His eyes go wide and he shifts the large stack of books he’s carrying from one arm to the other. “Like, you want a tutor?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I was hoping you might have some reading material I could borrow. Tessa says you have quite a large collection.”

“But aren’t you a Bone Charmer?” He shoves his spectacles back into place. The hint of suspicion in his voice is exactly why we didn’t get the books from the library ourselves.

We reach the top of the stairs and enter the grand foyer.

“I am, yes. But I’m working on a reading for a Healer. A Mender like you. And it would really help if I understood his craft a bit. My accuracy improves if I’m more informed.”

His face relaxes. He shifts his books to the other arm. “Oh, that makes more sense. For a moment I thought …” His cheeks flush.

“It’s an odd request, I know. But Charmers have to learn a bit about everything. And Tessa says you’re the best.”

At that his cheeks go from slightly pink to scarlet. “Oh. Well, Tessa,” he stammers, “she’s …” He swallows. Collects himself. “That’s very kind of her.”

“It’s very kind of you,” I say.

He gives me a sheepish grin. “I could get the books for you right now, if you want to wait?”

“Thank you,” I say. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

The Healer hurries up the stairs toward the men’s dormitory. I throw a glance over my shoulder at Rasmus, who is watching me with something like a smirk. He was too far away to hear the conversation, so I’m sure it looked like I was flirting.

I miss the days when I could humiliate myself without an audience.

A few minutes later the Healer returns with a different stack of books that he presses into my arms. “That should be a good start,” he says, “but let me know if you have questions. And tell Tessa … tell her I said hello.”

I rush to my bedroom to study the healing book—it’s something to think about besides the looming third bone game and the possibility of a traitor at Ivory Hall—and then spend every free moment over the next few days scrutinizing each page. I read all about blood clots and calluses and using magic to repair fractures. In truth, I’m not sure I can heal the broken bones on my own, even if I am willing to break the law.