Page 43 of Trivium

When she finally reached her dorm, Rory was sprawled out on her bed reading. As soon as she spotted Ahmina, she flew to the door and wrapped her arms around her. “You’re back!”

Ahmina rubbed her pounding head. “A fortnight,” is all she could manage to say.

Her best friend knew her well. “Don’t panic! I’ve got all your assignments for you and the professors all agreed to give you an extension on your work until you recovered.” She swallowed Ahmina in another hug. “For a while there we didn’t think you’d…” Her words caught in her throat, her eyes glassy as she released Ahmina.

Rory’s reaction softened something in her, and she pushed her own worries to the back of her mind. “I’m sorry, Ror. I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t even realize I had been bitten until it was too late. It all happened so fast.”

Rory frowned, huffing a breath. “It was just really scary. I thought you were going to die. We all did.” She shifted on her feet, her voice dropping to a whisper as her pale blue eyes welled with tears. “They made us say goodbye to you.”

“Oh.” Ahmina’s heart sank. “I’m so sorry, but it’s okay, Ror. Look at me! I’m perfectly fine.” She lied. Her head felt like it was about to explode, the medicinal drink the Alchemist gave her had yet to do anything but make her feel nauseous, and her body ached—but Rory didn’t need to know all that.

“Yeah, you’re not fine. But you will be,” was all Rory said, squeezing her a bit too hard.

“What happened to Lennox? He had so much…” Ahmina almost didn’t want to ask.

“Blood?” Rory grimaced. “Do you really want to know?”

Did she?

“He sucked the venom out of your blood to save your life.”

Ahmina froze. He did what?

“He’s actually been kind of weird about it,” Rory continued. “You know, normally he’s so cocky about everything. But whenever anyone asked him about it, he wouldn’t say anything. I thought he’d want to tell the whole school what a hero he was.”

The thought of Lennox sucking her blood made her cheeks flood with heat. Words escaped her, so she changed the subject. “Tell me what I’ve missed.” She lay down on her bed, head tucked gently on her pillow as Rory recounted all the gossip of the last two weeks, her voice lulling her to sleep.

30

ZEINA

“What the…” Zeina was tucked in behind the rice bags, hands folded like pretzels under her chin, when the cook’s voice cut through her dream. “There’s a student in here.”

Instinct kicked in, and she was up on her feet before she had even properly awoken.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Me?” As everything came into sharp focus, Zeina tried to come up with an excuse. What reason would Ahmina have for being here? “Must have been sleepwalking. Studying too much. You know how it is!” She tried to laugh it off and slip by the cook when the woman grabbed her arm. Another cook came into view, their frames backlit by the pre-dawn glow pouring into kitchen. It was dark. She couldn’t make out the details of their faces. Maybe, if luck was on her side, they couldn’t make hers out either.

“I’ve worked here for thirty years; you think I can’t tell when a barely out of the womb child like you is lying?”

Barely out of the womb? She was twenty-four. The other cook turned on the light, revealing Zeina’s face. “We will take you to Headmaster Adeyemi at once. It’s strictly forbidden for students to be in the kitchens.”

“Fire!!! There’s a fire in the kitchen!” someone yelled from the second room where the ovens were, separated by a stone wall with an arched doorway. Both cooks turned. A fire this early? They hadn’t even started cooking yet. But Zeina didn’t question it. As soon as the cooks hurried to the ovens, Zeina bolted.

Her lungs burned as she made her way out into the courtyard, flopping down on a bench at the far edge of the gardens, hidden out of sight. The courtyard was stunning; it was a shame she didn’t get to enjoy it more often. She leaned her head back, breathing in the cool morning air. The smell of seasonal fruits in bloom filled her senses, and she relished in the free moment to enjoy it without watchful eyes.

They didn’t catch you, she told herself to help calm her nerves. But deep down, she knew that had been a close one. Too close.

She sighed and a small tickle fluttered on her thigh. She opened her eyes and looked down to see the Purring Songbird sitting there, wings tucked at its side.

Zeina jiggled her leg, thinking the bird would flee, but it stayed, braced on her thigh. She had enough problems; she didn’t need a creature following her around, making her hear things. “Just because I helped you in the Apothecary doesn’t mean you need to follow me around like a lost toddler,” Zeina said, giving the bird a gentle nudge. “Go be free and do your magical creature business away from me, okay? I don’t want any part of it. It will just give them another reason to lock me up.”

The Songbird tilted its head, as if it were listening. You’re welcome. Its soft, ethereal voice was in Zeina’s mind.

Startled, she sat up straight and the bird fluttered, catching balance in the air before settling back down into her lap. Zeina studied the creature for a moment. Unlike the other students here, she hadn’t come to the Academy hell bent on slaughtering creatures beyond the wall. In fact, she couldn’t care less about the creatures, defending the wall, or gaining the adoration of Jarrian society. She had no one to honor or protect. The Academy was a place for her to learn, eat, and sleep. That’s all. And years and years of sneaking around had taught Zeina that assumptions give you nothing but trouble. So instead, she stayed present, open, watchful.

You’re welcome, the bird repeated into her mind. What could the bird have possibly helped her with? She recalled the events of the night: the gentle buzzing of the bird in the pantry with her as she slept, the cooks discovering her, someone screaming “fire!” the lack of smoke present when she ran out of the kitchen.