Page 104 of Insolence
I study all night, finally losing consciousness on top of my scattered workbooks shortly before dawn. I’m jolted awake by the clock tower and have to blearily check my alarm clock.
9:00.Shit.No breakfast for me today, and I couldn’t have had more than ninety minutes of sleep.
I shimmy into fresh clothes and drag a comb through my hair at breakneck speed. Then jog downstairs and sprint across the courtyard, barely slipping into Sanctuary Hall as the first prayer of the day comes to a close.
We pour into the courtyard after morning prayers. Absentminded and dreamy as usual, the betrothed amble back toward our residence. The three of us head in the same direction toward class.
Cara nearly walks into me, so I weave and practically step on Sadrie.
Set on disregarding me, as has been her habit since our argument, she turns to Cordelia. “Ready for the exam?”
“Morning, Tiss,” Cordelia sighs. “Didn’t see you at breakfast.”
“I slipped in quietly.”
Sadrie snorts and shakes her head, averting her eyes when I glance her way. A bolt of angry heat shoots through me. A snappy retort perches on the tip of my tongue when a too-familiar betrothed girl bobs into view.
We’re passing the Waymark when I notice her crossing toward the laundry lines against the flow of traffic. Walking on the other side of the tree, she lugs the type of wooden bucket used for composting kitchen scraps.
Her body language and pace distinguish her from the typical betrothed girl at a glance.
“She’s the only one that seems alert,” murmurs Cordelia, watching her too. “Have you noticed her around, doing odd jobs?”
A member of the Temple Guardsmen follows perhaps ten steps in her wake, sunshine glinting off of the wicked-looking dagger slung at his hip. His hand rests casually on the hilt.
“Who? Lydia?” whispers Sadrie, eyeing her up. “Yeah, whatever the rest of them are being given, it doesn’t affect her one bit. Probably why she’s always got a guard on her.”
“And why she’s never at meals or prayers,” says Cordelia.
The girl,Lydia, must get the sense she’s being watched because her head whips around, returning our stares.
I stop cold in my tracks.I thought you were dead.
Sadrie forges ahead, but Cordelia stops when I do. “What’s the matter?”
The prominent beauty mark and fall of sleek, dark hair are the first things I focus on past the sheer veil. The fact that her mouth is sewn gruesomely shut with thick, black thread registers almost simultaneously.
A strange mix of horror and relief splintering through me, I dredge up a thin smile, remembering that Elodie warned me against discussing her further. “Nothing worth mentioning.”
Setting my sights on the Learning Annex, I force my feet back into motion and pray my next words come out casually: “Let’s go pass that test, huh?”
The Screamer’s glare is palpable as we pass, her dark brown eyes alert and clear and angry.
Part 3
Bonfires
Chapter 32
Itissa
My graded exam lands on my desk the following Hyday.
“Well done, my dear,” smiles Lady Maida.
“Ipassed?” I blurt. Just barely, from the looks of it. But I did.
Ghisele snorts audibly from two desks in front of me. Otherwise consumed in independent study, she’s angled over a botanical illustration, her free hand toying with one of her earrings.
