Page 13 of Rules of Stone
“Sir,”Tye murmurs to me.
Bloody stars.“Yes, sir,” I tell River.
River nods. “Despite its grander-than-life reputation, Great Falls Academy is in truth a poor fit for a significant number of would-be students, Lady Leralynn.” River’s schooled gaze studies me with all the passion of a glass vase. “As such, I highly encourage anyone who finds our rules and customs unpalatable to depart sooner rather than later.”
My throat closes, my mind trying and failing to overlay this official with the male who took me in my bedchamber two days ago. I reach inside myself on instinct, searching for the mating bond before remembering the amulets’ effects on it. Amulets that all four of my males were wearing when I took mine off to gallop toward the odd call of magic. My mind races, wanting to follow this trail, but Arisha nudges me, and I realize with a start that I’ve never replied to River’s…invitation to get out of his life.
Shoving all thought and feelings into the darkness of my mind, I raise my chin at the deputy headmaster, who wears a soldier’s epaulets and a familiar face.
“Understood, sir.” My voice is clear and uncowed, mirroring nothing of my soul. The voice I cultivated under Zake, where signs of weakness led to pain. “I will apply myself to learning swiftly.”
River nods again, dismissing the new student as a nuisance while his attention shifts to Tye, whom he’d originally approached to see. The commander’s already wide shoulders spread further, encroaching on the other’s space without him ever taking a step. “A valuable medallion pendant has disappeared from my office, Tyelor,” River says, his voice low. “Would you happen to know anything about it?”
Well, Autumn did say the veil amulets drew what they could from true history—and a good portion of Tye’s was spent in and out of arrest. If I wasn’t ready to scream in frustration, I might actually chuckle.
“I don’t think so, sir.” Tye cocks his head, feline impertinence in every lithe line of his beautiful body. “What did it look like?”
“A disk. The size of a small saucer. With designs inscribed.”
Any trace of amusement drains from me. The key to Mystwood—that’s what River describes. Our one and only way of getting home. Gone. And beyond believing it a valuable trinket, I don’t think River even knows what he lost. The chill rushing over my skin turns to ice. The tear in the fabric, the threat to the mortal realm—none of it went away with my males’ lost memories. And now I can’t even travel back to summon aid.
“Hmm.” Tye rocks back on his heels. “I’ve seen nothing of the sort, sir. But I will certainly keep my eyes open for it.”
River steps forward, towering even over Tye. “If you locate it, please inform the culprit that thievery will not be tolerated at Great Falls. From anyone. No matter how many medals they’ve won. Have I made myself clear?”
Tye blinks, spreading his hands in innocence. “Of course, sir. As it shouldn’t be.”
River steps back, his eyes brushing me again, the smooth planes of his face impassive. Frowning, he focuses on my neck, as if he can see the veil amulet there. My breath halts, my body going still.Do you see something, River? Do you remember who I am?
The male crooks a finger at me.
I approach obediently, my heart beating a thready quick beat under his relentless gaze.See me, River. Feel me.
As I stop before him, River stretches his hand toward my neck. Toward—
“Jewelry is not permitted with gray uniforms,” he says, and I realize his intention to pull the amulet off. My hands rise defensively, my head shaking in desperate protest that River ignores as his fingers wrap around the pendant and pull. The chain digs into the back of my neck as it breaks.
Holding my breath, I wait for the gasps and panic, the shock as my disguise comes crashing down around me, its careful preservation the only thing that’s been preventing me from hauling my males out by the shirt collars and forcing them to remember me. But nothing comes. Blinking, I finally focus my eyes on exactly what River pulled from my neck and tossed like a bit of rubbish onto the tabletop. Not the veil amulet, but the intricate four-corded necklace he gifted me with the morning we left Lunos.
“It can cause injury during training,” he says, already moving away. “You may wear jewelry only with formal dress.”
I breath in the mix of relief and hurt, using the time it takes to sweep the broken gift into my pocket to reclaim my schooled face. “Did you take River’s pendant?” I ask Tye once I’m certain the other male is well out of earshot. Tye—myTye—very well might have, for the amusement of it if nothing else. But the male before me knows nothing of his own roguish history in Lunos.
Tye grins. “Actually, I’ve no notion what River was talking about. But if I find it, I’ve some idea how much it’s worth now, aye?”
* * *
We returnto Coal for more training after breakfast and dive into the academic components of Great Falls’ famous education in the afternoon. This opens another gaping problem. Raised as a stable hand, I learned my letters from a kind older servant who took me under her wing. The difference between basic reading and strategic analysis, however, is as vast as the rift between realms. The veil amulet might have convinced the teachers I belong in their class, but it can’t compensate for the fact that I understand nothing of what’s placed before me. Especially when I’m busy trying to work a way out of this mess.
Pulling a shawl tight around my ornate silver dress—Arisha prompted me to change for dinner after classes ended, having the decency to only raise a single brow when I pulled out one of Autumn’s ridiculously royal creations—I step into the library where Arisha, Tye, and I are to meet up for study that I’ll understand none of. The deeply carved wooden doors open into a great round room with a domed red-and-gold ceiling, the walls lined so high up with shelves of books that ladders stand beside them to help pull down the volumes. The trove of information surrounding me hums with the reminder of what I’m missing. How much I don’t know about what happened to my males—and need to figure out. Quickly.
I realize my hands are shaking and sink into the first high-backed chair I find, grateful to have arrived early. It’s the first quiet moment I’ve had to think since waking up here at dawn. My mouth is dry, my heart beating a thin pattering rhythm against my ribs, my stomach hollow despite the lavish spread of healthy food at dinner. Leafy salads and roasted root vegetables and poached chicken breasts. Even the perfectly seasoned risotto tastes like dust in my mouth. Bracing my elbows on the table before me, I cradle my aching head and force myself to sort through the disaster again.
The males and I were approaching Academy grounds…The images swim in my head.
No. I approached alone, clutching the Academy invitation that freed me from Lord Zake of Osprey, who took me in as his ward.
No. No, that isn’t right.
