Page 154 of Fortress of Ambrose
A reckless part of my brain urges me to race after Ube. To escape and hide away. But those days are behind me. So I loosen the tightness in my chest and release my diadem. I run my fingers across it, savoring the spiky parts and smooth jewels. Then I blow out a breath and hurry back inside.
I sleep on the events of the night and rise before the sun.
When Jordan discovers Ube is not in the basement, I feel his rage all the way upstairs. As he interrogates the maezres, I rush to the dorms, find room sixteen: Yaniselle’s, and summon the darkness to open her locked door. I need proof of her betrayal to show Jordan. Her room is dark. Her bed is neatly made up, her entire space impeccably tidy.
I pick through a few stacks of books beside her bed. Then I thumb through a journal. This one has worn paper and stained pages. The dates are old. More than a few years. I read a few words, and my stomach curdles—letters between Jordan and Yani, from when he was a Ward and she was interning in Alaska. I toss it aside, my magic slipping out and leaving its leather cover burned to a crisp.Oops…
I open her closet and pull out a few of her things, holding them against myself, wondering if it would be easier if I were more like her.She thinks like him.They’re trauma-bonded from what they went through at Hartsboro. I only got a sample of what they endured formany years. When I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, the regalness of my diadem shines even in the poor lighting.
She is gasoline to his fire. I am sand.
I spot her virtue pin box on her dresser open, a full set of pins. But it’s the outside of the box that gives me pause.
It shines.
Its woody, oily stench confirms my suspicion.
This was recently polished.
Half an hour passes. I’ve turned Yani’s room upside down, but there is no evidence she is working with the Dragunhead. I’ve stripped her bed and overturned her drawers. I did a number on her closet and even shattered her mirror.
It’s like when she returns, I’mhopingit turns into a fight, a reason for me to kick her out. Or perhaps it’s something more sickening: feelings that should be beneath me but that creep up like sudden bile. I shove her things out of the way of the door before opening it, making no attempt to put her room back together. Let her find it. This is my House.You meddle with my things, I meddle in yours.
Beside the door, I notice the honing table covering some kind of paneling in the wall. I push it aside and find a trick cabinet, disguised to look like wall. Inside the secret storage are extra pairs of clothes, a few journals, and envelopes banded together. My pulse drums as I thumb through the pages and open the envelopes. But what I find inside makes my heart stop completely.
A series of correspondence with House of Perl.
My eyes race across the first one.
Yani,
Understood. I won’t say a word.
But knowing helps us prepare.
I will let the Head know.
—Adola
PS. My aunt is very ill. Keep her in your thoughts.
“What are you doinghere?” Jordan’s voice startles me. The letters fall to the ground from my shaky hands. Ube was telling the truth. It’s been Yani, a puppet of House of Perl, who is helping the Dragunhead.
“What areyoudoing here?” I ask, realizing Jordan is standing in Yani’s doorway. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a month. “Looking for her?”
“I’m looking foryou. I know where she is. I spent the night watching Erla work. Only to wake up to Ubegone! These people could be hiding hi—”
“They’renot.” My heart ticks. “I saw him flee through the Secret Wood. He was too long gone for anyone to catch him.” I can’t meet his eyes. It isn’t a complete lie, but it’s hardly the truth. The real factor here is that Yani is behind it all. And he can’t see that. She could be bringing the Dragunhead back here, for all we know.
“I stopped in to see Abby.” His gaze darts away from mine. “Afterward, I came looking for you.”
“How is Dexler?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Jordan!” It’s Erla, red-eyed from too little sleep. “Quell. Yaniselle is back with the stones.”
“She’sback?” I ask. “Alone?”
