Chapter 22

I practically sprinted back into the lunch room where the others were setting their plates aside. All faces turned to look at me abruptly, some looking alarmed; even Dornell’s eyes were wider than usual.

I gave them all a gigantic smile, and I truly meant it.

Elodie glided over to me with astounding speed. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you, what happened?”

“Veille wasn’t back yet?” I heard Syrieze mumble to Torvis, who shrugged. I ignored them both.

“I met with Severo! He told me so many things, like how he and Threwon actually want to help us escape. But that’s not all; he also said it will be a lot harder than we thought. Well, I guess so, I mean we hadn’t really thought much of anything yet, because we didn’t know, but still… Oh! And magic is real, you guys. I’m pretty sure it’s being used right here in the Estate.”

Dornell merely nodded. “It makes sense.”

A moment of silence ensued while I stared at them like a puppy. Then, Zaevia exclaimed, “I’m sorry – what makes sense? Magic? I feel like I’m missing a whole lot of context here!”

“The columns in Mannerly Hall” Dornell muttered as though that explained everything. Zaevia gave him the side-eye. “Come again?”

Ellie was shaking her head. “Wait, wait, back up. So Threwon’s willing to help us after all? Did you actually hear this from her?”

“She was there. Threwon’s the one who brought Severo to me, and he said that she’ll know more about how we can get out of here. He mentioned there are other exits that might get us past the guard. But he also implied that the outer walls would try to keep us in, and that’s the part I don’t really– “

I suddenly whipped my head around as a fleeting thing caught my attention, back within the connecting hallway. My neck hairs stood on-end. Strange; nothing was there now. What was it that startled me? Something I heard, something I saw? Something I felt?

I scanned every inch of that opening, hardly daring to move. Nothing was present; nobody could have been in that hallway just moments ago. It could have been a bug, perhaps? But no bug would ever cause me the cold, clammy sensation now filling up within my gut.

“Veille” Ellie asked worriedly, “are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

I dragged my eyes away from the opening. “We’d better not talk about this now. In fact, don’t even think about it until tonight when I can fill you all in. Got it?”

Without waiting for a response I turned and left the room, leaving my friends standing there, bewildered – along with the lunch I never even got to eat.

~

The rest of the day passed without incident. I continued to instruct Mylannes, Norn and O’mally to the best of my ability, but my head wasn’t even present. Nor, too, were theirs; curiosity tinged with nervousness lay behind their eyes every time I met them, and I began feeling guilty at keeping them in the dark even for a few hours, no matter how necessary it may be.

What was it that warned me to keep these secrets close? Maiden Severo had said something back in the hallway, about how my instincts were well-placed, and I wished now more than ever that he’d explained himself. But I clearly wasn’t fretting for no reason.

I trusted my friends. All of them. Even Torvis, who, I forced myself to admit, maybe wasn’t really so bad after all. I still wouldn’t let him have Ellie, though. I wasn’t concerned about trusting them, or even about one of them letting something slip where and when they shouldn’t.

There was just something about the Estate that made me feel uneasy… I mean besides the fact that it raised and hoarded children for slave-like purposes, including sexual gratification. I felt like someone’s eyes were always watching me. I knew who I had to thank for that; she still haunted my dreams now and again, in less and less provocative ways. Funny, how I’d once inhaled her scent and found it relaxing, even seducing.

Madam Dro was still a highly attractive woman by anyone’s standards. The gods only knew the measures she took to draw out such a response from people; was it in her aroma, her scent? Perhaps there really was sorcery behind it, after all.

Regardless of how her clients felt, however, there was no longer any denying that the Mistress of the Estate was much darker than even her lecherous hobbies entailed.

I didn’t know what that meant yet, exactly – but I knew it couldn’t be good.