“Aurelie! That’s terrifying! Why didn’t you tell the guard?”
“Because it didn’t actually try to hurt me,” Aurelie said.
“Aside from yanking your ribbon out of your hair? Maybe it just didn’t get close enough to finish the job!”
Aurelie winced as she tightened the screws on a desk that looked about ready to collapse. She prayed someone small sat there for the rest of term. “Maybe.”
Kiara sat down on the ground, forcing Aurelie to look at her. “Listen, I know your inventing is important to you. But don’t you think it’s possible that you’ve attracted extra attention from these demons by conjuring so many of them?”
“It hasn’t been that many. And these weren’tverita. I’ve never heard of asomniaharming anyone, in fact.”
Kiara, who was usually endlessly patient with Aurelie, shook her head. “We wouldn’t have an entire Iron Guard if they weren’t dangerous.”
“Then it was a coincidence. Probably.”
Kiara’s gaze hardened in a way Aurelie didn’t like one bit. “You’re thinking of doing something stupid, aren’t you?”
Lying to the guards, or even Uncle Leo, was one thing. But lying to Kiara was next to impossible. Aurelie rose from her crouch, moving to another desk. “What gave you that idea?”
Kiara followed. “I don’t know. There’s something off with you this morning. And with your uncle gone, I could see you doing something you wouldn’t dare try with him around.”
“Pffft. I have you to keep me in check.”
“Not at night!” Kiara crossed her arms over her chest. “Do I needto surround Easton Hall with salt? Or perhaps find this giant of a guard and tell him to keep an eye on you?”
At that, Aurelie’s entire face flooded with heat. “No! Absolutely not! I hope I never see that brute again.”
When Aurelie finally glanced at her friend, she was grinning. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I beg your pardon?” She leaned closer to Kiara, though no one else was around to hear them. “I’m an illegal inventor. I keep a pet demon in my lab, Kiki. Do you really think I could possibly have any interest in a demon hunter?”
“A big, handsome, muscular demon hunter who saved you from a runaway carriage?” She smiled, revealing the gap between her front teeth.
Aurelie gaped. “I never said he was handsome! All that country air has clearly gone straight to your head. You should visit the infirmary.”
Kiara trailed Aurelie out of the classroom, still smiling. “You’re the one who’s lovesick.”
“Please be quiet,” Aurelie hissed as a pair of students passed them in the hall, giggling.
“Oh, very well. I’m done teasing you for now. My father wants me to help him with the rain gutters.”
At the mention of Mr. Morel, Aurelie once again thought of Everard. The least she could do was follow up on his identity.
“Can you ask him if he knows a Mr. Everard?” Aurelie asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.
Kiara narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“Just something I’ve been meaning to ask.”
Before Kiara could press her, Aurelie waved goodbye and walked to Professor Booth’s office. The acting dean had requested a meeting with Aurelie this morning, though she hadn’t said why. She was already planning to head to Professor Sheldrake’s tower this afternoon.
“Come in,” the professor called when she knocked on the door. Her office was not as orderly as Uncle Leo’s, but there was a hominess to it that Aurelie found comforting. Professor Booth’s bookshelves were full in a way that looked haphazard at best, though Aurelie had seen her locate books she needed instantly. Whatever system she used worked quite well for her, it seemed.
Professor Booth was at her desk, scribbling notes in a ledger and sipping from a cup of tea. She was a tall, brown-skinned woman with long braids and the warmest smile Aurelie had ever encountered. She could still remember sitting in this office as a child, reading while her uncle and Professor Booth chatted about lesson plans. If she was fortunate enough to become a professor one day, Aurelie would aspire to be like her.
Aurelie sat in the chair across from the large mahogany desk. “You wanted to see me, Professor?”
“Your uncle asked me to check in on you while he’s away. It seems you passed all of your exams, though I think we both know you can do better.”