Chapter Three— Black!
Nyrah spent the next hour unpacking her things. She folded her clothes and put them in the drawer. Her map went on the table. The few coins she had left went into her pocket. She kept her mother's old necklace close, tucking it under her shirt where it rested against her heart.
When she finished, she walked to the window and pushed it open. Fresh air rushed in, cool against her face. It felt good after being cooped up in that stuffy train car all day.
Black immediately jumped onto the windowsill.
"Don't even think about it," Nyrah warned.
But the cat didn't listen. Black leaped out the window and landed on the ledge below.
"Black! Get back here!"
The cat looked back at her once, then kept walking along the narrow ledge.
Nyrah leaned out the window. "Black, come back right now!"
He ignored her completely and jumped down to a lower section of roof.
Nyrah groaned. Of course he would do this. Of course.
She couldn't lose him. Black was her mother's cat. One of the only things she had left from before her parents disappeared. If something happened to him out here...
She looked down. It wasn't that far to the ledge. Maybe two feet. She could make it.
Nyrah climbed out the window carefully, gripping the frame until her feet found solid stone. The ledge was narrower than it looked. She pressed her back against the wall and shuffled sideways, following the path Black had taken.
"When we get back inside, you're staying in the room," she muttered.
She reached the spot where Black had jumped down and looked over the edge. There was another section of roof below. She could see Black's tail disappearing around a corner.
Nyrah lowered herself down and dropped. Her boots hit the roof with a soft thud. She caught her balance and kept moving.
But it was getting darker. The sun had set while she was unpacking, and now the only light came from the moon and the torches burning in the courtyard far below. The shadows were thick up here, and Black had black fur. He blended into the darkness perfectly.
"Black!" she called out, trying to keep her voice low. She didn't want to draw attention from anyone inside.
No answer. No meow. Nothing.
Nyrah's chest tightened. Where did he go?
She moved along the rooftop, squinting into the shadows. The Academy was huge up here. All these different levels and towers connected by narrow walkways and slanted roofs. Black could be anywhere.
"Please don't do this," she whispered. "Not here. Not now."
She turned a corner and nearly slipped. Her foot caught the edge of a loose tile and it skittered down the roof, falling into the darkness below. Nyrah grabbed onto a stone carving to steady herself.
Her heart was pounding now. This was stupid. She could break her neck out here. But she couldn't go back without Black.
She kept searching, moving carefully from one section to another. The wind picked up, making her hair whip around her face. She pushed it back and kept going.
Then she saw him. A small dark shape moving near the base of one of the towers. He was heading toward something. A dark opening in the stone. A cave or maybe an old storage space carved into the building itself.
"Black, no!"
But he went inside.
Nyrah climbed down to the lower level and hurried over to the opening. It was darker here, tucked away from the moonlight. She could barely see a few feet in front of her.
She crouched down and peered into the cave. "Black? Come here, boy. Please."
Silence.
Then suddenly, Black came bursting out of the darkness. His fur was standing on end. His eyes were wide. He ran straight past Nyrah, meowing frantically.
Nyrah's stomach dropped. What did he see in there?
She didn't wait to find out. She scooped Black up and held him tight against her chest. He was trembling.
"It's okay," she said softly, stroking his head. "You're okay. But you can't go running off like that again. Do you hear me? You stay inside from now on."
Black buried his face in her shirt.
Nyrah glanced back at the cave entrance. Something about it made her skin crawl. The darkness inside seemed deeper than it should be. Thicker.
She turned away and started climbing back up toward her window. It took twice as long going back. Black kept squirming in her arms, and she had to move slowly to keep her balance.
Finally, she reached her window and climbed back inside. She shut it firmly behind her and locked it.
"Stay," she told Black, pointing at the bed.
The cat curled up on her pillow and didn't move.
Nyrah changed into her nightclothes and lay down beside him. Her body ached from all the climbing. Her hands were scraped from gripping the rough stone.
But Black was safe. That was what mattered.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
The bells rang early. Too early.
Nyrah jerked awake, her heart racing. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then she remembered. The Academy. The trials. Everything.
She got dressed quickly, pulling on a plain tunic and pants. Nothing fancy. She braided her hair back to keep it out of her face.
Black was still asleep on the bed.
"You stay here this time," she said firmly.
She stepped out into the hallway and immediately felt the stares. Other students were coming out of their rooms. They all stopped when they saw her.
A girl with silver hair wrinkled her nose. "Is that a human?"
"It is," someone else said. "I can smell her."
"She has no power at all."
"No magical essence either."
The whispers followed Nyrah as she walked down the hallway. She kept her head up and didn't look at any of them. She'd dealt with this her whole life. This was nothing new.
They all headed toward the quadrant. It was a huge open courtyard in the center of the Academy. Stone benches lined the edges. A raised platform stood at one end where someone important would probably speak.
Students filed in and found places to stand. Nyrah stayed near the back. She didn't want to be in the middle of the crowd where everyone could stare at her.
More students kept arriving. Different species. Different powers. She could see some of them showing off, creating small flames in their palms or making the air shimmer around them.
Then the crowd went silent.
Two people had entered the quadrant. Everyone immediately bowed.
Nyrah looked at them but didn't bow. She didn't know who they were.
The first was tall with sharp features and reddish hair. He moved like an animal. Graceful and dangerous. A fox therian, probably. She'd read about them.
The second was bigger. Broader. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and the way everyone looked at him told Nyrah he was important. Very important.
"That's Kieran," someone whispered nearby. "And that's Killian. Alpha Ray's son."