Page 114 of The Holy Academy of Witches

“What are you doing here?” He spoke first.

“I could ask you the same thing!”

“Well this is the boys campus, so…”

“I can run where I please.”

“I’m sure you can… Well, go ahead.” He gestured, “I’m not stopping you.” He waved his hand, stepping to one side to allow me to pass. My gaze caught on his outstretched hand, on the knuckles which were split and swollen.

“Theo…”

“What?” He snapped. I bit my tongue hard enough to taste a metallic tang as I looked away from him. The urge to confront him was devastating, to ask him what his problem was, how we could go from being…everythingto… nothing.

He was under my skin in a way no one else was. I was a mess, the nightmares were worse, I couldn’t stop thinking about him, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t… breathe.

“…Nothing,” I replied.

“Okay then.”

I sighed and looked back to find him staring at me the same way I had. Concern and utter disappointment filled the air between us till I felt like I could choke on it. He cleared his throat as though to speak and the look in his eyes made me want to run.

I shook my head, “Please…”

Theo clenched his jaw and jogged away, his knuckle dripping fresh blood like a trail behind him. But I wouldn’t be following him. Not now.

* * *

“You cool?” Sage asked as she joined me at our usual table in the library. She placed a coffee cup down on the mahogany table. No coaster.

“Am I cool? Of course I am, it’s winter.”

She snorted into her drink, “I mean are you okay? You looked sad when I was walking over here.”

“I’m not sad, I don’t get sad. I get mad. Being sad doesn’t do anyone any favours, it has no purpose. It won’t make you feel better about it. It won’t cure someone, it won’t fix any problems. Sadness is a futile emotion.”

“Not sad… got it.” She raised her eyebrows and hid behind her textbook.

“We need to figure this riddle out…”

“Yep… on it.” She took another slurp of her drink, “Do you think it will be another statue?”

“Quite possibly, though I can’t think of any I have seen on campus.”

“What if it’s not even on campus, what if it’s in like New Eldingham…shire… ton.”

“Not even slightly a real place… but I get your point.”

“Dropsbury?”

“Sage, concentrate.”

“Okay, sorry.”

I pondered what she said as I looked over the campus map. “If it’s not on campus and we’re restricting our search to what? England? Then that is going to complicate things.”

“I’ll say.” She began to mutter to herself as she wrote out the riddle repeatedly. “Seek out the holy dressing... the holy dressing… dressing. I could really eat a salad right now.”

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”

---