Chapter 190: Getting Chased
Evaline:
I leaned further into the gap of the window. The slit was barely wide enough to breathe through, but the dark night outside and the flickering firelight within worked in my favor.
Shadows were dancing inside the room - long limbs and shifting bodies, heads bowed, arms folded.
There were more students than I expected. More than a dozen or even two. Probably more, considering how packed the room was looking. And the sheer number made my stomach drop. If this group was half as dangerous as I feared... Why were so many part of it?
From my low angle, I could only glimpse the lower halves of their bodies - boots, shoes, nervous tapping feet, the occasional glimmer of silver buckles or crest rings. They were all standing, or at least most of them were. Like they were waiting for something... or someone.
Then, out of nowhere, a figure stepped right in front of the window.
I flinched, my heart leaping into my throat.
For a second, I thought they had seen me. My breath caught, body stiffened, and fingers curled so tightly I almost tore the skin on my palms. But they didn’t look down. They were just... there, blocking my view completely.
So I leaned back.
I couldn’t see anymore, but I could still hear.
"...This is a mistake," a girl said, her voice quivering. "We shouldn’t be here. After what happened, after Carson-"
"Do you think we have a choice?" someone else - another girl, bolder - snapped back. "You think I want to be here?"