Chapter 10
With Lillian taking the next few days off school, Esme was forced to field countless questions from the victims of Cupid’s Mark. What was Lillian up to? Was she all right? Was she feeling any better? Did she need anything? Anything at all? They pressed poems and letters and sweets and cough lollies into Esme’s hands, begging her to pass them on. When the lunch bell rang on Friday, Esme escaped the school grounds as fast as she could and ran to catch the ferry to the Keeper’s Quarter.
Soon, she stood before the imposing bronze doors of Augustine’s clinic. Inside, a long entrance hall swam with moody light. Paintings, dressed up in elaborate gold frames, graced the walls. Esme paused before a portrait of Queen Sofia, one of the founders of Aeolia.
She knew Sofia’s features well
