CHAPTER 9
That night as I lay on my pallet, waiting to make sure the other servants were truly asleep so I could have one last visit to the library, the door to the room softly swayed open. Dimly glowing wizards’ orbs hung from the hallway ceiling in case anyone needed to traverse the castle after dark, but no silhouette appeared in the doorway. No one seemed to be there at all.
Just as softly as the door had opened, it shut.
I saw no one enter, which meant the intruder was using an invisibility spell. Probably not one of the wizards. Neither would have felt the need to cloak themselves. None of the apprentices had ever come here before, but one might have come to make mischief. A serving girl who was being sold in the morning was fair game.
I shut my eyes and listened. Next to the fireplace, the master cook snored like an angry boar. Someone turned in their sleep and their straw crunched. I could barely make out the sound of careful footsteps winding around sleeping forms.
I hoped Ronan was coming to say goodbye but didn’t let myself dwell on that hope. I was tired of disappointment.Perhaps my forays into the magic library had been discovered, and someone was waiting to follow me there and entrap me.
Instinctively, I moved my hands in front of my heart, covering my mark. The footsteps came nearer. I kept very still, reminding myself to breathe like one asleep. The footsteps stopped at the side of my pallet.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Ronan’s voice softly murmured words above me. Not words I was meant to hear. He was repeating some unfamiliar incantation. I could tell from the position of the sound that he’d gone from standing to kneeling.
My first thought was that he meant to remove my mark. I had to counteract his incantation. I searched through my memory and the needed spell appeared. The pages floated in my mind, preserved exactly as they’d been written.
I’d already known I could recall any spell I’d read, but until this moment, I didn’t realize my memory also contained spells Ronan had learned. Because the spell I saw wasn’t from a book. It was four incantations cobbled together, scrawled in his handwriting on a scrap of parchment.
I didn’t have time to contemplate the implications—the vast number of spells I had at my disposal. None of it mattered unless I protected my mark.
He gently laid his hand on my cheek. That wasn’t part of the spell. The touch was so light it had clearly meant to go undetected. I couldn’t decide whether I should pretend to wake up or keep feigning sleep. What was he doing?
Hand still on my cheek, he let out a sharp intake of breath. That decided the matter. My eyes flew open. “Who’s there?” I hissed.
He moved his hand but didn’t answer. He made no sound at all.
I pulled myself up on my elbows and glared in his direction. “Ronan, I know it’s you. Why are you here?”
No answer. Whatever incantation he’d done, he wasn’t about to admit it.
“Come to say goodbye?” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice.
I knew he would give me some unsatisfactory excuse for sending me away. He’d tell me I was safer away from Wolfson. I, in return, would point out I was safe enough now that Ronan had scorned me, and I’d be even safer when he left Docendum. None of the other apprentices would care if Wolfson dangled me in front of his beast. No one cared about a scarred serving girl.
I waited for an explanation. None came.
I sat completely up. The door hadn’t reopened, so I knew he was still inside. Most likely still beside me.
“Once I’m at Carendale Castle,” I whispered, “will I ever see you again?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, still close to my pallet. “It would be best if you forgot me.”
“You know I can’t.” I narrowed my eyes, fruitlessly scanning the area for some sign of him. “One doesn’t forget about the things one loves or hates. I’ll let you ponder which category you fall into.”
A low sigh. I wished I could see his expression to see how my words affected him. His voice went soft. “I never should’ve taken you from the kitchen. All I did was harm you. If you hate me, hate me for that.”
To wish our friendship away, to wish away my education—it was too much. Almost without thinking I reached out and slapped him. “You’re as arrogant as the rest of them.”
He took hold of my wrist, perhaps to keep me from striking him again. “I am sorry, Sella. So very sorry. I’ve left a few coins underneath your pillow. I wish it were more, but it’s allI have.” The wizards didn’t allow the apprentices to have any money while they stayed at Docendum. I didn’t know where he’d gotten any coins. Then I remembered the incantation. Had he found a spell to produce them? Such a thing was supposed to be impossible.
“I don’t want your money,” I said. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“I know. That’s why I was trying to give you my gift without waking you.” He let go of my hand.
“Did you burn down Colsbury?” I threw the words at him.