In the entryway, professors spoke quietly within clusters, and they didn't notice me stepping free from the dark. Or trying to. Shadowy fingers curled over my shoulders and dragged at the back of my cloak. I shook free of them, but I had no idea what would happen if I couldn't.
I took up the two plates of food I'd hidden, headed back to my room - and stopped with a jolt outside our door. Three marks sliced across the wood. Like claw marks, but much bigger than a cat. And my protection symbol was gone.
A shudder rippled across my shoulders as I threw open the door.
But Seph wasn't there.
I blinked around our room, noting the rumpled blankets on her bed and her boots still next to her desk.
"Nebbles?" I said, placing the plates on my desk.
I found the cat under the bed, and when she sa
