Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

‘Huh?’

Ayeesha smiled and jerked her thumb in the vague direction of Sir Alric’s office. ‘Saw you got summoned.’

Cassie gave her a weak grin. ‘Not really. Just got my card marked, so to speak.’

‘Don’t let him bother you. He can be a sod, we all know that, but it’s only because he worries.’

‘Oh, he’s a regular sweet old grandpa-figure.’ Cassie rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help laughing. Ayeesha joined in.

‘Listen, we’re having drinks in the Few common room on Thursday. Seven o’clock, to celebrate the start of term. Join us?’ Ayeesha

raised a hopeful eyebrow.

‘Oh! I … dunno, I—’

‘Don’t want to associate with us? Cassie! What could we possibly have done to offend you?’ She pouted jokily. ‘Actually, don’t answer

that! Just come along anyway?’ She grinned. ‘We’ll make it up to you. Cormac makes a hell of a mojito.’

‘Oh, I believe that all right.’ Cassie bit her lip. ‘But I don’t know …’

‘Hey, look,’ Ayeesha said gently. ‘All those problems you had last term? Not feeding properly, losing control of yourself? None of that

would have happened if we’d been there for you. All the Few, we’re supposed to look out for each other, and we didn’t.’

Cassie wondered inwardly if Sir Alric had briefed the Bajan girl. ‘That wasn’t your fault—’ she began.

‘Well, not entirely, Cassie. But still. We need to make up for what we didn’t do.’ Ayeesha gave her a beatific grin. ‘And some of us do

actually like you, despite all your efforts.’

That made Cassie laugh out loud. ‘OK, you win! But I don’t do committees, right? Nobody’s going to try and make me run the Christmas

raffle.’

‘Nah. We expect you to bake cakes, though, and knit stuffed animals.’ Ayeesha winked. ‘Seriously, though, you don’t have to get any

more involved than you want to. We want to be your friends, that’s all. It doesn’t mean we’re all joined at the virtual hip, it’s cool. And it’ll

keep Sir Alric off your back.’

Cassie exhaled deeply. ‘That can only be good, I guess! OK, I’ll be there.’

‘Great!’

‘And Ayeesha …? Thanks.’

With a last happy smile, Ayeesha slung her bag on to her shoulder and walked off. Cassie watched her go, unwilling to move till she’d

gathered her thoughts, soothed by the echoing trickle and splash of the fountain.

Things were back on track for her plans this term, then. Mean girl Katerina was out of the picture – so was Ranjit, for that matter – and

Jake wasn’t here, which was rough on Isabella, but certainly made life generally calmer without his revenge-seeking … The whole damn

scenario was a lot less stressful.

So she was going to make a concerted effort to fit in. What was the point in fighting it? What was the point in resisting Estelle, rejecting

her Few existence? There was no going back; everyone had told her so. She could fight it till she dropped dead of boredom and

exhaustion, or she could make an effort.

That’s my girl, Cassandra. Estelle’s voice was soft, and for once she didn’t resent it.

That’s my girl.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cassie took a deep breath as she surveyed the students’ eager faces around her. She loved field trips, especially here. It wasn’t that the

Academy itself wasn’t a stunningly beautiful place to study and work, but to sail across to Istanbul itself, to see its great architectural

jewels up close, was a thrill for Cassie. Besides, perhaps she was a little like Sir Alric in that way: she did like a change of scene. It gave her

breathing space, thinking space.

The sounds of the city were somehow muted in the grounds of the stunning Hagia Sophia mosque, softened by the splashing of

fountains. Standing on the grass with the rest of the class, Cassie gazed up at its imposing dome and minarets, only half listening to Mr

Haswell as he pointed out the Iznik tiling and the delicate beauty of the structure. The sun was warm on the back of her neck and for the

moment she didn’t take notes, just clasped her book in her arms and basked in the atmosphere.

She was completely relaxed, and she wasn’t expecting her neck to prickle with that now-familiar instinct. Frowning, she scratched at the

back of her neck and turned.

Where had he appeared from again? She was as sure as she could be that Ranjit had not been on the boat with the rest of them. But he

must have been, because now there he was, his eyes locking with hers for a brief moment before he turned away. Nice of him to turn up

for a class, she thought sarcastically. And he had been watching her for a while – the tingling of her skin meant nothing else. Now, though,

he was blending with the rest of the class as they filed inside the building, his attention apparently intently focused on the soaring space