Read Online Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson - Free Book Online

one of the nurses.
    â€œIt’s you . . .”
    More cadets backed away, leaving Evie to him. “Hello,” she said with a grimace.
Why can’t he just go to someone else?
    â€œI’m back.” He rolled his neck, producing a cascade of cracks. Then he met her eyes again and flashed a wide smile. “I’m back!”
    The onlookers murmured in confusion. The tension in the room evaporated as suddenly and unexpectedly as it had come.
    â€œI’m back!” He pulled one of the nurses into an embrace and spun her in an impromptu dance. His delirious laughter bounced off every wall of the Infirmary. He raced after a group of ducks, scattering them with a chorus of irritated quacks. “I’m back, ducklings!” Then he wheeled on Evie, charging across the floor with fresh fire in his eyes. “Where in blazes have you been?” She tried to form words, but found she suddenly didn’t know any. His hand enveloped the back of her head and his lips pressed to her own, soft and warm and entirely unexpected. Thoughts exploded in her head, each dying the moment it was born. And then his lips were gone and he spun to face the others, arm raised in triumph. “I’M BACK!”
    Evie stood motionless, lips still parted, still warm with the sensation of his.
    â€œAll right, young man,” said one of the nurses, placing a hand on his back.
    â€œWhat’s this, a kiss for you as well, my dear?”
    â€œOh, I should think not,” chuckled the nurse, ushering him away.
    As she led him into one of the Infirmary’s private chambers, he shouted, “Prince Forbes is back from the sty! Let it be known!”
    Evie dragged her hand across her lips and straightened her dress, though there was nothing she could do about the hot red flush in her face. She tried to act as though nothing had happened, but inside her chest, beneath the dragon scale, her heart pounded so resoundingly she thought everyone must be able to hear.
    â€œIncredible,” said Wertzheim, shaking her head in awe. “Absolutely breathtaking. That young man’s father brought him to us five years ago and we’ve never had a bit of luck with his curse. Tell me, Cadet, how is it that you know him?”
    Evie grimaced. Just as when she had arrived at Marburg with Remington, all eyes were once again on her. “I’ve never seen him in my life.”
    â€œOh, I suspect you have, my dear. The cure for a witch’s curse is quite often tied to its inception. Perhaps when your memory returns, you’ll find him there.” Her mouth curled into a smile. “I should hope so with a kiss like that.”
    Some of the cadets laughed, but amidst the crowd, there was one who didn’t. Sage, the girl without humor, the confidante to Malora, stared coldly back. And Evie knew then that this incident wouldn’t die in the Infirmary. She was new to the twin hobgoblins of rumor and gossip, yet she understood implicitly that when she sat down at the Ironbone Company table for supper that night, her kiss would be on the lips of many, many others.

E VIE DRAGGED her feet across the uneven stone of the courtyard outside Pennyroyal Castle. Her eyes were heavy and her belly was full. With starry black skies above, a tremendous distance traveled, and too many strange occurrences to remember, she could have happily stumbled into the darkness and slept. Instead, a sea of third-class princess cadets swept toward the castle, clumped together by the colors of their company uniforms.
    She had been distracted all through supper. The Dining Hall was lit by candles and braziers and roaring fires, warm and sleepy, and the long company tables were piled high with feast atop clean white cloth. Joyous conversation surrounded her, girls slowly transitioning from acquaintances to new friends, but Evie’s thoughts were across the hall on the black doublets of Thrushbeard Company. Remington’s