Page 23 of By the Orchid and the Owl
By the orchid and the owl.
When they broke apart, cheering again, the vines holding us together snapped away. Several girls stumbled forward with hands on their chests, and I unleashed my stiffened breath.
“Welcome, new Whisperers, to the house of the wild!”
The princess of our house, a small-framed, sharp-chinned brunette I’d seen patrolling the arena last night, was standing in front of that cuckoo clock between staircases. Her hands flew together behind her back, and a beady-eyed parakeet shifted from talon to talon on her bony shoulder.
“We are happy to take you under our wing, both literally and metaphorically,” she said, “but please note that anyone older than you here at the Institute is your superior. We have a better grasp on our magic, and we won’t hesitate to use it to put you in your place.”
It was more or less the same warning the princes and princesses had given yesterday—a threat none of the older villagers in Alderwick had ever dangled over our heads back at home. I briefly wondered about that, but the Whisperer princess was already continuing on as if shehadn’tjust implied we belonged in her parakeet’s bill.
“Your bags are already upstairs on the topmost floor, where you’ll find the first-year bunkroom and three dozen vacant bunkbeds to claim. You’ll all share the single bathing chamber beside it, but don’t worry.” Finally, a smug smile cracked her mouth open, just a bit. “Next year, you’ll only have to share with three others. And by the time you’re a fifth-year likeme, you’ll get a room and bathing chamber all to yourself.”
It was hard to believe that a single house could fit so many rooms, but I supposed it was as deep as it was tall. I wanted to go explore it, but the sharp-chinned brunette clapped her hands twice. Her parakeet soared off her shoulder, and the older girls began pressing drinks into our hands—not bascale, thankfully, but what looked like sparkling acai wine—and introducing themselves with expressions ranging from bored to eager.
Kaya. Wren. Sorcha. Bailey. Lilith.
I learned too many names to count. It wasn’t until I was on my second drink and introducing myself for the tenth or eleventh time when I noticed her.
Jenia Leake. Shit. I’d forgotten that she’d joined the Wild Whisperers when those butterflies had swirled around her head.
She was deep in conversation with a beautiful fellow first-year, a girl with rich, bronze skin who had curtly introduced herself to me as Dazmine earlier. As I watched, another girl—the short, curvy one who’d been the first to join the sector when that tree had hoisted her high with its branches—sidled up to them and said something with a smile.
Jenia turned to Dazmine. So loudly I could hear from halfway across the foyer, she said, “It’s a wonder that tree was able to lift something so heavy. Poor thing.”
My blood froze. The girl’s face drained of all color. She had heard, of course. Everyone on this side of the foyer had.
She started to turn away.
I lurched forward, catching her by the arm.
“I thought your Branding was cool,” I said quietly.
Her eyes widened as she recognized me. The girl with the tiger.
“Thanks. Yours was, too! Did it…” She paused to tuck a strand of brown hair behind her ear “…scare you, to touch him?”
Jenia was regarding us from the corner of her eye, so I turned my back on her, blocking her view of the girl. “Not really. He was kind of cute, actually.”
Of course, Jagaros would probably rip my face off if he heard me say that, but still, I was glad to see a trembling smile lift up the girl’s mouth.
“I’m Emelle,” she said.
“Rayna.” I had spoken my name so many times by now that the syllables were becoming more and more foreign on my tongue each time. Before I could overthink it, I asked, “Do you want to go claim a bunk with me?”
Relief softened Emelle’s face.
“Yes, I really would. This is…” She gazed around at all the people and the parakeet zipping around the room, her eyes flicking briefly toward Jenia. “A bit overwhelming.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Jenia watched us pass her by, the gray of her eyes reduced to slits.
CHAPTER
10
The next morning at dawn, Emelle and I wandered to the dining hall together.
