Busting out of my new school wasn’t exactly my plan when I first woke up at Beast Academy. A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do, though. Nobody was going to give me answers in this place, so I needed to look outside of it. If I could get on top of the barrier to see what was over the towering wall, then maybe I could figure out where I was. Geography hadn’t been my easiest subject in school, but my skills would have to work. I could research landmarks that I saw or the type of terrain that we were on. Stay hopeful, I told myself. I had to.
In my backpack, I brought my phone, a rope, and a flashlight that I’d found in a dusty supply closet on the first floor of the manor. At dinner, I kept my answers perfectly casual. Not that the guys noticed. They were completely distracted. All of them had deep circles beneath their gorgeous shadowy eyes.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said out loud to my room. “But I’ll figure it out on my own.” I was becoming a young woman who constantly talked to herself.
At midnight, the manor was quiet as I slipped out of a first-floor window. I chose one of the studies that was rarely used because Theo mentioned that Dracus never used dragon magic on the unused rooms. It was too dangerous to leave through the front door. If they—or someone else—caught me, I’d tell them that I was going to meet someone or that I’d run off to cry about my parents. Who could argue with a date or tragedy? I’d figured it out.
The manor’s gardens were eerily quiet. I tried to hold my breath as I slipped through a gap in our fence. I’d seen a wild rabbit do it earlier and thanks to my lack of appetite, I wasn’t exactly as curvaceous as I used to be. My pants snagged on the fence, but I pulled the leg free, making sure that the errant string went with me. No evidence.
If anyone was up, they could find my scent easily on material things. Tonight was windy in all directions. Perfect for me. Before dinner, I’d even left a few bottles of water that I’d used this week all over campus. My scent would be blowing all over the place. Not the best for the environment but Priscilla mentioned that saliva was a strong scent-marker for people.
The trek to the wall was longer than I imagined. I kept close to the forested areas that lined the edges of the Academy’s property. In the night, the sounds of the forest were loud. Shifters attracted animals. I shivered as a branch snapped and an owl hooted. Were the animals different here than at home? I couldn’t think about that now. I plunged forward and spent an hour picking my way carefully, trying to bring out my flashlight only when I had to. Priscilla had also told me that they kept guards posted in the castle to signal for any weird disturbances.
The oncoming autumn made the forest chilly, but I was sweating beneath my thin sweater. My heart pounded against my chest. I could hear it in my ears, beneath the sounds of critters running through the underbrush. Twice, I nearly broke my toe on a sudden tree root. The trees here were strong. They reminded me of the dragon metal from the grandfather clock in our dorm.
Finally, the wall loomed into view. I craned my neck to admire the height. Taller than three Theos stacked on top of each other. But I had come prepared. It was a miracle that my parents used to insist on me going to summer camp for a whole month. One of our favorite activities at that camp was the wall climb. I’d become extremely good at it for someone who usually had to take a break during gym class.
With a quick motion, I tied the rope that I found to the grappling hook. Why the shed outside the manor had a hook and a rope, I wasn’t sure. First, I tested it on a sturdy tree branch. It held my weight well enough. My first three throws were unsuccessful. Each one nearly yanked my shoulder of its socket. I grunted and glared at the wall, my newest foe at the Academy.
My parents flashed through my mind. The ashes. First Voice and his skepticism of me.
If I wanted to survive, I needed to become stronger. I needed to figure out what was going on here.
I launched the rope with one final throw. It flew above the edge of the wall and slid down. The rope went slack for a moment, and my heart fell, but I heard the familiar scrape of the hook against stone. It had held! I prayed to every deity that I knew of, a few that I recently learned in our week’s lectures, and braced myself on the rope. It would hold. With a ragged breath, I began my climb.
It was hard. I hadn’t used these muscles in a while. Summer camp had come and gone four years ago. I pulled myself up and cursed as my shoes slipped against the stone. With a forceful yank, I ripped them off and used the bottoms of my feet. The natural grip of my feet was much better. Maybe I was a late monkey-shifter or something. The climb took a grueling twenty minutes. Each of those minutes, I nearly talked myself down and told myself to drag my aching feet to Theo’s room to demand answers.
But Theo wouldn’t tell me; I was certain of that. These Council boys were hiding something behind their handsome stares.
The edge of the wall came into sight. With a groan, I hauled myself to the top of the wall. It was surprisingly wide, at least three feet. Enough for me to sit comfortably and look out at…
Water.
Gorgeous, glimmering water beneath the moonlight.
A hand grabbed me.
I gasped.
“See something you like?” A voice was in my ear before I realized that I was falling backward. Toward the ground. I screamed, and a hand clapped over my mouth.
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