Chapter 29 Invasion
Wren’s body ached as she came to consciousness.
She fluttered her lashes and tried to make sense of her surroundings.
Above her was a familiar sheer canopy and beyond it a vaulted ceiling.
She was in her chambers at the academy. Memories came back to her in parcels.
It was like trying to put back together a flower after someone had torn away the petals. The work was slow in her addled state.
The sound of a door opening made her turn her head. Blossom entered the room, and with her came the strong scent of hot peppermint tea. The maid carried the teacup to Wren’s bedside, then gasped when she saw her mistress was awake.
“Lady Kalyxi, how are you feeling? Are you in need of anything? I brewed a fresh cup of tea with extra honey for you.”
Blossom’s worry flitted about like a restless dragonfly. Wren was glad the emotion was dulled and not as sharp as what she’d felt before fainting. She was not equipped to handle more than this until she regained her strength.
Wren gripped the silken sheets as she attempted to sit up. Blossom hurried to her aid, pressing a palm to the center of Wren’s shoulder blades. Wren did not flinch away, for she knew Blossom and had been under her care for many moons now.
“Tea,” Wren croaked. Her throat was dry and her mouth tasted bitter.
Blossom carefully placed the cup in Wren’s hands.
Wren cradled it in her palms and relished in the warmth it brought to her cold skin.
There were layers of blankets piled atop her legs, but she still felt cold.
Such was the way of her Curse. It drained her of life, making her a living corpse until she was able to recuperate.
“I retrieved your breakfast and lunch tray, but if they are not to your liking, then I can petition the chef for something else, perhaps something warm?” Blossom inquired as a shiver wracked Wren’s spine.
Wren took a ginger sip of tea. The peppermint scent coated her throat and nose, while the honey soothed the dryness. Tears stung her eyes at the blessed relief. Blossom was patient as Wren drank more.
“Some oats and cream would be lovely,” Wren requested. Blossom quickly straightened and made for the door, but Wren stopped her. “Wait, you must give a recount of the events. Have I slept multiple days or just from the night on?”
Wren could not afford to miss classes. It was only the first week, and she felt ill-equipped to handle the heavy course load.
Blossom returned to her bedside and sat on the edge of the mattress.
A floral quilt on the very top of the mountain of blankets slid off and toward Blossom.
All of the bedding was brought from Wren’s chambers back on the Wild Holm.
She’d wanted to feel at home, though the pastel colors stood out against the dark wood furniture in a way that constantly reminded her she was far from all that she once knew.
“You have only slept just past lunch. I do not know what occurred to trigger the occurrence, but last night I came into the drawing room to find you on the floor, on the cusp of darkness.” Blossom’s worry grew at this, and Wren winced as the emotion skittered across her nerves.
“Miss Kierana was being apprehended. She carried a large sword. Do you recall if she threatened you? I attested to her kindness and friendship to you, but I will notify the headmaster immediately if she presented herself falsely.”
Wren shook her head. “No, Kierana–” Wren’s brow furrowed as she tried to recall what happened. “Kierana reached for her sword when she saw a group of people approaching the house. She did not harm me.”
The intense hysteria Wren had been attacked with echoed in her mind. She’d felt as though she had been ambushed by a pack of dyrekin. Anxiety and fear were giant claws shredding her to the bone.
“What had caused the group to come into the house?” Wren questioned. Accusations against Kierana’s character came to mind, but not the reason behind them.
Blossom swallowed and looked down. Wren clutched her teacup as the maid’s anxiety worsened.
“Another student was found dead,” Blossom said in a low voice.
Wren stiffened.
“Who?” she whispered. Faces of those she had encountered since arriving on the island filtered through her mind. Was it someone her brother knew? Would Wren be next?
“I have heard her name was Kelda Thornspire. She was from Stonemouth.”
Wren did not recognize the name.
“Was she killed the same way Heron was?” Wren asked. Her body was still tense from the news, but she needed to obtain all the information so she could make note of it in her journal.
Blossom stood. “Perhaps this conversation should be delayed until you’ve regained your strength.
I will go get your oats and cream. Would you like it to have cinnamon?
I recall you enjoying it that way.” The maid wore a nervous smile.
She toyed with the pouch that hung from her belt, making the keys inside jingle.
“I wish to know now. Tell me all that you have heard,” Wren demanded, though her voice was still weak.
Blossom looked toward the hearth that was burning bright, then back at Wren. Her fear swept through the room like a sickness, clinging to Wren’s frail body and weighing it down. Wren wanted to sink back beneath the covers, but she swallowed the dregs of her strength and stayed as she was.
“Miss Thornspire was found inside the Wall, with her chest torn open.”
Shock fell over Wren. “Inside the Wall?”
Blossom nodded. “She–she was also holding a rose, if the kitchen staff is to be believed.” She hurried to add, “Sometimes servants elaborate on stories to make them more salacious. It’s terrible of them.”
That sounded intentional. Heron’s death was made to look like an accident. This did not make any sense. Wren glanced down at the floorboard beneath which her journal was hidden. She needed to document all of this.
“Thank you for telling me, Blossom. I think I would like my oats and cream now.”
Blossom curtsied. “Yes, my Lady. I will return shortly.”
The maid scurried out of the room, and Wren heard the lock click into place behind her.
That was not a usual precaution taken. Blossom was evidently quite shaken by this turn of events.
Wren could not blame her, as her teacup, inscribed with the academy insignia, rattled against the end table when she set it aside.
Though every one of her muscles protested, Wren forced herself out of bed.
She kneeled on the floor, shivering in her slip.
Blossom must have removed her uniform but not changed her into nightclothes.
Wren’s knees pressed into the cold wood.
She took a butter knife off the tray sitting by her tea and pried the board up, then set it aside.
Empty. The blood rushed out of her face.
That cannot be. Just yesterday, she had placed it there before she went to the dining hall with Kierana.
While her memories in the drawing room were muddled, she was certain of this.
She reached into the space and felt around to see if perhaps the book had slid to one side or the other.
Her hand came up with nothing more than dust.
“No, no, no,” she whimpered. “It can’t be gone, I must be mistaken.” Her heart drummed in her ears as she set the board back in place.
Wren stumbled to her feet and rushed over to her desk beneath the window.
She pulled the curtains open just enough to let in some of the midday light, then reached for her school bag.
She jerked it open and riffled through the contents.
Nothing but school supplies. Fear strangled her.
Wren tipped the bag upside down and shook it.
The contents scattered across her desktop.
She opened every book as if she’d forgotten what the cover of the journal she had kept for a decade looked like.
It became harder and harder to breathe as she combed her room.
She sank to her knees beside the chest of gowns in the corner.
Lace and jewels scraped against her skin as she dug to the bottom and retrieved the jewelry box where her brother’s journal was.
It took her three tries to get the lock open with the key on her anklet due to the tremors plaguing her body.
Once the box was open, she sighed in relief that his journal, at least, was present.
But it did not make hers appear. She returned it to the hiding place.
Her body sagged under the weight of the realization that her journal was stolen.
She had not misplaced it. Someone had invaded her chambers and taken a piece of her soul.
Horror twisted her stomach. They knew. Whoever had taken it knew everything she kept secret. Her Curse. The investigation. The incident. Her impurity and guilt. The power to destroy her rested in the hands of a stranger. Hot tears trailed down Wren’s face and neck.
The sound of the door being unlocked made Wren scramble to her feet. Blossom entered, her serene smile dropping at the sight of Wren standing in the midst of a torn-apart bedroom.
“Lady Kalyxi!” she exclaimed and quickly set the tray aside before rushing to Wren’s side. “What are you doing up? You should be resting.”
“Has anyone but you and me been in my chambers, Blossom?” Wren demanded through her tears.
Blossom took Wren gently by the elbow and led her back to her bed.
“A guard carried you up the stairs and laid you atop your mattress, but left right after,” she said in a soothing voice.
“No one else came in? Not even before I fainted?” Wren questioned.
Blossom shook her head. “No, my lady. I would never allow anyone else in your chambers. What is all this about?”
Wren climbed back into the bed and allowed Blossom to cover her freezing legs with the blankets.
“I-I am missing a book,” Wren replied weakly.
“A book?” Blossom sputtered a laugh. “That is nothing to work yourself up over! Perhaps you left it in the library. Tell me of the title, and I will search for it on your behalf.”
Blossom smiled at her solution, but dread and fear tore at Wren. The search and subsequent devastation of not finding her journal had sapped what little energy she had to spare. Wren’s eyes grew heavy. She slid down the headboard.
“I will look for it later,” Wren murmured as she began to fade again. “I don’t think I am so hungry after all. Forgive me, dear Blossom.”
Blossom’s soft smile blurred as Wren’s eyes fell shut. She vaguely registered the blankets being pulled up to her chin.
“Rest, and all shall be well when you wake again,” her maid’s voice whispered over her.
Wren wished with all her soul that it would be true, but she knew with sober certainty it was not.