They were lying in his bed, side by side. His skin was warm against hers.
He’d been dozing off as she began, but when she got to the part where Gabe appeared on the roof, his eyes snapped open.
She kept her voice steady, as emotionless as possible; still, he watched her closely as she told him how Gabe had threatened her. The icy terror she’d felt.
‘I was so scared,’ she whispered. ‘He’d have killed Zoe, Carter. I know he would have.’
With a gentle touch, he pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes so he could see her face. ‘What happened?’
She swallowed hard. ‘I hit him at just the right angle, I guess. He was watching Zoe so he didn’t see me coming and he just… fell.’
She didn’t describe the look in Gabe’s eyes – the way he reached for her as if she could save him. Or perhaps to take her with him.
She’d never tell anyone that.
But Carter seemed to know there was more than she could say. He folded her in his arms and held her tight.
‘You did the right thing, Allie.’ He whispered the words against her temple. And she hoped it was true.
He’d finally fallen asleep just as the sun rose. But Allie didn’t want to rest.
She was in the dining hall early for breakfast, but the others were already there – Lucas and Katie, sitting next to Zoe, Rachel and Nicole sharing a plate of toast.
‘There you are,’ Katie said. Her green cat’s eyes were knowing. ‘Busy night?’
Lucas snorted a laugh and Allie flushed.
‘Shut up, Katie,’ she said mildly.
‘No classes today,’ Zoe announced, as Allie took a huge bite of eggs.
‘Really?’ she asked, her mouth full. Although, to be honest, actual education seemed to be the thing Cimmeria Academy was least interested in lately.
Nicole nodded. ‘Planning day. So we have the day off. I think we should do something fun.’
‘I think we should fight,’ Zoe said.
‘I think we should sleep.’ Lucas winked at Katie.
Planning Day. Allie swallowed hard. She had a bad feeling she knew what Isabelle meant by that.
Carter was back. Isabelle had said they would wait until then, but once he’d returned they’d need to move fast.
She lost her appetite.
As the others talked and laughed and the sunlight filtered through the towering windows, Allie’s thoughts swirled. She still hadn’t told anyone – not even Carter – that they planned to leave Cimmeria. Now that the moment was here, she didn’t want to go.
‘What’s wrong?’ Rachel nudged her. ‘You look like someone stepped on your grave.’
‘That’s a horrible saying,’ Nicole chided her.
Everyone was looking at Allie now; she had to say something to explain why she looked like she’d just bitten into her own foot.
‘What if…’ She hesitated. ‘What if we couldn’t stay here?’
Zoe frowned. ‘That’s a stupid question.’
But the others were watching her with increasing wariness. It was Katie who got it first.
‘Here it comes,’ she said quietly. Allie saw her take Lucas’ hand.
‘What do you mean?’ Rachel asked. ‘Is something happening?’
‘Something has to happen,’ Katie said, before Allie could speak. ‘We can’t keep going on like this. I’ve been saying that for weeks.’
‘No.’ Lucas shook his head, his jaw suddenly taut. ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
‘I’m saying…’ Allie took a deep breath. ‘I’m saying we might not have any legal right to this building.’ She tapped her hand against the heavy wood of the table. ‘Even if we did, we can’t keep putting people’s lives in danger for it.’
Rachel was watching her closely. ‘What’s the plan, Allie?’
‘We have options,’ Allie said, although her voice sounded hopeless even to her own ears. ‘There’s a place in Switzerland – Isabelle says it’s amazing…’
Her voice trailed off as the others exchanged disbelieving looks.
‘Switzerland…’ Lucas said, as if she’d suggested Mars.
Allie wanted to argue with them, but her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t want to go, either.
‘I guess it doesn’t matter where we go. We just can’t stay here anymore. Not like this,’ she said.
‘It wouldn’t be the same,’ Nicole said, looking at Rachel.
‘Some people couldn’t go,’ Katie pointed out. ‘Their parents won’t want them to leave the country.’
‘We’d be split up,’ Rachel said.
Zoe, who suddenly looked miserable, frowned at her orange juice.
They’d all been so happy just moments before, and now all the joy had left the group. They were huddled together as if the end might happen at any second.
Allie hated this. Why couldn’t they have even a day to be normal kids in a normal school, with their A levels the biggest obstacle ahead of them? There had to be another way. A way to keep the school and end this fight with Nathaniel at the same time.