‘You have a leaf in your hair.’ Zoe observed as she released her.
Flushing, Allie hurried to pull the dried leaf loose from a tangle of dark hair and dropped it on the floor. Across the room Rachel gave her a searching look.
They’d all agreed in advance to meet back here if they became separated – it was one of few rooms in the school never checked by Patel’s guards. Still, it was weird seeing the boys here.
‘So, in the end, it was a success.’ Sylvain’s voice came from the corner and Allie turned to see him sitting on a low bench, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Meeting her gaze, he arched one sardonic eyebrow and she flushed, turning away. It was as if he knew, somehow, what had happened.
She and Carter had barely spoken on the walk back, making their way through the dark woods in near silence. Unfamiliar with this section of the grounds, Allie wasn’t sure where they were but, even though they had to stay off the footpaths, Carter’s unerring sense of direction led them straight to the school building.
‘Depends on how you look at it,’ Carter said now, leaning against the wall, his arms loosely crossed in front of him. Allie was sure he was avoiding her gaze – he seemed to look everywhere except at her. ‘No one got caught but we haven’t learned very much.’
‘I don’t want to say this but… some of the things Eloise said sounded strange to me,’ Nicole said. ‘She didn’t make sense.’
Her words yanked Allie out of her inner turmoil and forced her to focus on what really mattered – catching the spy. Jo. Because Nicole was right. Eloise had been oddly vague and unhelpful – even when her own fate hinged on their ability to help her. She hadn’t sounded innocent.
‘I thought that, too,’ Rachel said, exchanging a despairing glance with the French girl.
A palpable sense of gloom settled over the room. Only Zoe still seemed to have hope.
‘But we haven’t tried yet,’ she said. ‘To find the key, I mean.’
‘Allie, what do you think about this key?’ Nicole looked up at her. ‘Do you believe Eloise?’
Allie rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead – her skin felt gritty. ‘I don’t know if I believe her or not. I know there is a key – I saw it. But as to where she got it or what she did with it… what she said sounded weird. Like she was protecting someone. Besides, if she’s not the spy, and Zelazny’s the one who gave her the key, and he hasn’t told anyone that then…’
‘Then that would mean Zelazny is the spy.’ Sylvain finished the sentence for her.
He’d always been close to Zelazny, and Allie could see how much it hurt him to say that. It must be awful to think that his mentor could have fooled him the entire time. That he might actually be his enemy.
‘I think,’ Rachel said, ‘we need to be very careful right now. Because, at the moment, we have good reasons to be suspicious of pretty much everyone.’
TWENTY-ONE
T
he cold struck her first, then the wind. It must have picked up while she was walking. She didn’t remember it picking up. But suddenly it was howling, crashing the branches together above her head until they roared like the sea, and nearly knocking her down with its sheer force.
Trying to get her bearings, Allie turned in a slow circle.
Where was she? She’d been running for so long she’d lost track of where she was going. Who she was looking for.
‘Allie.’ That was Sylvain’s voice, his distinctive French accent making her name sound like a sigh, a caress.
But she couldn’t see anyone in the dark. There was no moon – the trees were shadows against shadows. The night felt dark and ominous – it had a weight to it that seemed to press down on her, making it hard to breathe.
‘Sylvain? Where are you?’ She craned her neck but saw nothing – nothing but trees.
‘Why did you do it?’
A sob shook her and she covered her mouth with her hand – he sounded so sad. Did he know she’d kissed Carter? How did he find out? They hadn’t told anyone. They could never tell.
‘Do what? I didn’t do anything.’ Her words were insistent but she could hear the lie in her own voice and she knew he must hear it, too.
‘Why weren’t you looking out for Jo?’ Sylvain’s voice sounded condemning. ‘She trusted you. I trusted you.’
Tears were streaming down her face now. She needed to see him. If she could see his face she could convince him that nothing happened. Nothing at all.
‘You can trust me,’ she insisted. ‘Jo can trust me. I won’t let her down.’
His reply was cold.
‘But Jo is already dead.’
It was Allie’s own scream that ended the dream; her own strangled voice.
She must have been crying in her sleep; her pillow was wet from her tears. And she sobbed again now as memories of last night returned to her in a flood.
Why did I kiss Carter? Why did I do that? I’ve ruined everything. Why am I this person?