Amber's POV

I was so freaking tired. I almost decided to skip class, but Milaek and Azami could be pretty scary sometimes (although my English has improved sooo much because Azami uses big words all the time, even though Milaek always scolds her for it). We had Professor Elena first, which was bad because I think she hates me. It's so hard to pay attention for that long though! I slid into the seat next to Caleb, and he broke off his conversation with Tyron to smile at me. Sadly, we didn't have time for more, because Professor Elena clapped her hands really loudly and started her lecture. As usual, I got bored about two minutes in and let my gaze wander around the room. Set looked really pale (I wondered what happened, but it was Set so it probably wasn't very interesting), and Lisse looked like an ink blot in the corner as usual. Xerin and Briar were making sure not to look at each other (oh, what happened to them?) and Larimar still looked sad. I really couldn't understand why.
Gareth wasn't paying attention to the lecture, but Professor Elena never even called on him. Actually, sometimes she seemed almost afraid of him, but that was crazy. She was a teacher! Teachers at Skeleton Keys were the strongest Elementalists, everyone knew that! But still... I peeked at Gareth again out of the corner of my eye, wondering for the 23439498th time why he wore all black and why the only skin he exposed was on his face. He would look perfect with a giant ribbon on top of his head! Forgetting that I was in class, I giggled out loud at that hilarious image. Of course, Professor Elena heard me.
"Does something amuse you?" she trilled (see? big words). I shook my head. "Then perhaps you can demonstrate." I was totally confused, because obviously I hadn't been paying any attention. Caleb whispered,
"Make a ribbon out of your element!" Ohh. So that was why I had been thinking about ribbons. I quickly made a ribbon out of light and had it hover in front of me. Professor Elena raised an eyebrow, but nodded and continued with her lecture. I sat down and gave Caleb's hand a quick squeeze.
"Thanks," I whispered.
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I was determined to find out why none of the teachers ever called on Gareth, so after class was over I gave Caleb a quick kiss and told him I had something to do so I would see him later. He grinned, and then walked over to Larimar. Good. She looked like she needed to be cheered up, and Caleb was good at that. Then I set off in search of Gareth. He always disappeared between classes (according to Nico, he was hardly ever in his room and never actually slept there). But Skeleton Keys was a big place, so I was sure that I could find him somewhere. Luckily we didn't have any classes until three, so there was plenty of time for me to explore (if anyone asked I could just say that I was trying to memorize the layout of Skeleton Keys so I wouldn't get lost later). There was really no way to find out which direction Gareth had gone, so I picked a random one and started walking. I had to get through all the dormitories first, though. Some of the fourth and fifth years glared, but when it was obvious I was just passing through they decided not to bother me. Finally, I found a long hallway that stretched as far as I could see, lined with doors on either side. There were way too many doors to look into all of them, so I just opened random ones.
Maybe it was luck, or fate, or whatever you want to call it, but I did find him. It was in an empty room at the end of the hallway, dusty and deserted. I heard his panther's voice first.
"It's higher now, you know. But I don't think they're trying to kill you."
"I know. Shut... up." I was shocked. Was that really Gareth's voice? It wasn't a condescending monotone anymore- it was rough and he sounded like he was gritting his teeth. In a normal person, it would sound like he was experiencing something painful. But this was Gareth. I was sure there was another reason. So I peeked around the corner, only to stumble back in horror at the sight in that room.
I think that was when I started running. I ran through the empty hallway and back across the school, past a surprised Zenery and straight into our room, where I jumped onto my futon and yanked the covers over my head. But I could still see it. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the image seemed permanently stamped on the back of my eyelids. I wanted to scream.
I was just glad that Gareth hadn't seen me.
If he knew I had been there, I would be dead.