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She knew, I thought. Master Ostrum had told her that we would go on a ferry today; she knew to bring a cloak with her.

I thought for a moment that Nedra was watching me, but I realized her gaze was focused above my head. I turned, scanning the shoreline of the city behind us as the boat set off. A tall building stood out among the others, black curtains draped over every long window. A little down the street, another one, the same heavy black cloth. More factories closing. The news sheets didn’t call the sickness spreading in the poor district an epidemic, but it was only a matter of time. My eyes slipped back to Nedra.She knew about that, too,I thought. At the start of the semester, the sickness was a mild inconvenience in the factories, but it was spreading now.

The ferry rocked over a wave, and I stumbled.

“I don’t know how you stand it,” Tomus said. I hadn’t realized he was so close to me until he spoke. His gaze was on Nedra as well.

“She’s not so bad,” I said. “Actually, she’s really interesting. If you got to know her—”

“She’s a dumb hick who obviously can’t handle the course load. She’s not been to any of the decent lectures, and she never shows up to labs.”

“She does labs.”

Tomus raised his eyebrow.

“With Master Ostrum,” I said.

“Master Ostrum is giving herprivatelabs?”

I shrugged, my gaze slipping to the waves. I hadn’t meant to say anything.

“I doubt they’re doing alchemy in those labs,” Tomus muttered. Behind us, I heard a girl giggle.

“Drop it,” I growled.

Tomus rolled his eyes. “She’s not smart enough to be here, Greggori, and you know it. Her scholarship must have been payment for services rendered, if you catch my drift.”

“Don’t be such a bastard,” I snapped.

I immediately regretted the words. “Bastard” was the insult Tomus’s father used when he wanted to humiliate both his wife and son, and he did it often enough in public to be a sore point for Tomus. It was a low blow, and I knew it.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, but it was too late.

Tomus moved toward the aft of the boat, and most of the students in the class followed him. I was left alone, the cold wind biting at me.

•••

The ferry bumped against the stone steps at the base of the island. The skipper stabilized the boat, and we all disembarked, climbing up the steps toward the hospital. I turned back to look at Northface Harbor.

“Funny how a little bit of water makes the city seem so distant,” Nedra said, stepping beside me. We headed up the stairs, a little behind the others. “Thanks,” she muttered to me in a low voice. “I don’t know what Tomus said to you, but I saw the way he reacted when you replied. So thank you for whatever it was you told him.”

I bit my lip. I had tried to stand up for Nedra, but my efforts had potentially been more damaging than my silence could have been. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that, though.

“It really is like a castle,” Nedra said, staring up at the hospital’s brick façade as we reached a large plaza in front of the doors.

“Well, it was built from leftover materials from the actual castle,” I said. “Just like the administration building at Yugen.”

“Really?”

I nudged her shoulder. “You’d know that if you attended an architecture lecture.”

“I have more important things to do than attend lectures,” Nedra said, her tone suddenly grave.

Like attend private lab sessions.I shook the thought away, disgusted at myself for lingering on Tomus’s insinuation.

“Wait until you go to theactualcastle.” I grabbed Nedra’s hand, pulling her around and pointing to the governor’s residence back across the harbor, sparkling under the sunlight. The Emperor was still in residence, having extended his stay after the inauguration.

Nedra turned her back on the city. “I prefer this,” she said.