‘That was the only time it was like that. Nathaniel straight out told me he was hoping to upset you. The other days I was locked in a room. It wasn’t fun but at least I wasn’t chained up. The guards weren’t friendly but – I wasn’t beaten.’
Allie didn’t know what to think. She’d been so afraid when she saw Carter chained to a wall like an animal. She was sure he’d been suffering the worst kind of torture.
‘Nathaniel and his games.’ Isabelle gave a tired sigh. ‘He never wearies of them.’
‘They did question me a lot,’ Carter volunteered. ‘About you.’ He glanced at Allie, who sat next to him. ‘And Allie.’
This caught Raj’s attention. ‘What kind of things did they want to know?’ he asked. ‘Who interrogated you?’
‘Nathaniel,’ Carter said. ‘I never saw Gabe after the first couple of days. What happened to him? Anyone know?’
Allie flinched, tightening her grip on his hand.
‘We can talk about that later,’ Raj said smoothly. ‘Let’s talk about the interrogation first.’
‘He wanted to know how often Lucinda came to visit Allie and Isabelle. How close they were. What their plans were.’ He looked at the headmistress. ‘He seems obsessed with the idea that you have some big plan for the Orion Group. He thinks you’re plotting to undermine him. To turn his supporters against him again. He’s really insecure about everything, as far as I could tell.’
Raj rubbed a hand across his jaw, his face dark with thought. ‘I’d like to go over all of this with you in private.’
‘But not tonight.’ Isabelle stood up. ‘It’s nearly three in the morning. Let’s get some rest and start again in a few hours. There is much to discuss.
‘Let’s do it with clear heads.’
Allie and Carter strolled down the wide, formal hallway towards the stairs, talking in low whispers. After they’d left Dom’s office they’d let the others go on ahead. It was their first chance to be alone.
The school was so silent. It was as if they had the entire building to themselves – maybe even the whole world.
Carter looked around, taking in the faint shadowed gleam of the oak-panelled walls, the barely visible oil paintings on the walls, the heavy marble-topped tables, huge vases of roses. He sniffed the air, inhaling the faint perfume of wood smoke that always seemed to permeate the building, even in the summer.
‘You know, I know this sounds stupid but… sometimes I wondered if I’d ever see this place again.’ He smiled, embarrassed by his own sentimentality. ‘It seemed so… far away.’ He reached out, running his fingers across the walls. ‘I had a lot of time to think, you know? And one day I realised this is the only home I’ve ever known. I was born here. Leaving it would be like… I don’t know. Losing a limb.’ He tilted his head to see the crystal chandelier floating above the sweeping curve of the staircase. ‘It would break my heart.’
Allie’s throat tightened.
She would have to tell Carter about their plans to leave. But she wouldn’t tell him now. He needed time to be home. To feel safe.
‘I love it here, too,’ she said, meaning it.
Turning into the grand, curving staircase, they began to climb. Their steps were perfectly in sync. She kept peeking at him out of the corner of her eye. His gaze was straight ahead; he appeared lost in thought.
At the top, they stopped and turned to face each other. This was traditionally where the genders parted. Girls turned left towards the stairs to the girls’ dorm. Boys turned right, towards their own quarters.
Carter looked down into her eyes. His lips curved into a wicked smile. The look in his eyes sent butterflies swirling inside her.
‘Want to break the Rules?’
His room was just as she remembered it, much like hers, with an arched window above the desk, a narrow bed and desk. It had dark blue bed covers, and a white blanket was folded neatly over the foot of the bed. Someone had turned down the bed and left the bedside lamp on.
His pyjamas had been set out for him as well, along with a dressing gown and a stack of fluffy white towels.
It was just so Cimmeria, Allie thought fondly.
Welcome back from your kidnapping. Here’s a soft towel.
‘This is going to sound odd,’ he said, his tone unexpectedly cautious, ‘but would you mind if I took a shower?’ He tugged at the plain grey t-shirt. ‘I want to wash all the Nathaniel dirt off and just be me again.’
Allie could understand that completely.
‘Go,’ she said, leaning back against the desk. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll just be in here and going through your stuff.’
Laughing, he grabbed a towel and his shower things.
‘Happy snooping,’ he said, before closing the door behind him.
As soon as he was gone, though, Allie’s smile faded. Without him in it, the room felt empty. She didn’t know what to do with herself.
For a while she sat in his chair, staring out the window. Because of the darkness outside, she saw mostly her own reflection.
She leaned forward, mildly horrified. Her hair was a mess.