Page 163 of On Wings of Blood

Florence clapped her hands together briskly. “Now, I need you all to go back to your rooms. The tremors are over. Go to sleep. Everything will be fine. I’ll check in with Professor Wispwood and the headmaster in the morning, and I promise you, if there is any cause for concern, we will let you know.”

The crowd began to move, thinning out of the corridor as the students moved back to their rooms.

I turned to Florence. “That was impressive.”

She shrugged modestly but looked pleased. “Just doing my job.”

“And Thomas isn’t,” Vaughn pointed out.

She sighed. “He’s probably snuck out again. Can you call it sneaking out if you’re going to feed a highblood student? I’ve never been sure about that.”

“I didn’t know First Years could be used as thralls,” I said.

“Yes, well, apparently Thomas ‘belonged’ to this highblood before he arrived at Bloodwing. They came here together from the student’s family estate. It’s rare but it’s acceptable. What’s more unusual is Thomas being made a warden.” Florence looked frustrated. “I don’t see the point of it. He hardly helps the First Years at all.”

“Highblood nepotism knows no bounds.” I peered past her into her room. “Where’s Neville?”

“Gone again,” Florence said, pushing a lock of black hair off her face. “Probably to Blake. I hope he’s all right.”

I shook my head dutifully, but a part of me wondered if Neville slept on Blake’s bed. The memory of the dream was still fresh in my mind. Suddenly my own bed seemed very cold and empty.

“Sleep in my room tonight?” Florence suggested.

“Sure, great idea,” Naveen quipped. “Sleepover party, Vaughn?”

Vaughn smiled. It was the first time I’d seen him really smile in a long time.

Florence punched Naveen’s arm playfully. “I meant Medra.”

“Oh, right. That makes sense,” Naveen agreed. “I’m still hurt though.”

“I’d have invited you if I didn’t happen to know you snore like a bear,” Florence said, giggling. “We used to have sleepovers when we were little,” she explained to Vaughn and I.

We said goodnight to Naveen and Vaughn, and then I followed Florence into her room.

Once we were snuggled up under her blankets, I started to relax. Florence slept with a huge, heavy comforter on top of the other blankets. Its heaviness was nice. Like a warm hug.

Like Blake’s body pressing against you, said an evil voice in my head. I told it to go to hell.

“I got invited to the Dance of the Longest Night,” said Florence, her voice starting to drift. “Did I tell you?”

I sat up in bed. “No, you most certainly did not. By who?”

Please say Naveen, I prayed.

She hesitated. “I actually received two invitations.”

“Oh, really? I’m not surprised. You’ll probably get a dozen more before the ball,” I teased. “After all, you are the most brilliant girl at Bloodwing. Not to mention one of the most beautiful.”

“Ha. I don’t know about either of those things,” Florence said, scrunching up her nose. “I work hard. That’s all.” She hadn’t dimmed the lamp by her bed yet and I could see her black eyes were bright with excitement.

“You work very, very, very hard. Now tell me who asked you,” I prodded. “You know you want to.”

She blushed slightly. “One was a student from House Orphos.”

“A highblood?” I asked in alarm.

She shook her head. “No, a strategist. Ebbot. He’s a Third Year. We’ve studied together a few times. You know I’ve been taking some advanced classes.”

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