She’d rarely slept deeply, not since her mother had remarried; she’d always been nervous about someone coming into her room when she was asleep. It had been hard to share a room with two people — and then a dorm, at Mountaintop — and she’d welcomed the chance to sleep alone. But now, someone was in her room.She braced herself, listening carefully. The newcomer was trying very hard to remain quiet, which set off alarm bells in her head. Two years ago, a maid had tried to assassinate Alassa — or Emily — in Alluvia, before the attempted coup. Gritting her teeth, she slipped her fingers out of the bedding and cast a spell. There was a flash of light; the sound of someone moving stopped abruptly.Emily sat upright, conjuring a light globe into existence. A maid stood by the fire, frozen in place. Emily winced inwardly as she realized dawn was breaking over the mountaintops and the maid had been attempting to build up the fire. Feeling like a fool, she hastily cast the counter-spell.
