Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

she told her laptop softly.

Ah. She was engrossed in a webchat. As she raised her head, seeming to feel Cassie more than hear her, she snapped her head round

swiftly and broke it off. A click of the mouse closed the chat window.

‘Hi!’ There was a crimson tinge to Isabella’s cheekbones.

‘Hey!’ Bouncing down on the bed closest to her friend, Cassie smiled. ‘Who were you chatting to?’

‘My mother. She says hi.’ The crimson shade deepened.

‘Oh! Your dad too?’

‘Nope. I mean, yeah, I’m sure he sends his love as well.’ Hurriedly Isabella closed the laptop.

‘No, it was just, I thought I heard—’ A male voice? A weirdly familiar one, at that. Cassie shook herself. Few hearing she might have, but

she was more than a little tipsy. She could have been mistaken. Maybe …

But it was none of her business. And the important thing was getting back on solid ground with Isabella, not interrogating her.

‘Have I got some gossip for you!’ Cassie gave her roommate a broad grin.

‘Good!’ Isabella clapped her hands, her expression relaxing. ‘That’s the only reason I allowed you to go to the party! Now, just before you

start, wait five – I got hold of that bottle of champagne …’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

‘Ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch.’ Cassie rolled over on to her face, dragging a pillow over her head to shut out the morning light. The distant

wail of muezzin and the soft cooing of a dove echoed painfully in her head. ‘Never again,’ she moaned into the mattress.

It was long minutes before she could ease herself into the light of a new day. Blinking groggily at the other bed, she saw her roommate

was still fast asleep and snoring. The sleep of the just, Cassie thought, rolling her eyes in envy. Oh, blimey, even that hurt …

Stumbling to the glass-walled shower she turned it on hard and hot. That felt better. The pink-brown dove was at the bathroom window

now, chirping its head off, but it sounded more soothing now than painful. Cassie closed her eyes blissfully, letting hot needles of water

wash away her headache.

Then, suddenly, a scream pierced through the dull fuzz in her head. A blood-chilling, desperate howl.

The dove flapped away in fright. Cassie slammed the water off and stood for a moment, befuddled, her heart slamming against her chest

with the shock. Then, snatching up a towel, she ran back into the bedroom.

She sighed with relief. Not Isabella. The Argentinian girl still snored peacefully, face obscured by her mess of mahogany hair. Cassie

hopped from foot to foot, quickly towelling herself dry, and wondered if she’d imagined the scream.

Then it came again, shattering the morning quiet. It came from outside in the corridor, but echoing through the open shutters of the

courtyard. Hauling on jeans and dragging a T-shirt over her head, Cassie flung open the door and ran in the direction of the screaming.

By the time she’d found the source, the hysterical screams had turned to wailing sobs. Clustered around a crying girl was a group of

other students, all of them in various states of undress and bemusement. The girl was crouched on the ground, but then she suddenly

leaped to her feet, flailing, batting them away.

Cassie darted forward instinctively, seizing her arms. ‘Sh! Calm down, what is it? What’s wrong? Hey!’

The girl fought her for a few seconds, but then seemed to recognise Cassie almost at the same moment as Cassie recognised her.

God, it was Saski! The new third-year Few girl. Cassie drew back, staring at her but still holding fast to her arms. The girl she’d last seen

giggling in Mikhail’s embrace, heading down to the launch jetty with him to go and ‘research’ nightclubs.

‘Quiet,’ she whispered to the sobbing girl. ‘Calm down!’ Turning to the ogling hordes, she saw there were no other Few. Ah, no wonder

they were brimming with such hungry curiosity. With a deep breath, Cassie drew herself taller and reluctantly mustered her Few authority.

‘All right, end of show. Go on, get out of here. Can’t you see she’s upset?’ She glared at the more reluctant ones. ‘Seriously, this is

nothing to do with you. We’ll sort it out.’ They seemed to understand what she meant by ‘we’, even if Cassie wasn’t exactly sure what the

Few would be able to do about whatever it was that was upsetting Saski so much. Still, it was enough to send them packing; the crowd

dispersed, muttering, back to their rooms.

Ignoring the bitchy comments whispered in her direction, Cassie helped the hysterical girl to her feet and pulled her towards an alcove.

At least all this had done for her hangover.

‘What is it, for heaven’s sake? Hey! Settle down, Saski, and I’ll try and help you!’

The girl took gulps of air, sniffing and rubbing her eyes, and at last the juddering of her body calmed down enough for her to say

something intelligible.