As we walked up the road, Jasper whispered to Seth, “Do you think there’s such a thing as an astronomy kink?”

“Oh, for sure.”

“I hate both of you,” I said, but didn’t duck away when Seth slung an arm around my shoulders.

° ° °

We made it back to the castle right on time, entering through the front door instead of sneaking in through the gym. Mrs. Whitworth awaited us, standing on the stairs with a smile on her face, nodding once before she turned around and went back to the teachers’ quarters, her elegant nightgown billowing behind her.

“Do you want us to walk you back to your room?” Seth whispered.

“I think I’ll manage.”

“This is totally unrelated to anything we talked about,” Jasper said, “But just in case you ever need to visit someone in the infirmary, it’s the third door on the right when you enter the west wing.”

“Ah.” I cleared my throat. “Thanks for that completely unrelated information.”

I could tell that Seth was holding back a laugh. “Good night, Eve. See you at breakfast.”

“Good night,” I said and watched as the two of them made their way up the stairs to the boys’ wing, Seth a few feet behind Jasper until their tall frames disappeared in the hallway.

When they were gone, I made my way back to my room, where I brushed my teeth and changed into leggings and a soft jumper. It had been an eventful day and it was past my usual bedtime, so I expected to drift off easily once I went to bed—instead, I found myself lying wide awake. The room felt strange without Noelle. I had gotten so used to having her around at all times that the space now felt empty without her even breathing and the acute awareness of having her a few feet away.

It was absurd, really: in the beginning, I hadn’t been able to sleep with her so close to me, and now I apparently couldn’t sleep without her.

And then there was the constant fear of having a nightmare, which seemed almost inevitable. There was barely a night I didn’t wake up bathed in sweat and with my heart racing, the voices still echoing in my head in a way that reminded me of the first pages of Wuthering Heights; I was Mr. Lockwood tossing around in his bed, haunted in dreams by a figure from the past that was begging to be let in, and like Heathcliff being alerted by his screams, Noelle was the one who usually called out my name to wake me.

It had helped to open my eyes and see her on the other side of the room, pulling me back into the present. Tonight, I would wake up alone in the dark again.

When half an hour had passed and I felt no closer to sleep than earlier, I kicked the blanket away and sat up. It was an impulsive decision, but with Jasper’s voice echoing in my head, I barely hesitated as I grabbed my keys and stepped out into the hallway.