CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Winter
"Winter!" Brynn runs up the main staircase, and I meet her halfway, pulling her into a hug.
"You're okay!"
"Yep." She pulls back. Her hair is tangled and her cheeks are red from the cold, but otherwise she looks all right.
Behind her, the staff and students she guided to safety enter the school and follow a Guild member to the dining hall. For the first time, I see Alice among them.
My heart goes still.
I hadn't noticed her before when we were rescuing the students. She must have kept to the shadows.
Noticing me now, she quickly looks away. My throat is dry and scratchy, and I feel like I might gag.
After Brynn, Alice was the first person to befriend me at Hawthorn. She took me under her wing and acted like she wanted to teach and protect me.
It wasn't long before she turned on me, though. She was the one who filmed me defending myself against Heather and her friends and then made it seem like I attacked them.