccessful shift, which can be life-threatening.

Just as I’m about to barge into the gym, I watch Bane approach the group, its members letting him through. Pressing his head against his shoulder to stay on the phone, he pries the student’s hands away, grabs him by the neck and slams a fist straight into his windpipe.

The next thing I hear are violent gasps for air and breaths of relief.

As if nothing happened, Bane turns on his heel and starts walking back to his desk, taking his phone in his hand again.

“Um, Professor,” one of the other students starts insecurely. He waits for Bane to stop, turn around and raise his eyebrows at him to proceed. “Should we take him to the hospital or something?”

Bane shrugs. “It’s all the same tome.”

With that, he goes back to his conversation, moving for the desk again as the students choose to just obediently go back to training.

For a second, I remain standing there, surprise and disgust twisting my face as I watch him slow down. Then there it is again, that feeling that he’s about to spot me, and I tear myself away from the door and get moving, my eyebrows pulled down and my mind buzzing with impressions.

Thank gods I won’t be forced to suffer through any classes withthatguy. It would’ve potentially been the literal death of me.

***

I’m no less grumpy when I find myself back in the Entrance Hall and decide to finally grab something to eat. Still feeling the burn of embarrassment from Lorcan’s class, I try to avoid catching anyone’s glance as I walk through the intricately carved archway and into the buzzing cafeteria. It’s a hall large enough to accommodate hundreds of students, some waiting in line at the serving counters stretching from my left, some already sitting around countless tables placed along the three central soda fountains.

I am famished, so I start piling all the delicious food onto my plate. Just as I’ve filled it up, I catch a lanky shifter looking at my plate with a smirk. I forgot, wefatpeople are never really allowed to be hungry. Or even eat, for that matter. We should subsist solely on sunshine and willpower until everyone else decides we’re skinny enough. Right.

Since I’m really not in the mood for judgy assholes right now, I lock eyes with him and shove another breakfast burger onto my plate with a smile. I know that the look in my eyes sayscontinue and perish, so he quickly looks away. I shake it off, and go to sit at one of the few empty tables to the right, sunlight slanting through the high windows.

My stomach is grumbling, but now that the pile of food is in front of me, I can’t seem to bring myself to start eating it.

What should I do? How on earth am I supposed to pass the first-term exam?

I turn to look out the window, onto the serene landscape that is the castle grounds, the faint but still warm autumn sunlight brushing the grass, the trees, the statues.

That Lexarcanum book did what it did and there was that strange voice inside my head, but today’s class has only made it clearer to me how absurd this all is.

“Mind if I join you?” I hear a familiar voice to my right.

My eyes snap in its direction and I see Serra standing next to my table, leaning on her cane. What the hell doesshewant? The look she’s throwing me is not hostile, but itisweird.

“Of course,” I say, gesturing for her to take a seat.

She does, trying to mask the pain by gritting her teeth as she lowers herself into the chair.

Then she locks eyes with me again. “I apologize for my behavior last night,” she says simply. “But you have to understand, it came as sort of a shock, learning you were one of us.”

I frown. “Unpleasant surprise, for sure.”

“Not the fact of your bloodline,” she replies with a shake of her head. “I’ve never had anything against you, Anna.” She pauses before she asks, “Do you mind if I call you that?”

It takes me by surprise, but I nod. I wouldn’t mind seeing what her agenda is here.

“It’s all everyone in the Lounge can seem to talk about this morning,” she continues as she throws a glance around the cafeteria. Then she turns her eyes back onto me. “How none of us figured it out earlier. I mean, Lorcan has known your scent for years now, and I myself can’t count how many times I’ve used Sight in your presence. For neither one of us to register you weren’t a Scion…”

Ah, so she’s come to check out the circus freak. I let out a scoff. “You jumped straight to thinking I’d been hiding it.”

She shakes her head. “Nevermind that. What I can’t stop thinking aboutnow…” She pauses, making me want to know what she’ll say next. “Is how disoriented and possibly even terrifying this all must be for you.”

I have to fight not to laugh, that’s how much I donotbelieve her. “I’m fine, thanks.”

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