Rory Blackwood's Arc

Chapter 8 of 13

The lantern in the third-floor window stayed with Rory all the way to her room. Luna saw her looking and squeezed her arm harder. They passed the porter without a word. Void was waiting on the pillow. His bright eyes tracked Rory across the room. She did not speak until the door was shut and the bolt was thrown. "Someone was in that window," Rory said. "That wing's been empty since fall." "I know." Luna sat on the bed. "So we find out who. Tonight. Before they decide what to do with it." Rory pulled her grandmother's map of the academy from under the mattress. The third floor above the east path held four rooms. Three were storage. The fourth had been the old records office, locked since the roof leaked. She marked it with her thumb. "I'll go," Rory said. "We'll go." They took the servant stairs. Void followed three steps behind. On the third-floor landing the air smelled of dust and lamp oil. Fresh oil. Rory's stomach dropped. She drew a small sigil on her palm to hold her magic flat. The records office door stood open a finger's width. Light bled out. Rory pushed it. Headmistress Aphrodite sat at the desk inside. A lantern burned at her elbow. A cup of tea steamed beside it. She did not look surprised. "Close the door," Aphrodite said. Luna closed it. Rory stayed near the wall. Void slid past her ankles and jumped onto the desk like he had been called. "You watched us," Rory said. "I watched the grove. You went into it, and a boy followed. Then came out with her." Aphrodite's eyes moved to Luna and back. "I have not decided what to do about it." "Then why sit here waiting." "To hear what you say when you think I already know everything." Rory's hands went cold. The sigil on her palm itched. She thought of Kael in the shadows past the arch. She thought of Luna's promise on the step. She chose. "I met a boy in the grove," she said. "That's all you saw. I won't tell you his name and I won't meet him there again. Punish me for that if you want." Aphrodite studied her. The tea steamed between them. "A boy," Aphrodite said. "Fine. The grove is closed to you after dark. The east path also. If I see you on either again, I assign a Watcher for the term." She lifted the cup. "Go." On the stairs Luna waited until they were two flights down. "She let you lie." "She let me pick the lie." "That's worse." "I know." Rory looked at Void in her arms. His bright eyes stayed on the landing above. "She knows it's him. She's waiting to see what I do next." Luna nodded once. "Then we stop meeting where she can watch. We move the plan inside."