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⊹ Book 1 of the Aldergrove Duology ⊹
After being told he has only six months left to live, Clementine decides to track down his sister's murderers, leading him to Aldergrove A...
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Later, Clementine and Elliot returned to their dorm. While Elliot was busy preparing the herbs they'd gathered, Clementine worked on his essay—the sooner he got it out of the way, the better.
He sighed quietly, tapping his foot under the table as he hastily wrote down everything he'd learned from both the history lesson and his allies. And while he worked, he became lost in his thoughts. He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling right now; all he knew was that it felt like something was brewing inside him. Could it be anxiety? Eagerness? Whatever it was, it had him distracted.
Three of Ian's friends were dead. Connor, Horace, and Lloyd. That left eight names on his list including Ian. He knew there had to be more to discover in the student files but knowing three more were gone already brought him some relief. However, it was probably going to make things even harder. Ian was going to think he had killed his goons, and he was going to come for him. That sent a shiver down his spine. He'd already been beaten up twice, he wasn't sure if he could take another beating like that any time soon.
He scratched at the oily ointment he'd not long applied to his bruised face and tutted. It itched but he had to leave it alone. He leaned back in his seat, tapping his paper with his pen. Just two more paragraphs and he'd be done. Coins: he'd write about what Mathew had said about golden coins. He leaned forward, hastily writing down every word he recalled.
Mathew, Mavis, and Elliot all seemed fine with what he'd revealed. Obviously, death wasn't something so alarming here. He was thankful Elliot hadn't screamed and was glad to see Mathew acting defensively, too. His allies were still very much that, and now he wondered...should he tell them the whole truth? Should he tell his allies he was actually here to kill the Ravenblood?
No, that might scare them. If he revealed his sole intention for coming to Aldergrove was to wipe out a dangerous society, they might relinquish their loyalty. He couldn't risk that. Perhaps there was a way around it, though. A white lie—what was the harm in that? He could just convince them that killing the Ravenblood was their best shot right now because Ian wasn't going to stop coming after them, and when they eventually killed Ian, the rest of the Ravenblood would come after them. That part wasn't a lie. Ian was already suspicious that someone was targeting him, and it wouldn't be long until that suspicion spread.
Just as Clementine finished his last sentence, he heard a knock at the dormitory door. He frowned, listening as Elliot put down whatever he had been holding and headed across the creaking floorboards towards the door. And when he opened it, something of a startled gasp stifled his greeting.
A searing, anxious burn jolted through Clementine's body. He flew to his feet, afraid he might be about to see his roommate with a blade through his chest or a tear in his throat. But when he emerged into the lounge, he found that Elliot was standing at the door with a sceptical glare on his face.
