Page 16 of Rules of Stone
“Are you all right?” Arisha asks with wide blue eyes, holding her armful of books closer to her chest. “Is there something in there?”
“Yes. Stupid ideas,” I mutter, though not quietly enough to get past Tye’s keen hearing.
Throwing his head back, the male laughs, the sound rich and easy. Releasing me much earlier than I wish, he sticks his hands into his pockets, the movement shifting his vest to reveal an embroidered shirt beneath the velvet. The rich blue-and-gold crest of the Prowess Trials—the Alliance’s grand competition of strength and agility—winks at me from the fabric. In Lunos, Tye was once heading for authentic glory, until a jealous prince forced him to abandon the life dream. Now it seems the amulet is giving Tye another chance.
“How old are you, Tye?” I blurt, speaking over whatever Tye or Arisha were about to say next.
He blinks once. “Twenty-two.”
Bloody hell take me. “What do you think of fae?” I press on, little caring for how odd the question sounds. My heart beats fast and shallow against my ribs. I need to know whether Gavriel’s assessment of the danger is true. And I need to know quickly.
Tye cocks his right brow, his wickedly handsome face and green eyes taking on a mischievous tinge. “I think anyone immortal likely has access to old expensive things. And I think I can make good use of such items. Is there one sitting in the library?”
“Tyelor,” Arisha hisses at him. “That is not amusing.”
“You only think so because you can’t see your own face just now.” Tye opens his eyes wide in a fair imitation of Arisha before returning his gaze to me, the humor fading. “Word about fae is that a small gang of the bastards came through Mystwood and kidnapped a virgin last year—and more have crept in since to do murder and worse. Does no good gossip reach Osprey?”
“You don’t actually believe that, do you?” I ask. “About fae being evil, I mean, not gossip’s travel patterns.”
“Don’t know either way, and it doesn’t matter. Braids here is right.” Tye tugs on Arisha’s hair, making the woman scowl. “Talking about fae craft is a great way to end up on an inquisitor’s table having your joints measured for length. And whispering of it on Academy grounds—even theoretically—is a sure way to end up in River’s study.” Tye takes a step toward me, his voice dropping dramatically. “Which means you are a dangerous woman already.”
You have no idea.
“Are you two going to study or exchange taunts?” Arisha demands, tucking her braids out of harm’s reach.
I pull my shawl tighter around my shoulders. “Neither for me, I’m afraid. It’s been a bit of a trying first day, and I’m turning in early. Please enjoy mathematics without my company.” I hurry down the broad stone steps outside before either can ask questions, pausing only to call over my shoulder, “If you are such an impressive athlete, Tye, you could carry Arisha’s books, you know.”
“The lass won’t let me,” Tye calls after me. “Apparently, I’m not to be trusted with such precious artifacts.”
The light notes of Tye’s voice haunt me all the way back to my bedchamber, where I shut the door and slide my back down it until I’m sitting on the cold floor. My hands tremble, and I force myself to take deep, even breaths the way Coal—my Coal—would have told me to do now. This whole mess isn’t prophecy. It’s a mistake. An accident. A by-product of a magical relic shattering beneath a running horse’s hooves.
No, notshattered. I jerk to my feet, my mind racing. The relic was never shattered, just cracked. The pieces might still be reassembled into a whole. If I can find my way back to where it all happened before weather covers the tracks or wrecks the softer insides of the tablet.
Crossing the room, I survey the settling evening through my large window. I’ll have to wait until darkness before standing a chance of going over the Academy wall undetected. Whether the night’s full moon and my immortal eyes will prove enough to let me follow my own tracks back to the forked road where it all started remains to be seen. At worst, I’ll have to wait out in the woods until sunrise. Either way, it’s a plan. After a day stuck in my disguise, going through the motions, it’s action. And that makes me feel better.
I change from my dress into a dark suit of soft leather I’d brought from Lunos, getting myself ready and under the covers before Arisha returns to the darkened room. The woman whispers my name and, upon discovering me seemingly asleep, makes quick and quiet work of getting into bed herself. A quarter hour later, her soft steady breathing fills the bedchamber.
I hope you are a heavy sleeper, Arisha,I mouth shortly after the Academy’s bell tolls ten-o’clock curfew. Swinging myself out of bed, I sheathe my blade down the length of my spine and tuck Shade’s mittens into my belt. Using a few drops of oil from the lock-picking kit, I lubricate the window hinges before swinging them open into the cold crisp night.
The fifteen-foot drop to the ground makes my stomach tighten, but there is little help for it since the door leads to the central square courtyard, where a pair of the Academy’s guardsmen stand watch. Plus, having seen Tye make a similar jump this morning for the sheer showiness of it, I know it can be done. Not letting myself fret over it further, I throw my legs over the window ledge, dangle in the air, and let go.
My legs flex, taking my weight as I land on the soft earth and curse. The jump didn’t break my legs, but I did nearly twist an ankle. A fae body is a nice thing, but without the centuries of training the males have, it will be a long time yet before I can use its full ability. Coal had been working with me on that before we left.Coal.My heart squeezes.
Drawing a few deep breaths, I turn about to examine my surroundings. The backdrop of trees stares back at me, the Academy eerily quiet in the darkness. Closing my eyes, I press into a great oak’s shadow and listen. It truly isn’t fair how much I can hear the humans, their measured steps along the cobblestone paths on the other side of the dormitory, their softly exchanged reports. Curt, professional words of a well-trained guard force.
Great Falls Academy is not taking any chances with security.Riveris not taking any chances. Except for the one he knows nothing about.
Taking a breath, I move deeper into the buffer of wilderness separating the Academy’s core complex from the protective wall around it, a moat of oaks and pines concealing the tall stone eyesore from sight. I marked one of those oaks earlier, with its sturdy branches and close-to-the-wall location, as my exit point. Silvery moonlight slants down through the branches, giving me just enough light. Not an easy climb, but doable. And certainly better than trying to talk my way past the guards at the gate. Finding the tree, I rub my hands over the wide trunk.
“I wouldn’t do that.” The self-satisfied voice purrs so close to my ear that my heart jumps inside my ribs. Tye may not know he’s fae, but he certainly kept both his instincts and feline impertinence when the veil settled over him. “You’ll get yourself caught faster than you can say ‘get lost, Tyelor gorgeous.’”
Heart still pounding, I twist to find Tye leaning against the tree next to mine, his muscled arms crossed over his leather-clad chest. Emerald eyes glowing in the moonlight slide up over my hips and breasts before finally settling on my face, the predatory glint in them so familiar that it hurts, for there is no recognition lurking behind it.
“What are you doing here?” I demand.
“Saving you from a fairly severe thrashing, by the looks of it.” Tye jerks his chin from the tree to the wall. “Do you imagine you’re the first to discover this oak’s convenient location? There’s going to be a guard near here any moment. If you want to get over the wall—and I am rather curious as to what you think you’re going to find there—you’ll have to work a little harder for it.”
“And you’ve an idea of a better path?” I ask. Whether the veil imparted Tye with such knowledge or the rogue’s trained eye deduced it on instinct, I trust the male’s criminal-mindedness over my own any day.
