I met Jetson’s concerned green gaze and my stomach twisted with guilt, even as I plotted to deceive him. I touched a limp hand to my head.

He responded immediately. “Does your head hurt?”

I nodded, feebly.

He pulled the blanket up to my chin and tucked me in. “It must have been a nasty fall.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Your fall. Hosea said you slipped and fell on the staircase down to the Main Hall.”

“Oh right. I can hardly remember.”

He brushed a hand along my forehead, then rested it against my cheek.

For once, I didn’t push it away. “Jetson. You know I’m a stickler for rules.”

“Yes, you are,” he said, his gaze soft.

“Well, boys aren’t allowed in the girls’ dorms. I want you to stay, but…” My voice trailed off.

“I understand. I’ll go.” He took my hand. “Can I get you pain medication before I leave?”

“Yes, please,” I said.

He poured a generous amount of medication into a goblet and watched as I took a mouthful. At the door, he looked back at me. “That should put you to sleep for some time,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

As the door shut, I spat the mixture back into the goblet. I needed to be alert in the village, not addled with drugs. I tilted my head, listening for Jetson’s footsteps in the hall. When they disappeared down another long corridor, I threw my cover back and raced to get dressed.

* * *

A quarter-hour later, I peeked into the hall, more nervous than I’d been in ten years. Going to the village was against the most fundamental of rules. If I was caught, my punishment would be severe. Jones herself would be lenient. She had ordered me to spy on Hosea, and Hosea was in the village. But if another Teacher discovered me, I would have no excuse.

I pushed back the hood of my pallium as I looked left and right. In a moment of inspiration, I’d chosen a heavy cloak over clothing more appropriate to the mild weather. Its dark color would blend in with the night and serve as cover—I hoped. I stepped into the corridor and waited, listening. The hinge of my door creaked loudly and Covington, across the hall, was a light sleeper. One heartbeat—two. She snored softly.

I gripped the strap of my schoolbag as I traveled along the girls’ quarters to the main stairs. I descended the stairs to the Main Hall and past the corridor that led to the kitchen. High above me, the solar-powered crystalights hovered like diamonds in the darkness. I hurried through the front door, across the porch and around the side of the house, to the backyard, nearly an acre wide. Wrapped around the yard was a locked picket fence.