Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

overflowed with geraniums. Yet all Cassie could think was that the splashes of scarlet looked so much like spattered blood. When a petal

drifted down to the cobbled street, she found herself dodging it.

And then she felt it.

A watcher.

She turned, narrowing her eyes.

No way. She was imagining things; her nerves were shot, that was all. She was on edge because of Isabella and – oh, everything else.

Who’d be trailing her round Cukurcuma? It couldn’t be …? With a mixture of hope and irritation, she waited to feel that familiar prickling

sensation, but she wasn’t sure. Was it there? Was she just on edge and imagining it? Estelle remained unhelpfully silent. Perhaps it wasn’t

Ranjit then, she thought, irritated at her disappointment.

But then who?

Cassie forced herself to take an interest in the discussion about Umit Unal’s latest gowns, aware she was being hyper-cheerful, and

ridiculously keen to draw Isabella and the Few girls into a simultaneous, friendly conversation. And trying to forget that feeling too – that

between-the-shoulder-blades, indefinable itch. Falling silent for a moment and drawing away from the gaggle of girls, Cassie turned slightly

to peer over her shoulder. Again, nobody was there.

But no. She was sure she’d been right the first time. The force of the stare was almost tangible. There was no way, with her heightened

Few senses, she could be mistaken. She could even tell where it was coming from. Behind and to the right.

She raised her head to search the shuttered windows, but the sun was in her eyes and he was downwind, whoever he was. Her entire

body went still.

Somebody’s watching us …

We’re imagining things, Cassie insisted unconvincingly to herself and to Estelle, shaking her head fiercely. She couldn’t see anyone.

And hard on the heels of that thought, she wondered why she kept trying to talk herself out of her own instincts.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Guilt, my old friend, Cassie thought. There you are again. It was partly Isabella’s sulkiness, she told herself. If the girl hadn’t started

getting so moody about her doing what she had to do, Cassie might not even have hung out so much with the Few. As it was, she found

she was enjoying their company more and more over the past few days, despite it making her feel doubly bad about Isabella.

Gathering her strength as the students sprang up when the lunch bell sounded, Cassie decided to make an effort to hang out with her

roommate after their art class.

‘Isabella,’ Cassie said, turning to her friend. ‘Wanna grab some lunch?’

Isabella gave a quick, distracted smile. ‘Yeah, just a sec.’ She turned as Alice tapped her on the shoulder, and they began a quick chat.

‘Cassie!’ Cormac called. ‘Coming to the common room?’

‘Actually,’ Ayeesha interjected, ‘I think we should head to the cafeteria today. The chef from that great restaurant, Rami, is guesting today,

and his hünkar begendi is my favourite!’

‘Oh, definitely!’ Cormac said, smacking his lips as he took his girlfriend’s hand.

‘Cassie?’ Ayeesha said expectantly.

‘Uh, hang on. I should wait for Isabella.’ Cassie looked back towards the classroom, where Isabella was still chatting to Alice.

‘Oh, yeah. Fair enough.’

Cassie watched as the pair joined with some more Few students and made their way down the corridor. She sighed. Most days now after

classes – with which she was making a much bigger effort, since it (nearly) stopped her thinking about anything else – Cassie found

herself hanging out with the Few, and she almost felt regretful that she’d said she’d wait behind. The common room, for example, had

begun to feel more and more like a haven: enclosed, secret, safe. The little luxuries it offered didn’t do any harm either. Of course, there

were still people there who loathed her, but it was surprising how easy it was to ignore them. They didn’t even bother her any more; she

found she could ignore their glares and exist in a bubble of superiority that drove them half demented. She knew she and, most

importantly, her spirit were the equal of any of them, and better than most. She didn’t have to care. And of course, there were plenty of

them she liked.

When Isabella finally wrapped up her conversation with Alice and returned her attention to Cassie, there was a slightly awkward silence

as they made their way over to the cafeteria. Cassie frowned at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to speak easily with her friend. She

cleared her throat.

‘So, what was Alice saying?’

‘Oh, more boy trouble,’ Isabella said, smiling a kind of private smile that made Cassie feel oddly excluded.

‘Right. As usual.’ She couldn’t resist a dismissive tone. It seemed as though Isabella was more interested in what Alice got up to at the