Corin.”
“This isn’t the time,” he responded. “What happened? Is everything all right?”
Adelle sighed. “It was pretty scary for a bit. Master Corona’s spirit came to the surface. Master Zephyr was close enough to incapacitate him fairly quickly, but he managed to do some damage to the main temple andgive a few of the apprentices some light burns.”
“I can’t believe it,” he muttered, remembering Selena’s words to him earlier in the week. “How did that happen?”
Adelle shrugged. “We don’t know,” she replied simply. “All we know is he was calling for help when he flung himself into the main hall. They’ve been meeting ever since. Well, I suppose some of them, anyway. Master Serac was absent.”
The entire day had overwhelmed Corin and it had barely just begun. First Aless had kissed him, now Piers’s restraints had snapped….
Corin looked toward the door to the guardians’ meeting room. He knew Master Selena had mentioned the problem with the restraints was serious, but he never thought it would cause as huge a panic as it did. Corin flushed. He had put it off long enough—he needed to know what was happening with the restraints.
Chapter 12
T HAT night Corin pulled the hood of his robes up, doing his best to make his scarf into a makeshift cowl. The less people could see of his face, the better.
He felt rebellious, a feeling he was unfamiliar with to say the least. He wondered if Aless’s presence had anything to do with it. First he’d lied to Master Selena about where he was in the mornings, now he was sneaking out after curfew two nights in a row…. Corin wondered if he’d start breaking into the temples and stealing things, giving a small smile.
He quickly examined the room, ensuring his bunkmates were asleep. He quickly opened the door, sliding out.
He was thankful his barrack was close to the stairs. When he attempted to take an early night, he’d be victim to the loud noises of clan members trying to make curfew, or people trying to arrange future meetings before they collapsed. However, with only Master Selena’s room to pass, Corin felt a sense of relief.
When he finally climbed up the stairs, he took a moment to examine the main hall. It was normally bustling with life—filled with scribes darting from room to room and pupils experimenting with spells. However, in the darkness he could see the sheer magnitude of the main hall, each step of his echoing down the halls.
He approached the library quietly, trying to step on the balls of his feet. He took another deep breath—he couldn’t believe what he was doing. He quickly checked to make sure thedoor wasn’t locked before tugging it open and entering quietly.
Corin generally spent very little time at the library at the best of times. He had been raised in Central and taught to read his native tongue. His knowledge of Common had improved drastically since he joined the clan, but he still couldn’t read it. Even learning all the new characters had taken him a long time, and was partially the reason he never looked into a position as a scribe.
He scanned the room quickly, flashing between the large, towering bookshelves and the piles of scrolls, seeming to have been thrown around at random. Tables were covered in parchment and quills, not put away from the day’s work.
Corin suddenly flushed bright red. What had he been thinking? He had no idea what he was looking for! Did he think he could solve the mystery in one night?
“Now, now, what do we have here?” a voice teased, and Corin instantly regretted his decision to sneak out past curfew.
He turned to find Kateline poised on one of the shorter bookshelves, a leg draped down idly and a scroll on her lap.
Corin took a deep breath, lowering his head; he was in trouble for sure.
Kateline was clothed in the same outfit as earlier in the day, and Corin almost wondered how she wasn’t uncomfortable. She had on her typical dark-green, cropped,
“This isn’t the time,” he responded. “What happened? Is everything all right?”
Adelle sighed. “It was pretty scary for a bit. Master Corona’s spirit came to the surface. Master Zephyr was close enough to incapacitate him fairly quickly, but he managed to do some damage to the main temple andgive a few of the apprentices some light burns.”
“I can’t believe it,” he muttered, remembering Selena’s words to him earlier in the week. “How did that happen?”
Adelle shrugged. “We don’t know,” she replied simply. “All we know is he was calling for help when he flung himself into the main hall. They’ve been meeting ever since. Well, I suppose some of them, anyway. Master Serac was absent.”
The entire day had overwhelmed Corin and it had barely just begun. First Aless had kissed him, now Piers’s restraints had snapped….
Corin looked toward the door to the guardians’ meeting room. He knew Master Selena had mentioned the problem with the restraints was serious, but he never thought it would cause as huge a panic as it did. Corin flushed. He had put it off long enough—he needed to know what was happening with the restraints.
Chapter 12
T HAT night Corin pulled the hood of his robes up, doing his best to make his scarf into a makeshift cowl. The less people could see of his face, the better.
He felt rebellious, a feeling he was unfamiliar with to say the least. He wondered if Aless’s presence had anything to do with it. First he’d lied to Master Selena about where he was in the mornings, now he was sneaking out after curfew two nights in a row…. Corin wondered if he’d start breaking into the temples and stealing things, giving a small smile.
He quickly examined the room, ensuring his bunkmates were asleep. He quickly opened the door, sliding out.
He was thankful his barrack was close to the stairs. When he attempted to take an early night, he’d be victim to the loud noises of clan members trying to make curfew, or people trying to arrange future meetings before they collapsed. However, with only Master Selena’s room to pass, Corin felt a sense of relief.
When he finally climbed up the stairs, he took a moment to examine the main hall. It was normally bustling with life—filled with scribes darting from room to room and pupils experimenting with spells. However, in the darkness he could see the sheer magnitude of the main hall, each step of his echoing down the halls.
He approached the library quietly, trying to step on the balls of his feet. He took another deep breath—he couldn’t believe what he was doing. He quickly checked to make sure thedoor wasn’t locked before tugging it open and entering quietly.
Corin generally spent very little time at the library at the best of times. He had been raised in Central and taught to read his native tongue. His knowledge of Common had improved drastically since he joined the clan, but he still couldn’t read it. Even learning all the new characters had taken him a long time, and was partially the reason he never looked into a position as a scribe.
He scanned the room quickly, flashing between the large, towering bookshelves and the piles of scrolls, seeming to have been thrown around at random. Tables were covered in parchment and quills, not put away from the day’s work.
Corin suddenly flushed bright red. What had he been thinking? He had no idea what he was looking for! Did he think he could solve the mystery in one night?
“Now, now, what do we have here?” a voice teased, and Corin instantly regretted his decision to sneak out past curfew.
He turned to find Kateline poised on one of the shorter bookshelves, a leg draped down idly and a scroll on her lap.
Corin took a deep breath, lowering his head; he was in trouble for sure.
Kateline was clothed in the same outfit as earlier in the day, and Corin almost wondered how she wasn’t uncomfortable. She had on her typical dark-green, cropped,
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