Page 79 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

“Where is it from?”

He smirks. “None of your business.”

I could press, but it’s not the time to ruminate on silly questions. Instead, I follow him out of the building. It’s past curfew. If someone catches us out, we’ll be in trouble…

If anyone cares. How much of this Order is a secret, and how much do the other professors encourage? There are so many questions I may never get to ask—unless I stop avoiding my parents.

But, more importantly, how muchcanI ask before I give away my true intentions? That’s where Tobey always gets it wrong, and I won’t make the same mistakes they did.

“You’re early,” I say as we stride through the dark, empty courtyard.

“Yeah, well… whatever.”

“Are you trying to impress me?”

“No. I’m trying to impress your dad, all right?”

I can’t tell if he’s angry or if our shared nerves are creating a brick wall between us.

Words spill from my lips before I know what’s happening. “Why did you leave this morning?”

Oh, how I wish the trial were another day—if I could have a day or three to contemplate my feelings, I would have been able to keep it under wraps. Of course, I rarely get what I want these days.

He had been somber before, but a smile dances on his lips now. Of course, he’s pleased by the question. He’s looking for something to dangle over my head, isn’t he?

It’s the same game we’ve always played, but the stakes are higher. We’re entangled now in more ways than one. Hell. I miss when the only way he could rile me up was related to theater.

“I was getting us breakfast—again,” he says. “I thought that was obvious.”

My jaw drops. “Why would it be obvious?”

“Because that’s what I was doing last time. Why didyouleave?”

“I—I—” The words still aren’t coming out like they’re supposed to. I lift my head higher. “Well, I assumed the worst because youarethe worst.”

It seemed like a safe assumption at the time, but now it’s left me looking like a fool.

“And the worst thing you can imagine is me leaving you, huh?”

When we arrive outside the building, I can’t tell if it’s terrible or impeccable timing. We’re only a few minutes late, and that’s good, but it means the conversation must come to a halt.

We can’t have my father overhear. It won’t look good for us even if he thinks it’s a lovers’ spat, and I can’t afford the distraction.

“Oh, be quiet,” I say. “We can’t argue right before the trial. We’re supposed to be a team, and?—”

“You started the argument, princess. I’m asking clarifying questions.”

I march inside without dignifying his response with one of my own, but I barely make it in before he reaches for me. Our fingers intertwine, and his thumb brushes against the back of my hand.

“We need to settle down,” he murmurs, ducking close to my ear. His breath tickles the side of my neck, sending shivers all over my body. “We’re mates, remember?”

I nod silently. How much longer can we play pretend?

The hall is full of the same students from last time and the same professors as well.

Like before, they mingle, but now the energy is sinister. We’re in competition, and we know it.

Professor Fairweather holds out a hat full of tickets. “Take one each. Look at them, but don’t let anyone you’re not allied with see the words.”