Chapter 22 – — Professor Clementine, Endurance of Pain #2
Why was Draven visiting Nella so often? Why did he have his wolf stay with her through the night?
He comes off as such a cold-hearted bastard, but maybe there’s something softer hidden beneath that icy exterior.
Why did he help me the other night? Maybe he feels sorry for the weak little human who can’t seem to keep herself together.
I close the journal and walk over to my desk.
I should stay up late tonight and get through all my assigned reading.
Midterms are coming, and I’m in no state of mind to be ready.
At this rate, I’m going to fail out of Ashwell, and honestly I’m starting to think maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
A knock at my door makes me jump.
It swings open before I can respond, and Lux is standing there in a light-pink sweater practically the same color as her hair, paired with fitted black pants.
Her arms are crossed. Ellavee is behind her, leaning against the doorframe in black tights, a short skirt, and a deep purple sweater that contrasts her light-blonde hair.
Neither of them is wearing their school uniform.
“You’re coming out with us tonight.”
“I’m not really in the mood for that.”
“I don’t care.” Lux walks over to my wardrobe and starts rifling through it.
“You’ve been a ghost all week. Understandable, but you need to snap out of it.
” She throws a sage-green sweater at me along with a black knitted beanie.
“Put these on. We’re going to the village, getting drinks, and having a good time. You’re coming.”
“Lux—”
“She’s not asking.” Ellavee pushes off the doorframe and settles onto my bed. Poppy immediately abandons me to climb into her lap. Traitor. “It’ll be fun, and it’ll get your mind off things.”
“Fun.” The word feels foreign in my mouth right now.
“Yes, fun, that thing you used to have before you turned into a walking corpse.” Lux waves at me impatiently. “Go get dressed.”
I want to tell them I’m fine here in my room with Nella’s journal and my textbooks and my endless loop of questions and guilt, but they’re looking at me like they won’t take no for an answer.
And maybe I’m tired of being alone with my own thoughts.
Getting out of my head for one night would be good for me.
“Fine.” I pull on the sweater and tug my boots on over my thick black leggings. I glance in the mirror and run a quick brush through my hair before pulling on the black knit beanie and grabbing my cloak. “But I’m not promising to have fun.”
Fifteen minutes later, we’re beneath the school, walking through a damp, dark stone tunnel.
“Remind me why we’re taking a creepy tunnel to get to town instead of a carriage?
” I ask as Primm brushes past us, her white fur practically glowing in the dim light.
Primm is Lux’s eidolon, a beautiful wolf with fur like fresh snow and striking violet eyes.
She named her Primm because she thought Primm and Poppy sounded cute together after she met Pops, and I have to admit it does have a nice ring to it.
The two of them get along well enough, unlike Poppy and Flick.
Poppy couldn’t stand Jace’s bat eidolon.
Maybe she knew something I didn’t. Maybe she saw all of this coming before I did.
“I didn’t much feel like getting eaten by a polar bear tonight.” Ellavee smirks.
“Polar bears?”
“Corrupted ones mostly. Small fissures open across the Frostlands from time to time, and twisted things come through.” Lux throws her hand out, and a glowing white orb materializes above us, floating along as we walk and casting soft light across the stone walls.
I think it’s the first time I’ve seen her use current.
“The normal polar bears are cute but just as vicious as the twisted ones. The village hires wolf shifters to patrol the perimeter around the clock to keep them out.”
“We could walk to the village from the school,” Ellavee adds, pulling off her jacket and throwing it over her arm. It is surprisingly warm down here. “But why risk getting mauled when we have access to a perfectly good tunnel?”
It’s not as claustrophobic as I thought it would be when they mentioned a tunnel beneath the school. The tunnel is wide enough for four people to walk side by side comfortably, and the ceilings are at least twelve feet high, carved from solid stone that glistens with moisture in the orb’s glow.
“Couldn’t you transport us there?” I glance over at Lux. “The fae who brought me to Ashwell did something like that.”
“That’s called current threading, or threading for short.” She tucks a strand of pink hair behind her pointed ear. “Only older, more powerful fae can do it. I’m not nearly strong enough yet.”
“Why do you think the school has walls that high? Is it for the polar bears?” I ask.
Lux glances over at me. “For the polar bears and other things.”
“And maybe to keep things in too,” Ellavee says quietly.
No one elaborates. I don’t ask them to.
Whitehaven is smaller than I expected. Dare I say even smaller than Ironfen.
Maybe a hundred buildings span the village, all stone and timber built to withstand the brutal cold.
Smoke plumes from nearly every chimney, fireplaces being a necessity rather than a luxury this far north.
The roads are slippery as hell, covered in a thick layer of compacted snow and ice that crunches beneath our boots.
Even with the grip of my soles, I nearly slip twice, so the three of us link arms as we make our way past the buildings.
It’s early evening, but only a handful of people move through the streets, bundled in furs and heavy cloaks, their breath fogging in the frigid air.
On the ridge to one side of the village I can see the wolf shifters.
Some in wolf form, massive and gray, pacing along the tree line with an alertness that makes me grateful they’re on our team.
One side of the village borders a dense forest, dark pines dusted with snow.
The other side opens up to endless stretches of flat, snow-covered ground that bleeds into ice-covered water that extends as far as I can see.
“The Frozen Hearth.” Lux points to a building in the distance with smoke billowing from its chimney and laughter spilling out every time someone opens the door. “Best tavern in the Frostlands.” She beams at us like she’s showing off a prized possession.
“I think she means the only tavern in the Frostlands,” Ellavee adds dryly, and I actually laugh. It feels strange in my throat, like a muscle I haven’t used in too long.
“Whatever, first round’s on me.” Lux releases my arm and skips ahead to pull the door open.
The warmth hits me the moment we step inside.
A fire crackles in a massive white stone hearth at the center of the room, flames dancing and casting flickering shadows across the worn wooden floor.
The smell of spiced wine and roasting meat fills the air, rich and inviting.
Bodies are packed together at tables and along the bar, talking and drinking and living their lives like the world isn’t constantly teetering on the edge of destruction.
I’d almost forgotten what that feels like. In the months I’ve been at Ashwell, surrounded by constant reminders of death and the looming threat of the next cycle, I’d forgotten that some people still know how to exist without the weight of it all pressing down on them.
Lux leads us to a table near the back, and she and Ellavee smile and wave at half the people we pass.
They’re both different here, they seem looser and happier even.
Ellavee doesn’t seem as guarded, and her smiles look genuine instead of that usual aloof smirk.
Lux’s shoulders aren’t pulled back with the tension of being Professor Bales’ daughter.
Out here, they’re simply two girls who grew up in this village, not students carrying the weight of expectations and bloodlines.
A waiter appears at our table. An older gentleman with shaggy brown hair streaked with gray and a friendly, weathered face. He starts to take our order and then stops.
He’s staring at me.
I shift uncomfortably and glance across the table at Ellavee, who shrugs.
“Sorry.” He shakes his head like he’s clearing cobwebs from it. “You look like the spitting image of someone who used to come in here many years ago.”
“Who might that be, Mr. Holloway?” Lux asks, her lips quirking up on one side like she’s expecting some kind of scandalous gossip.
He blushes. “Oh no, not like that,” he laughs, looking from Lux back to me. “She worked out here for a year or so studying the corrupted polar bears. Her name was Helena.”
That catches my attention.
“Do you know what her last name was?” I blurt out.
He closes one eye and cocks his head to the side, thinking. “I believe it was Raven. Yes, that’s right. I used to joke that she should be studying the ravens instead of the polar bears.” He chuckles at the memory. “Helena Raven.”
I can’t breathe.
I look down at my hands, gripping the edge of the table, trying to wrap my mind around what he said while Lux orders drinks for all of us. The noise of the tavern fades to a dull roar in my ears.
“Well, that was strange.” Ellavee’s voice cuts through the fog. “Maelis? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s the big deal?”
I cringe. There’s no other way to say it but to just say it.
“Helena Raven is my mother.”