The next evening came too quickly.
Jonathan stood in the corridor outside the school's main building, watching the last of the students filter toward their dormitories after dinner. The mandatory attendance policy meant the campus was easier to control now, everyone accounted for, everyone right where Maren wanted them, being watched with close scrutiny.
His ribs still ached beneath the tight wrapping, but the school nurse had given him stronger painkillers that dulled the edge enough to function. He'd spent the day in his temporary quarters, a small room in the faculty wing that Maren had assigned him, trying not to think about what tonight would bring.
At 10:47 pm, his phone buzzed. A text came in from Mallory: Come to the Chamber entrance. Now.
