Page 31 of Dark Bringer (Lord of Everfell #1)

“This will be your room,” Manij said, stopping before a door marked with the number 27. “You’ll share with two other girls who are in class now.”

Kal noticed that the door had no lock. Inside were three beds—two facing each other along opposite walls, and one tucked into a windowless alcove. All had identical white-painted frames. Next to each bed stood a narrow desk and chair, and against the far wall, three wardrobes.

The beds facing each other had belongings scattered beneath and on top—books, shoes, a half-folded sweater. The alcove bed was bare.

“That will be yours,” Manij said, following Kal’s gaze. “You’ll find uniforms and other necessities in the wardrobe. The bathing facilities are at the end of the hall.”

Not the worst place she’d slept in—not by a long shot.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll test your aptitude for different vocations,” Manij continued, handing her a book with embossed gold lettering. “This is the Lenormand School Code of Conduct. Please try to read it by the end of the week.”

Kal flipped through the pages. “The whole thing?” She wasn’t the fastest reader.

“Start with the first section,” Manij replied. “The rest can wait until you’ve settled in. Supper is served from six to eight in the dining hall. Your roommates will show you where that is.”

Kal smiled, wishing she’d leave. “Got it.”

When the door closed, she waited a few minutes to make sure Manij was really gone.

She even opened the door and checked. The hall was quiet.

Moving quickly, she lifted the mattress of her new bed and wedged the pistol and box of spare bullets between it and the boxspring.

An obvious hiding place, but it would do for now.

The wardrobe had four white shirts, two gray skirts, three pairs of woolen leggings, and a jacket with the school crest—L.S.

in twined script—emblazoned on the breast. She found a plush towel on the shelf above.

The bathroom at the end of the hall was empty when Kal entered, her peacoat clutched to her chest.

Six showers lined one wall, each with a small changing area separated by frosted glass partitions.

She chose the one farthest from the door and hung her coat on a hook so she could keep an eye on it.

The kaldurite was hidden in the lining, and she wasn’t about to let it out of her sight. Not with witches around.

She turned the brass fixtures and water rushed out, quickly heating to a steaming flow. Kal stepped under the spray and gasped. Back home, hot water was a luxury, heated bucket by bucket on the woodstove. She only bothered to do it for bathing in winter, or for washing really dirty clothes.

She used lemon-scented soap and shampoo from dispensers mounted on the tiled wall, watching the gray water swirl down the drain.

When she returned to the room wrapped in a towel, the daylight was fading.

The Code of Conduct lay on her bed where she’d left it.

She picked it up and thumbed through the pages. The rules seemed endless.

No leaving the school grounds without permission. No breaking curfew, which was eight o’clock. No smoking, swearing, drinking, or fighting. She could almost hear Durian complaining that anything fun was banned, but he didn’t show up. Kal wasn’t sure if she felt relieved or disappointed.

The door swung open, and two girls walked in, their laughter cutting off when they saw Kal.

“You must be the new girl,” said the short one. She had restless eyes that darted around the room and an aura of nervous energy. “I’m Elena.” She set her books on one of the desks. “This is Gabi.”

Gabi was blonde, tall, and statuesque. Both looked around Kal’s age.

“I’m Kyra,” she said.

Gabi eyed the Code of Conduct in her hand. “I hope you’re not a snitch, because we don’t pay much attention to the rules.”

Kal snorted. “Definitely not.”

They both looked relieved. Elena pawed through her school bag and took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. She opened the window, lit one, and blew the smoke outside. “So where are you from?”

“Lycaea.”

It was a port city on the northern coast of Satu Jos. Kal couldn’t claim to be local because she couldn’t fake the thick, throaty Arjevican accent. The minute she opened her mouth, people would know. To Kal, she had no accent at all, but Durian said she pronounced her consonants funny.

“That’s a long way.” Gabi eyed her speculatively. “Been running for a while?”

“A couple of weeks.”

An awkward silence fell as they studied each other. Kal wished she’d gotten dressed before they came back.

Elena blew a series of smoke rings. “This place used to be a home for unwed mothers.”

“Or any girl who annoyed her parents,” Gabi added. “It was like a prison. Some say it’s haunted by the ghosts of girls who died here, though we’ve never seen any.”

Elena gave a nervous laugh and sucked on her cigarette. “Not to worry, that was twenty years ago. It got closed down after some scandals. Then the Lenormands bought it and renovated all the buildings. It’s totally different now.”

“Who are they?” Kal asked. “The Lenormands.”

Elena shot her a dubious look. “You really don’t know?”

Kal shook her head.

“They’re the wealthiest witch family in Kievad Rus,” Gabi said. “Nobody messes with them.”

“Didn’t you meet Lara?” Elena asked. “She wears a big emerald around her neck.”

“That’s the one who admitted me,” Kal said.

“Lara’s a massive bitch,” Gabi said admiringly. “Once, this girl’s father showed up and was standing out on the street by the gate, demanding they give his daughter back. Lara went out there, and when he wouldn’t leave, she forced him to the middle of nowhere.”

“Forced?” Kal echoed. “Like made him go?”

Gabi laughed. “Kind of. Forcing is when the witches make you disappear into thin air.” She made a poof gesture with her fingers. “You come out someplace else.”

Kal licked her lips. “They can do that?”

“The powerful ones like Lara can.” Gabi kicked off her shoes and lay back on the bed, crossing her long legs. “Don’t get on her bad side.”

“We all just want to graduate,” Elena said. “Find jobs and be free to live our lives. But everyone understands why security is tight. A few years ago, this asshole got inside the school pretending to be a delivery man and stabbed his ex-girlfriend. She had to go to the hospital.”

“Shit,” Kal muttered. “Did she live?”

“Yeah. The doctors saved her.” Elena stabbed out her cigarette on the sill and tucked the butt into a small tin. “But Lara made sure he got a life sentence in the mines.”

Kal had heard of that. Prisoners condemned to plumb the deepest, darkest shafts in the zones with high Sinn activity. Most of them didn’t last long.

The man deserved it, but she didn’t want to think about the mines. She chose a uniform from the wardrobe and excused herself to change in the bathroom. When she returned, her stomach was rumbling.

“Do you want to get some food?” she asked. “I’m starved.”

Elena jumped up. “Sure! I’ll show you the way. You coming, Gabi?”

The tall girl shook her head. “I have to study for a test tomorrow.”

“Gabi’s a genius,” Elena whispered. “She just got admitted to the Merry Sharp Institute of Gemology in Kirith! The Lenormands are paying for everything.”

Kal grinned, genuinely glad for her. “That’s great. My?—”

She about to say, My brother goes to Faraday , but stopped herself in the nick of time. She was Kyra Navarra from Lycaea now. Only child, now an orphan.

“My friend said that’s a really good school,” she replied instead.

Gabi nodded absently, deep in a textbook. Elena grabbed her jacket and breathed in Kal’s face. “Do you smell smoke?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Shit. I hope we don’t run into any teachers.” She made a face. “I should quit anyway. The cleaning lady who smuggled them in for me got fired last week. I’m almost out of cigs.”

“They will kill you,” Gabi said in her deadpan voice, not looking up from the book.

Elena gave a nervous whinny that reminded Kal of Durian and herded Kal out the door. “We’ll bring you something back, Gab!”