Knights of Light (The Conjurors Series Book 2) by Kristen Pham Page B

burning!”
Dulcea said in her sweet voice, whizzing down the building on a platform that
she was steering with her mind. Her blonde hair glinted in the sunlight, and her
wide smile was a welcome sight.
    “Valerie! And you must
be Henry! This is so wonderful. I do hope you’ll come to me like your sister
does if you need anything at all. Your room is all set up—you’ll be sharing
with Cyrus.” Dulcea almost bubbled over in her enthusiasm.
    “Um, thank you,” Henry
said, taking a small step backward. Valerie could feel through their connection
that he was a little overwhelmed.
    “Why don’t I show you
our room? Then Val and I will show you around properly,” Cyrus suggested.
    Henry nodded gratefully,
and they zoomed up to Cyrus’s floor. Dulcea and Valerie caught the next
platform.
    “I’ll join you. How are
you—really?” Dulcea asked.
    “Tired and worried about
Kanti, but very happy to be back. How have things been with you? Last time you
visited us, you said you were in the middle of your big thesis paper on finding
your passion through imagination.”
    “It’s been frustrating.
Our Guild Grand Master isn’t supportive of my theories. I’m going to need a lot
of data to prove myself to him.”
    “He sounds tough.”
    Dulcea laughed. “Rastelli
is probably the least tough person I’ve ever met. He’s hard to pin down on
anything. But he isn’t someone who likes change. And any time I try to talk
seriously with him, he always gets silly. Which is funny, but not helpful. I
guess it’s why he’s Grand Master though—he’s a big kid.”
    “I know how determined
you are. You’ll win him over.”
    “It’s so good to have
you back, Valerie.”
    She hugged Dulcea.
    “I left some treats in
your room. I remembered how much you loved my chocolates,” Dulcea said.
Dulcea’s magic was expressed in her desserts, and they were the most delicious candies
Valerie had ever eaten in her life.
    The two parted ways, and
Valerie went to her room, now empty, missing her roommate. As she stepped inside,
she remembered the first time she had met Kanti. She was in the room, dancing
to hip-hop. After Valerie got over the shock of her strange appearance, the two
quickly bonded. The room seemed lonely without her.
    Her side of the room was
untouched, and Pathos, her sword, lay on her bed. She strapped on her sheath
and slid Pathos into it. It was good to have it by her side again. It was as much
a part of her as her magic, and she had missed its security.
    She lay on her bed and
touched the crystal that would connect her to Thai and was instantly by his
side. He was sleeping in a twin bed in a small room. His eyes were shadowed,
and he slept the sleep of the exhausted. But he must have sensed something,
because he woke up, and he smiled when he saw her.
    “I was dreaming about you,”
he said. “We were arm wrestling. You beat me.”
    “How romantic,” she said
sarcastically, but actually she thought it really was.
    “How are you and Henry?
Everything okay?”
    “It is now. We’re safe
in our dorm. You don’t need to worry about us. Where are you, anyway?”
    “I’m staying in Henry’s
old bedroom. Joe seemed fragile after Henry left, and I didn’t want to leave
him by himself. Chisisi is taking Zaki’s body back to Egypt today.”
    She was chilled by his
words. With all the excitement of the past couple of days, she hadn’t processed
the full horror of what had happened to him. He was murdered. The word made
bile rise in her throat.
    “What is it?” Thai
asked.
    “He wouldn’t have been
in danger if it weren’t for Henry and me. He died because of us.”
    “Don’t do that,” he
said, sitting up. “You know that he was part of a larger battle against the
Fractus. They were more after him than either of you, from where I was sitting.
After all, that woman who jumped on the roof of our car tried to kidnap him, but
she left you alone.”
    “I can’t believe someone
would murder him. It’s like