“Don’t trust me then, Zeph. No one is forcing you to leave. If you’re that worried about us, stay here.”
“Can’t be done. And I need assurances from you.”
He hadn’t let go of my hair. Instead, his grip was getting tighter, and his wrists bent to force my head further back.
“I need you to swear not to talk to Theo Brant while I’m gone. Not a word, not even a courtesy hello.”
“Will swearing put your mind at ease?”
“Probably not, but Arvo will tell me if he sees you together. Then at least I’ll know for certain if you can be trusted.”
“Why Theo so fucking particularly? Why not Sol or Arvo?”
“Because Theo is the one that matters. I’ve seen the look in your eyes when you’re with him.”
In that moment, I hated him. It was like the last six months had never happened, and we were back where we started, with Zephyr batting me around like a sadistic cat with a wounded mouse. He knew I had no choice but to acquiesce. If I told him to go to hell and fled his car, I would be alone and lost on a barely accessible mountain peak.
“Fine,” I grunted. “I swear.”
“What do you swear?”
“I swear not to talk to Theo.”
He released me, and I rolled off him and back into the passenger seat.
“See that you don’t,” Zephyr replied, staring at the stars.
CHAPTER 14
THEO
Zephyr Williams has been gone a week. It was like the air pressure around Stormcloud Academy was released. The pounding in my head was relieved. The only thing was that I couldn’t get a moment with Biba. She started arriving at our Professor Gianis class at the last minute and leaving as soon as we were dismissed. She was still sleeping in Zephyr’s suite, from what I could tell, and she didn’t eat in the dining hall, ever.
It was like she became a ghost. Everywhere I went, I scanned the perimeter, looking for her. Nothing.
What I wanted most was to resume my investigation into Gail’s killing. Ever since Amelia warned me to stand down, my mind was roving in every direction at once. Why was Amelia so bloody concerned with my safety? What about Biba’s—or poor Gail Monfort? I couldn’t stand the idea of Gail disappearing down this school’s memory hole. The reason for her death lay in the story of her father. Whatever happened to him at Stormcloud laid the foundation for all the treachery that followed. I needed to learn the story of that generation of Kings. To do that, I needed access to the school archives, and I only knew one person who could get me in there.
So I thought hard about places that Biba would have to go. Where could I position myself so that I was guaranteed to intercept her? I couldn’t wait by Zephyr’s room: the other Kings would see me, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Then it hit me. The infirmary.
Biba was still working for Amelia three afternoons a week, mainly delivering messages and student files around the school. And there were only two places on campus that needed student files every single day: the bursar and the infirmary. Finances for the delinquent accounts and physical stats for the ill. I could have positioned myself at either point during her shift with Amelia, but I chose the infirmary. Unlike the bursar’s office, the physician’s office was accessible through a secret passage.
I knew the passage by heart. Amelia had shown it to me in my first months at Stormcloud Academy. It had been a small act of kindness from the school’s headmistress for an overwhelmed orphan who was totally lost.
I took a seat in the abandoned medical amphitheater adjacent to the physician’s quarters. After half an hour, I heard footsteps on stone. It could only be her.
“Jesus Christ!” Biba screeched as she turned the corner and saw me. “Why are you skulking around in here?”
“No other option. I needed to see you.”
“This place is creepy enough without you sneaking around.”
“It’s not that creepy. Just a spot for some Victorian-era public surgery.”
“What do you want, Theo?”
She wasn’t pretending. She genuinely wanted to be free of this conversation as quickly as possible. Fine, I thought, this won’t be a social call. Purely business.