Thirtyx was back through the courtyard and on the path to the main gate before his brain caught up to his body. He could get ahead of the gossip. He could claim some high ground, examine the whole line of carriages, and be the first to know if Rhea and Benn were in it. His proximity to everyone else would give him a solid meal he sorely needed.

Everyone else.

The catch in his plan made his steps falter. Seeing all the people gathered at the gates would mean they'd see him. They'd notice Benn and Rhea hadn't returned early to keep him company. If he was lucky, they'd poke at the royals' absence the same way Blackstone had. If he was unlucky, they’d seize the rare opportunity to take out some of the pent-up aggression the Wydewood staff had against Veriths—an aggression they'd done their best to pass down to the next generation.

Thirtyx forced his feet to a stop. It wasn't worth the risk. He should head back to the dorms and sneak into his room to wait it all out. He'd leave the door cracked, and the energy of friends sharing their not-perfectly-accurate accounts of their vacations would satiate him for now. He'd force his attention back to his dog-eared novel instead of fretting about something over which he had no control. He inhaled a bracing breath and turned around.

Smack into a solid Devil body.

Thirtyx stumbled backwards. "I— I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention—"

The words were out before he realized that he recognized that Devil.

"Watch it, Venmy!" snarled Vix Fozier, a fellow senior whose sentiments of demonic superiority had made him a thorn in nearly everyone’s side. Vix scared Thirtyx enough that he didn't even flinch at the abbreviated version of his name—a reminder that the government-issued series of syllables held no respect here.

Thirtyx held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, Vix. Wasn't watching where I was going."

"Why are you even out here?" Vix sneered. "Last I checked, this path is for people moving back in... and you never moved out, did you?"

Thirtyx breathed a heavy sigh and tried to edge around Vix. "Just getting some fresh air. I'll stay out of your way."

Vix, broader and more muscular than the starved Verith, moved easily into his path. The gleeful arcs of the Devil’s pointed tail clenched Thirtyx’s vestigial stomach into a tight ball. "See, if that were true, you wouldn't have bumped into me in the first place,” Vix said. “You've already been in my way, probably trying to sneak my wallet with your Verith tricks or something."

Thirtyx gritted his teeth. He knew this wasn't the ideal time to push back, but perhaps he could end this with one sentence. "I didn't take anything from you or dupe you in any way.” The Verith compulsion to always tell the truth was irritating far more often than it was useful, but it was occasionally good in a pinch.

Unfortunately, Vix had already moved on from his baseless theft accusation. "Getting some fresh air alone?" he pressed. "Where are your little bodyguards? Let me guess, they came back a week early, and they're already sick of you?"

Instead of answering, Thirtyx turned calmly back toward the gates. Don't engage. Let him get bored. The fact that the reminder came in Rhea's voice twisted his stomach more.

"Hey! Venmy! Answer me!"

The fear pulsed again. Calm steps. Measured breaths.

Thirtyx's forward progress stalled. His feet could no longer find purchase against the dirt. He began to slide backwards, and he dug the toe of his right shoe into the path, but it did little to slow him down. No. No!

When Thirtyx's suspended body finally stopped sliding, Vix was in front of him again, his black eyes tinged with purple sparks, his bluish-grey hand extended to hold the spell in place. Thirtyx was sure Vix could hear his heart pounding, but he fought to maintain his composure anyway. "I told you to answer me," Vix growled.

Thirtyx squared his jaw. "And if I don't?"

"I'll assume they aren't around to stop me from hanging you so high in a tree you'll miss four days of classes before you figure out how to get down. Then, maybe they'll un-register you and send you back to the Verith cesspool you came from."