“Knock it off, you two.” It’s the voice of Mrs. But all I want to do is sit up and scream at them to mind their own business. But then Dina murmurs under her breath, “Did you see her scars?” I tell myself she’s talking about something else. Behind me, Lily whispers something to the girl in the cot beside her. The rain roars against the slate roof, loud enough to wake the other girls, so I hurry back to my cot and pull the covers halfway over my face before anyone can catch a glimpse of me out of bed.īut being quick is not enough. The rain is coming down so hard now I can’t see out, even with the lightning, and this game I’m playing with myself is done. Not him, not him, not him, I whisper to myself.īy the time the rain starts, I’m sure it wasn’t Jayden, or anyone else. A tree branch scratches at the outside of the glass. Then the thunder, so close my bones rattle, and then another flash, and the boy is gone. It was just a glimpse, but I thought it could be my brother Jayden. Thunder rolls across the roof.Īnother flash, but this time, there’s something else out there. Then just as quickly everything’s black again, and I count under my breath.įive. The green hedge that hems in the yard appears, and beyond it, the gray palace wall. For a moment, the nighttime world beyond this dormitory window is as bright as if it were noon.
