Page 37 of Blood of a Huntsman

Trust

Catherine was completely motionless, hand on the thick paper. She'd read the words five times, but they still stubbornly said the exact same thing. Words written by Drusilla’s strange hand, in an early Latin alphabet.

There were only five of them.

Come home before summer break.

Simple and to the point. An order that she shouldn't have questioned.

Cat felt like her knees were going to give out.

An order to come home in less than three weeks.

The letter shouldn't have come as a surprise. It didn't. But the very idea made her feel sick. Weak. She couldn't imagine a worse fate than having to return to her golden cage and dance to her family's tune for the next few years. Not after Oldcrest. Not after tasting freedom and friendship.

Cat might have enjoyed her time here, but she didn't think she'd quite understood how much until now, when it was being taken from her.

Her fist tightened over the paper. She should be relieved. Drusilla wanting her out of the way meant that the Stormhales weren't part of this mess. That's what she'd thought at first.

But why before summer?

Many students remained in Oldcrest during the other breaks, but in July and August, barely anyone lived there, save for the permanent residents.

Anyone who wished to attack Oldcrest would benefit from doing it then. Did that mean her family was involved?

At the very least, they knew that something was going on and wanted to ensure Catherine wasn't there. She bit her lip.

Her duty to her family was written on her skin. Quite literally. She still had marks for every time she'd disobeyed. Scars. Her right knee had been broken once. Her wrist, a few times. Each of her fingers too.

Those punishments had been for minor offenses. If she defied Drusilla now, she knew the price would be far steeper.

It wasn't worth it. It just wasn't.

She was going home, and that was it.

Catherine bit her lip.

Then she rushed out of the dorms and ran right to Night Hill.

"Billevern."

The troll guarding the gates grunted at her. He didn't like her much, but he seemed to feel the same way about most people.

"Can I go through?"

Others had to state their purpose when they wanted admittance to the hill, but Cat technically lived there.

He wordlessly pressed a button, and the brand-new gates barring the way tilted open.

"Thank you."

Cat thought about heading to Levi but decided against it. Instead, she stopped by the second house on the hill, right under hers.

"Anika? Anyone here?"

It was ten in the evening; she knew most of Anika's lessons were during the day, and her night shift started in two hours, same as Cat's. The woman appeared a few minutes later, wearing a kimono and fluffy sleepers.

"Hey! Nice of you to pop by. Fancy a drink?"

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