Seven Black Diamonds (Seven Black Diamonds #1)(39)

“Point taken.” Alkamy leaned on the wall. “I’ve decided: I’m glad I met you, Just Lily.”

Lily looked at her again and realized that Alkamy was exhausted. She looked like Lily did the few times she’d been exposed to toxins. For a moment, Lily wondered if all of the students at Columba’s were fae-blood, but that was highly unlikely. Far more realistic was the idea that Alkamy’s small group of friends were all fae-blood.

“Why don’t we head back?” Lily suggested.

Alkamy flashed her a grateful smile. “I’ll give you more of the tour this week. Most everyone gets back tomorrow, so you can meet the boys. Vi’s delayed, but we should be able to help you get settled.”

Lily shook her head. “Go to bed, Kamy. You can demonstrate your great skills at normalcy tomorrow.”

Once they were back in the suite, Alkamy waved and wandered into her bedroom.

Lily closed her own door and curled up in her own bed. It wasn’t late, but she’d had enough excitement to last her a while. The quiet and calm of her room were a welcome respite from the onslaught of surprises today.

She managed to sleep for a few hours, but she’d woken restless and bored. The sun wasn’t yet up, but Lily wasn’t tired enough to roll back over . . . which was why she found herself roaming empty hallways. Lily had no friends other than Erik. She had no one to call. Her closest confidante was Daidí, and he was out of the country. That left her with nothing to do but explore the buildings.

Lily had wandered to the other side of the administration building and into the walkway that connected it to the second dorm. That dorm was the not-very-originally-named West Tower. Like the East Tower, it was connected to the main offices via a walkway on the second floor. There was a doorway to the building, but as Lily understood it, all access to the dorms had to go through the administration hall after hours and on any of the holidays. Since campus wasn’t technically open yet, that meant that all in and out traffic for both dorms went through the main hall.

A rustling sound drew her attention, and she pressed into the shadows as best she could. The greenery covering one wall parted, and when it did, a door was revealed. Stepping out of that door was Zephyr Waters.

He hadn’t seen her yet, and Lily couldn’t decide if she was less likely to be caught by staying still or fleeing. He turned his back to her to pull the stone door shut. The door scraped across the floor with a rasp, and the plants fell closed with a swish of leaves. A flash of red dangled from Zephyr’s hand. At first, she thought it was blood dripping, but a second look revealed it to be an ornate ruby necklace. Before she could wonder over the sight of Zephyr Waters creeping back onto campus with a priceless necklace in hand, he turned, saw her, and smiled.

“Lilywhite,” he greeted. “I’m touched. There’s usually no one to wait up for me.”

“I wasn’t . . .” She shook her head. Obviously, he knew she hadn’t been waiting up for him. Stepping forward, Lily surrendered the brief cover of shadows and said, “You were sneaking out.”

“In, actually. I went out a while ago.” He sent her a smile that was far more endearing than she would have liked.

Lily turned and walked away. Whatever rules he broke were his business. Abernathy Commandment #11: Know when to walk away from trouble. Zephyr was trouble, and she had no need to get involved with it. So far, she’d seen him twice: once when he was smiling over an explosion he’d set and once when he was sneaking back into campus.

“Whoa!” He ran after her. “I was joking about you waiting.”

“I know.” Lily kept walking.

He kept pace with her. “I think we got off to a bad start.”

Lily frowned. “Why are you following me?”

“Accompanying,” he corrected. “I’m accompanying you because I thought we could talk.”

His voice had a cajoling tone, and he smiled again. He was probably used to that smile working on people. If it didn’t, his easy manner and his name undoubtedly would. In a low voice, Lily told him, “I have no intention of telling anyone that I saw you here or that I know what happened at the harbor.”

“No one would believe you if you did.” Zephyr reached for her hand, but she jerked away. “Do you want to go to breakfast?”

“It’s still the middle of the night,” she pointed out.

“So we go to a club first. They stay open all night here.” He shrugged. “You liked the pier, right? We’ll walk down there.”

“I can’t. I don’t have permission to leave campus.”

Zephyr glanced pointedly behind them at the vine-covered wall. “There are other exits.”

Lily was tempted. There was no way to deny that. It wasn’t him but the idea of going out that lured her. Being close to the water always made her feel better, and a walk wasn’t the same as friendship.

More importantly, knowing about his secret exit would be useful. Abernathy Commandment #15: Always have a way out, more than one if possible. Even if she didn’t use it, knowing she could was worth the tentative peace with Zephyr.

“Don’t you need to do something with that?” She nodded toward the necklace.

“Do you want it?”

Lily’s mouth opened in a gasp before she managed to say, “Are you mental? You can’t just give that to the first girl you bump into.”