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  “For now,” he growled. “After breakfast, report to the headmaster’s office. I’ll give you that long to think about telling me the identity of the person who was out with you. If you don’t come up with it by then, you’re looking at automatic expulsion. Do you understand me, Jameson?”

  Slowly, I nodded. “Y-yes sir,” I stuttered. I understood him all too well. I would be forced to leave the school, my father would be notified, and both Kristopher and I would be exposed. It was the worst possible outcome. But if I told on Broward, I would probably be murdered in my sleep.

  What was I going to do?

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “What the hell were you thinking?” North snarled. Apparently Lackson’s shouting had woken him—probably along with the rest of the dorm. When I came into the room, he was already pacing the floor, his blue eyes fierce and angry.

  “I—” I began, but he didn’t let me finish.

  “Why were you sneaking out in the middle of the night, anyway?” he demanded. “Damn it, Jameson, you scared the crap out of me! I woke up and found you gone and my lamp missing. Who were you meeting anyway? Was it Wilkenson?”

  “I wasn’t meeting anyone,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster.

  “You weren’t?” His eyes narrowed. “Well then who was it that Lackson saw you with out there? I heard him raving about it and then he said something else I couldn’t catch before he let you back in the room.”

  I sighed and decided to tell him as much as I could without revealing my secret. “Since you must know,” I said, “I went off campus tonight. When I came back, Broward was waiting for me. He said Nodes had seen me sneak out. He was going to beat me up until Lackson saw us, but he ran away before Lackson could see his face.”

  “God above!” North ran a hand through his hair. “Why in the hell were you sneaking off campus? Do you know what they’d do to you if they found that out, Jameson?”

  “Probably what they’re going to do to me now—expel me,” I said dully. Sinking down on my bed, I put my head in my hands. Everything had been going so well. If only…

  “What do you mean, expel you?” North asked. His deep voice had a funny note in it and when I looked up, I saw that he was upset—maybe more upset than I had ever seen him.

  “I mean Lackson says if I don’t inform on the person he saw me with he’ll give me an automatic expulsion.” I shook my head. “But I can’t tell on Broward—he already wants to kill me.”

  “You’re right about that.” North looked grim. “There’s no threat in the world I could make that would keep him off you if you ratted him out. I can’t be with you every single minute of the day—you’d be dead meat.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” I scrubbed a sleeve across my eyes. “I wish I could think what to do but I’m so tired.”

  “I’m not surprised—you’ve been out all night breaking the rules all to hell.” But North’s voice was slightly gentler, despite his rough words. He sighed and sank down on the bed across from me. “Just tell me this—what was so damn important you had to get off campus for?”

  “I had to make a call,” I said stiffly. “To someone…someone I care for very much. I had to warn him that he might be in danger.” I looked up at North. “I’m sorry—that’s all I can tell you.”

  “Okay.” He nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t risk yourself for nothing.”

  “I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t urgent,” I said shortly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and get some rest. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Or a short one—depending on how you look at it.”

  North frowned. “Try to get some sleep. Don’t worry about the expulsion thing—we’ll get it worked out.”

  “Right,” I mumbled, looking down at my hands. “I’ll just wave my magic wand and make the whole mess disappear.”

  “I’m not kidding, Jameson. Look at me,” he demanded. When I finally looked up and met his gaze, I was surprised to see his blue eyes blazing with determination. “I swear to you here and now,” he said. “That you will not be expelled. Do you understand? I won’t let it happen—I won’t.”

  Slowly, I nodded. I didn’t see how he could keep his promise or even why he would want to help me, considering the silent treatment he’d been giving me for so long. But I was too tired and miserable to say any of that. I just sighed and lay down in my bed, still fully clothed. There was only an hour until it was time to wake up and I didn’t feel like going into the closet and changing into my pajamas.

  Oh Kristopher, I thought, as I rolled on my side and looked at the blank wall. I hope you can get out in time. I hope you’re a billion miles away when the Academy and Father find out what we’ve done.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The headmaster’s office was exactly as I remembered it. The antique books lining the shelves, the holo-pics, the huge burnished wood desk dominating the room. Only this time the man sitting behind that desk had a very angry look on his face. Headmaster Chauser was glaring at me in a way that made me feel sick to my stomach. On one side of him stood Lackson, also glaring, and on the other, his personal assistant Hinks (Kinky Hinks my mind chanted) who looked mildly amused.

  “Have you anything to say for yourself, Jameson?” the headmaster thundered at me. “Are you ready to give up the identity of the cadet who was with you late night?”

  Miserably, I shook my head. “No sir.”

  “Be reasonable, Jameson.” Chauser’s voice dropped a notch—apparently he’d decided to try a different approach on me. “Sneaking out past RLO isn’t normally an automatic expulsion but I must have the truth from you. Your father paid a great deal of credit to send you here and he’s not going to be happy when he hears I have to refund it.” By the look on his face, the headmaster wasn’t going to be very happy about that part either. “You’ve been a model student up until now,” he continued. “You’ve gotten top marks in all your classes. It would be a shame to let all that hard work go to waste, now wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.” I nodded. “But I still can’t say who it was.” I looked at him pleadingly. “Can’t you just believe me when I say it was too dark to see his face?” Which was sort of true. I hadn’t seen much more of Broward than his angry, piggy eyes.

  “I heard you talking to him,” Lackson growled. “So I know that you know who it was. Tell us, Jameson, or face the consequences.”

  “Which I will determine.” The headmaster gave Lackson an irritated look and the dorm monitor stepped back and shrugged apologetically. “Now then,” Chauser continued. “I don’t want to expel you, Jameson. But I will if you don’t give me a name right now.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” I said, shaking my head. “But I just can’t—”

  “It was me.”

  I turned in surprise to see North striding into the headmaster’s office. “North?” My voice was squeaky with surprise.

  My roommate nodded at me briefly before coming up to stand beside me in front of the headmaster’s vast desk. “I’m sorry to come in without permission, sir,” he said, addressing Chauser. “But I couldn’t let Jameson face these charges on his own. Not when I’m the one who is really to blame.”

  “What?” Lackson, Chauser, and Hicks all exclaimed together. I simply stood there, too surprised to even talk.

  North lifted his chin. “I said, I was the one who was outside after RLO with Jameson last night. And in fact, leaving the dorm in the first place was my idea, not his.”

  “North!” I hissed but he only shook his head.

  “Don’t try to stop me from telling, Jameson. I should have stayed with you last night. It was cowardly of me to run.”

  “But very brave of you to come forward now,” Hinks gushed, smiling at North. “So sweet of you to defend your roommate.”

  “Indeed.” Chauser steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk. Leaning forward, he studied North intently. “But I’m curious to know exactly why you were out there i