When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

The whispers continue and people turn to stare. I feel like I’m in a room with the walls closing in. My chest tightens and I can’t take in air. I want to run, and I think Thane knows it because he keeps his hand wrapped tight around mine.

Who made these posts? I don’t have a very long list of suspects. There are four people who know my background, excluding the Order, and while I won’t put something as petty as this past them, I’m assuming adults weren’t involved. That leaves Natalie, Jacobi, Thane, and Shy. Jacobi is ruled out for obvious reasons and Thane was sitting right beside me when the information went live. Shy has done his best to protect me from the Order—or rather, Roth—and he hates Roundtable. Those reasons aren’t as strong, but they have more weight than what I have on Natalie, which is nothing.

She hates me.

After the assembly, Mrs. Cole’s voice crackles over the intercom: Anora Silby, come to Administration. Anora Silby.

I want to sink lower in my seat, but Thane pulls me up.

“It’s going to be okay,” he says.

“How do you know?”

“I don’t know that, but most of the Order is on your side, right? They’ll protect you.”

I can’t tell if he’s being snide or not. Nearly half of the Order would rather see me pay for Chase Lockwood’s death. I wonder how many Valryn out there feel the same? On top of that, the student body at Nacoma Knight seems ever-eager to believe anything posted on Roundtable.

What had Lennon said about Roundtable? You’ll either retain your rank or fall from grace.

At least I don’t have far to fall.

***

My stomach is queasy as I head to the Administration Office. Mrs. Cole is in her usual place behind the glass. When I tell her I’m here to see Mr. Rivera, she says he’ll be out in a moment.

“Did you find your coin, Miss Silby?” she asks while I wait.

“My coin?” I ask, hysteria rising inside me until I remember I'd asked her to check the lost and found last week. “Oh, my coin,” I laugh weakly. “No, not yet.”

“I'll keep a lookout,” she promises.

“Thanks.”

A door opens and Mr. Rivera appears.

“Miss Silby,” he says, stepping aside so I can slip past him into his office. Mr. Val stands there looking out the window.

Mr. Rivera closes the door behind him. “Please, sit.”

I glance at Mr. Val as I do, but he acts like I haven’t even entered the room. I guess he’s here because he decided to take responsibility for me yesterday.

Mr. Rivera takes a seat behind his desk.

“My daughter made me aware of a post on Roundtable that compromises your safety.” I bet she did. “We have managed to shut the site down and are working on gathering the IP addresses of everyone who's accessed it. Still, until we are sure this leak is under control, you are in danger, Eurydice.”

“Roundtable has put a lot of students in danger. Why do you care now?”

I know the answer to that question—because it's me. Because my soul somehow makes me more important than anyone else who fell victim to Roundtable.

“We're not discussing other students. We are discussing you,” he says. “We have already made arrangements for you to stay at Temple through the weekend. Just as a precaution, until we can neutralize this threat.”

I blink. Did he just say what I think he said?

“What’s Temple?”

“Temple is home to several Valryn, and the temporary home to others. It’s far more accommodating than the Compound. Indeed, there are no cells, just bedrooms.”

Ironic they think to disguise a prison with comfort. I’m not buying it. Thane warned me about this. Besides, I have more important things to do—I need to find out who posted my life on Roundtable, who reanimated Lily and took my coin, but I know their argument: I’ll have plenty of time for that at Temple. Alone. In a room that’s not my own.