Page 58 of Insolence
“Invigorating, even.” Gods help me, I’m half-tempted to wring her neck as we set about helping straighten each other’s hair and clothes. But the way her eyes sparkle, her mouth twitching with more barely restrained laughter, fills me with an entirely different sort of heat. “Actually, I think we're both insane.”
She just grins in response, as if she's won some sort of victory.
How can I stay angry with her when part of me wants to laugh about the whole absurd mess too? But I’m not about to encourage her. She’s too much trouble as it is. I'dhateto see what she'd do given the reinforcement.
As soon as we step into the hallway, we run into our search party.
“There you two are!”
Ghisele stalks past Cordelia to face me. “The prioress wants to speak with you, Tiss.” Her eyes are narrowed to thin slivers of jade, the tip of her nose red from the cold. “I don’t know what you did to piss her off, but she’snothappy. Making her wait around didn't help.”
They must have brought the cold in with them because a chill crawls down my spine.There is truly no mercy in this ruthless world.
Chapter 16
Itissa
On the way back to the atrium, I smooth down my hair and the front of my dress, praying my shameless blushing is somewhat under control. I spot Mother Deirdre waiting by the fountain before she sees me.
Her arms are crossed, but she looks more bored than agitated. I pray to every god I can think of that Ghisele was exaggerating.
The prioress pins me with a hard, inscrutable gaze when I approach. “Good evening, Itissa.”
“Prioress,” I answer through swollen lips, feeling as if my recent activities are painfully obvious. I’m holding my breath and waiting for her to see right through me.
“Come, walk with me somewhere we can talk.” She turns aside, heading in the direction of the refectory.
Heart racing, I follow her wordlessly.
I scan the crowd as we walk, at this point wondering if Elodie’shidingfrom me. And the more I think about her mood swings, her guardedness, her caginess, the more I’m starting to wonder if she’s not just keeping out of sight.
A part of me is starting to think she’s hidingsomethingfrom me.
Deirdre and I arrive at the end of the hallway outside of the refectory door. Her gaze is probing when she turns to regard me. “Sister Ailen mentioned you saw something in the early hours this morning. Something that deeply upset you.”
“Right.” I take a step back, feeling like I’ve blundered into a trap. “It was a bit alarming.”
“I’m sure you have questions.” Her voice is mild. “I’m afraid I can’t go into details, but know that we did try toreasonwith the girl. She lost complete control of her faculties and couldn’t be calmed. She would have hurt herself or someone else if she wasn’t stopped.”
“But—” I blink, grabbing my arm. “She was runningaway,Prioress. It looked like Sister Kerrigan attacked her.”
“What Kerrigan did was in self-defense.” Despite the subject matter, that unsettling grin unfurls across Deirdre’s face again. It doesn’t reach her eyes.
The same roiling disquiet from the lottery surges through me. “How… could it have been self-defense?”
She heaves a sigh, as if I’m being deliberately dense. “The girl needed to be brought under control before she caused moredamage than she already had. Like I said, she was entirely beyond reason.”
I don’t believe you.I bite the insides of my cheeks.None of that corresponds with what I saw.But I can’t exactly argue with her about it, either.
“Not everyone adjusts well after the ritual purification, I’m afraid. Regardless of prior consent, it’s a rare hazard of the procedure. But, a hazard nonetheless.”
“Well,” I shake my head, “I got a little worried when I didn’t see her at the ceremony today.”
“She was at the ceremony,” says Deirdre, without missing a beat.
Groping backward, I search my mind for any hint of the Screamer.I couldn’t have missed her. Could I?
But no. I was watching diligently; her beauty mark and shiny, dark hair are so distinct they would have caught my attention.
