“I’m sorry.” M’kar looked behind them. No one had
followed them from the restaurant. She gripped the edges of the bench seat and
willed the cart to move faster. She couldn’t remember any of the landmarks they
had passed, and that was stupid. How could she find her way back to Thyal’s house
if something went wrong and they were separated?
“It’s not your fault.” Thyal patted her hand.
“They’re not very good hunters, making a stupid mistake like that. What do they
want?”
“Kill me or marry me, it’s all bad for me.”
That made him laugh, though he did manage to
smother the sound into a snort. Security responded, asking for more
information. Thyal gave the officer the names of the cadets who had been
talking to them.
“Be careful,” the woman said. “The only
Nisandrians we have on record currently on Academy grounds are Dr. Jeyn
Fleetwind, Ashrock of Ba’e’do’stra, and M’kar Fleetwind-Ba’e’do’stra. Please take
shelter quickly and stay there, until we locate the intruders.”
“Understood.” Thyal frowned at the control panel
as the connection died. “Maybe someone is pretending to be Nisandrian to cause
trouble?”
M’kar didn’t have any answer for that. She flinched as the path the cart followed dipped down and they headed for a short tunnel, passing from one section of the Academy grounds to another. Muffled thuds echoed out at them, then shadows erupted from the tunnel, turning into birds. She caught her breath and ducked down, even though the clear panel at the front of the cart, and the curving roof protected them from collision.
For a heartbeat, she thought she saw herself. Multiple images of herself. Crouching down in the front seat with her arms raised as a shield. Her head throbbed like something sharp wanted to erupt from her temples and through her eyes.
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