Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Her eyes flick over me. “Yes,” she says after a moment. “I had something I wanted to discuss with him. And you were only going to see Ms. Choi?” She raises a thin brow. Even with her hood down, she still seems shrouded by shadows.
“I sensed someone was down here,” I lie. “I was curious.”
Her lips wrinkle. “You and the professor are very much alike aren’t you? Always so curious.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”
“It can be,” she says, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Katrina, I know the two of us don’t talk very often, so while you’re here, let me offer you a word of advice.” She leans in closer to me and in her pupils I see strange pinpricks of light, the scent of sulfur filling my nose. “Don’t make trouble for yourself. You won’t be able to handle the repercussions.”
I stare at her, dread filling my chest. “What do you mean?”
“You’re meant to be with Brom,” she says, her voice lowering. “They brought him back for you.”
“But why? Why him? Why did everyone decide this when I was born? What do you get out of it?”
She looks away for a moment, as if listening to something I can’t hear, before returning her steady gaze back to mine. “Did you know your mother was never supposed to marry your father?”
“Actually,” I say, finally knowing something, “my mother said something akin to that. That none of her sisters approved of her marriage to my father.”
“That’s right. They didn’t. Neither did I.” She pauses, wiggling her jaw. “You know I am not related to you, Katrina, but I am related to Brom.”
My mouth drops. This is news to me.
“How?” I ask.
She ignores me. “And your mother was supposed to marry Liam Van Brunt,” she adds.
“My mother was supposed to marry Brom’s father?”
What on earth?
Sister Sophie gives me a tight smile. “But she didn’t, did she? She chose your father instead.”
“Because she fell in love with him,” I say feebly.
She lets out an acidic laugh. “She never loved your father. Oh, you are such a naïve girl, Katrina, even after all you’ve been through. To think either of our families have anything to do with love.”
A sinking feeling creeps through me and I press Ms. Choi’s clothes to my chest. “Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Consider it a warning,” she says gravely.
“But what if I don’t marry Brom? What if…”
What if I marry Crane instead?
But I don’t dare say it.
“As I said,” she says, brushing past me. The contact of her shoulder against mine makes me feel dizzy. “It would be wise for you not to make trouble for yourself. You have no idea what you’re dealing with here. Good day, Katrina. If you see Professor Crane, and I’m sure you will, please tell him I was looking for him.”
She walks off down the hall, her cloak rustling behind her as she goes.
I stand there for a few moments, feeling absolutely dumbfounded by what she said. I want to run after and demand she tell me more, but I have a feeling that whatever she just told me, she wasn’t supposed to.
So why tell me at all?
I mull it all over as I go over to Ms. Choi’s and knock on her door.
“Katrina,” Ms. Choi says as she opens it. “Oh, I’m sorry. You prefer, Kat, don’t you?”
“Thank you, Narae,” I say to her with a grateful nod, handing her the clothes. “I really appreciated your generosity.”
“It was my pleasure,” she says, taking the clothes from me. She reaches out and touches the top of my forehead, causing me to flinch.
I smile awkwardly. “Sorry.”
“Your wound is all healed,” she marvels, taking her hand away. “You went to the nurse?”
“I got someone to heal me,” I tell her.
“They did a marvelous job,” she muses. Then she opens the door wider. “Here, why don’t you come inside. We can have a chat. Get to know each other a little better.” She gives me a sly smile. “I’ll let you try a cigarette.”
Even though it sounds really lovely to sit with her and watch her smoke cigarettes and talk about her travels and her life, the kind of thing that I would have taken her up on five minutes earlier, my mind can’t sit still.
“I have to go but I would love another time,” I tell her.
“Of course,” she says. “I’ll see you in class. Take care of yourself, alright?”
I promise I will and as she shuts the door, I hear heavy steps down at the mezzanine and my skin prickles with goosebumps at the sound of his distinctive gate.
I hurry around the corner to see Crane striding toward his wing.
“Crane!” I whisper as loud as I can and as he turns I start running toward him.
At first his face lights up when he sees me, like he has candles within him, but the closer I get something inside him shifts, an awareness, and he’s taking a step back from me. Perhaps I am being a little too bold in my approach.