Page 40 of FoolSilver
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, giving me a look that meant she wanted to find a back alley near a dumpster where she could get the full story without witnesses.
“Let’s talk tomorrow,” I said. “I’m spent. I just want to sleep.”
But I had no such luck.
Delia led her circle toward my bunk, a brunette, a pink-haired girl, and two others, probably from the magical class.They moved with purpose, sleep clothes and all. They’d decided something before they came over.
The air in the room shifted the moment they crossed the floor.
Delia stopped at the end of my row and somehow managed to look down at me despite being a head shorter.
“Back already,” she said. “What’s the matter? Did they get bored of you out there?”
I pulled off my boots. “Go to bed, Delia.”
“I’m just curious.” Her cornflower-blue eyes sharpened. “We all are.” She gestured broadly at the barracks, appointing herself spokesperson for the room. “You left for the outpost with all three heirs and came back looking like”— a slow, contemptuous once-over—“you had a very comfortable trip. What exactly does a first-year cadet do out there to earn that kind of access?”
“Why don’t you go ask your boyfriend?” I said sweetly.
Bryn snickered. Delia’s circle turned a warning glare on her.
“He won’t tell you, Delia,” Bryn said. “It’s classified.”
“Classified.” The brunette, Petra, I’d heard someone call her, tilted her head. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”
“I hear the heirs have specific tastes,” the pink-haired one added. “And expensive.”
I looked at her, rage beginning to gather. “Careful. Remember who you’re talking about.”
“My boyfriend and I have an understanding. We always do.” Delia smirked, and I forced myself still instead of smacking that smile off her face. “I knowexactly how he interrogated you. You might have fooled the others by batting your eyes, showing your curves, but your seduction never worked on Drakken.” She flicked her fingers. “You went from a slave in a mine to sleeping in the heirs’ tent in what, a few weeks? You might think you’re good at hiding, at pretending, but we all know what your real job is.”
“Blow job!” one girl from her circle shouted.
“They’re paying her to be available. She’s a camp whore.”
The anger rose white-hot and justified, but I’d learned in the mine that anger spent on people like Delia was anger wasted. She wanted to bait me, rattle me, make me go defensive and stumble over denials that would only make the rumors look true.
“Hm.” I shrugged.
Delia blinked. “Hm?”
“How much energy does it take to be this invested in someone else’s life? You’re a prince’s girlfriend, aren’t you? According to you, you also come from a founding bloodline.” I spread my arms. “And you’re spending all your good fortune and energy coordinating rumors about a cadet who’s been here less than a month or two. That’s a lot of effort.”
Petra’s eyes narrowed. “You think you’re so clever?”
“I know I’m tired,” I said. “Which is different.”
“You won’t last.” The pink-haired cadet folded her arms. “The heirs cycle through their women like a revolving door. Prince Caspian’s been through half the base. Prince Nikolai’s donors have been warming his feeding room for years. You’re just the fresh meat, miner.”
“When they’re done with you?” Delia added another dose of fuel. “You won’t walk out—you’ll crawl.”
“Aren’t you tired of hearing yourself?” I snorted. “I am. If you’re done, fuck off. I’m going to sleep.” I swept a glance around the room. “I’d suggest everyone else does the same, unless you want to run laps at this hour.”
The bark came before I’d even finished the sentence, rough-edged and final, booming from just outside the door. “Lights out! One more sound and you’re running laps at midnight.”
Cadet Sergeant Thane was in charge of the entire first-year barracks now, women’s floor included, and he ran it exactly as he ran the men’s: by the rules, without sentiment, and with adeep hatred of drama that outweighed whatever wariness he still carried toward me.
He didn’t hate me exactly. He was just wary, and not without reason. The last time we’d crossed paths, I’d stepped on his moment of demonstrated loyalty at the Sorting.
