When Lev lifted Verona from the lake, the girl was passing out. She slumped limply in his arms. Her body was as light as a feather, thought Lev. Does she never eat? Lev still doesn’t understand why girls these days are obsessed with skinny bodies like slates.

Lev didn’t take her back to the dormitory or to the town area. There will be many eyes watching and that is not good for Verona. Especially if the dormitory gets to know about it.

He carried Verona into the woods on the other side of the lake, a suitable distance from the town and closer to Noblebranch. Unlike the residents of Duradel,...