Gates of Thread and Stone(59)

Avan’s blank expression was infuriating. “You’re right,” he said, but I couldn’t tell if he really believed me or not. “We should make it easier for him by learning where everything is. I’m going to poke around. Join me?”

“I’m tired. I’m going to my room,” I lied.

“If you want to be alone, just say so,” he told me, which made me drop my gaze guiltily. “And be careful.”

Before he turned away, I touched his arm.

“Do you think Mason made it out all right?”

“He’s probably having breakfast in Etu Gahl as we speak. He’s not the one you should be worrying about.”

True, but it made me feel better that he believed Mason was safe.

I nodded. “Nice match, by the way. Are you hurt?” I already knew the answer but figured I should ask. Whenever Avan came to terms with the fact that he was mahjo, I hoped he would talk to me about it. I could tell him that it wasn’t so bad being different.

Avan gave me his crooked smile. “Not a scratch.”



Instead of going to my room, I did what Avan had suggested and wandered around the facility until noon. Unfortunately, Reev was nowhere to be found.

Cadets lingered everywhere. From what I knew of the Tournament, only a handful made it to the final rounds. According to Irra, more than a hundred cadets entered the Tournament. The judges culled half during the preliminary brackets. After that, another half were eliminated in teams until they reached the single-elimination matches, which were presided over by Kahl Ninu himself.

Mahjo naturally rose to the top, making it easy for Kahl Ninu to award them the rank of sentinel. The citizens of the White Court didn’t seem to know what becoming a sentinel really meant. The sacrifices required. Grene had said they weren’t allowed to see their families anymore, but had she ever questioned why Kahl Ninu had sent her aunt into the Outlands in the first place?

I returned to Zora Hall and headed to the back entrance where Avan and I had sneaked in. The alley where we’d emerged from the sewer was empty, but I made a sweep of the area. Then I reached down and heaved the manhole cover from its position. The top of the cover had a looping design engraved into the metal. It looked like flower petals extending from the Ninurtan emblem in the middle.

With a grunt, I flipped over the cover, careful to grasp the rim before it could clatter on the ground. The other side bore the same design, except instead of the emblem, there was what looked like an elaborate A, but I doubted it was a letter. It matched one of the designs carved into Mason’s collar—a mark or sigil of some kind that Irra had added to sever the link with Kahl Ninu.

If Mason’s information proved accurate—and he had yet to fail us—then Irra’s spies would see my signal. In twenty-four hours, we would meet here and an escort would see us out.

I should have talked to Avan before going ahead with the signal, but his skepticism over Reev annoyed me. Lack of faith wasn’t going to get my brother out of here. I was.

Now it was simply a matter of finding him. Reev was probably still overseeing matches, so I’d have to keep checking the prep room or try to locate the sentinel quarters before lights-out.

As soon as I talked to him, things would be okay. I would get him to the sewer and out of Ninurta. Irra would be able to help him, the same way he’d helped Mason and all the other hollows.

Reev would be okay. I knew it. I clutched that certainty close—it was the only thing I had left.





CHAPTER 28




AFTER A FEW wrong turns and several empty hallways, I came to the conclusion that I was lost. I didn’t mind not knowing where I was going. I’d memorized the streets in the Lower Alley by first getting lost and then navigating my way back to familiar ground. I wandered a bit farther and discovered a huge lobby. Everything gleamed, from the silvery filament in the stone tiles to the gold and stained-glass accents in the mural on the ceiling. High-backed chairs with brocade upholstery were lined up all along the walls, a few of them occupied by people reading or sitting quietly as if they were waiting for something, but I couldn’t imagine what that might be.

I crossed the lobby hesitantly. The ceiling rose as tall as the rafters in Etu Gahl, but the metal sconces holding hundreds of glowing candles were a far cry from drafty wooden beams dressed in cobwebs.

A pair of Watchmen stood at the entrance, but the lobby was otherwise unguarded. The Tournament, and much of the Academy, was kept private from the rest of the city. I had read that cadets were allowed to see their families only once a year until graduation, unless the families received special permission to visit.

Beyond the double glass doors, I could see a throng of people outside. The traffic in the White Court was as crowded as in the North District. The Watchmen guarding the doors gave me suspicious looks, but I just waved as if I knew exactly what I was doing and stepped outside. I doubted I’d find Reev out here, but I couldn’t contain the curiosity that guided me forward. I had never seen the White Court from anywhere but the barracks.

As soon as I reached the sidewalk, I was overtaken by the flow of people. A hard shoulder knocked me off the curb. I gasped and clutched a lamppost right as a Gray barreled past, the ensuing gust of wind snapping my hair across my cheeks. I brushed it out of my face and continued down the sidewalk. I didn’t like the crowds in the North District, but at least there I could feel invisible. The differences here confused and fascinated me at the same time.