Free Bastial Frenzy (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 4) by B.T. Narro

be battle sometime in the near future,” he said. “We might as well enjoy this calm while we can.”
    “I can’t.” Effie shook her head. “Not without something to do.” She took two deep breaths that did nothing to help her relax.
    The mail building was surprisingly small, considering all incoming and outgoing mail went through it. Students were allowed only in the front, where a surly woman with a bundle of curly blond hair greeted them halfheartedly. She was so thin, her bones could be seen through her skin.
    She pointed at a chart on the wall as Steffen put his letters on the counter. Glancing over, he saw the sign she pointed to was new. It listed a fee depending on where the letter was going, Gendocks being the most expensive and Kyrro City the least.
    “But I don’t have any money here,” Effie complained.
    “Neither do I,” Steffen said. “And we’re not allowed to leave the Academy.”
    The woman folded her arms. “King’s orders. We can’t deliver your mail without payment. It’s the same for everyone now. The King needs money for the war.” She handed Steffen’s letters back to him.
    “How are we supposed to communicate with anyone outside the Academy?” Effie asked.
    The woman shrugged. “They can write to you if you don’t have money.”
    “But then we can’t even write back!”
    Effie’s raised voice made Steffen uncomfortable. He put his hand on her back in hopes of calming her.
    “Do you have any mail for house number two thirty-nine?” he asked.
    “Don’t know yet.”
    Effie let out a frustrated breath. “When will you know?”
    “Depends. What city are you expecting mail from?”
    “Oakshen,” they both answered, Steffen far more politely than Effie.
    “We just got today’s mail from Oakshen.” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder toward the back of the building, where a closed door blocked their view. “We’re sorting through it now. You can wait if you want…if you keep quiet.”
    She seemed to be looking at something behind them. Steffen turned to find a wooden bench so small he hadn’t noticed it before.
    “I’m going to wait,” Steffen told Effie.
    Discouraged, she said, “I might as well also.”
    The woman went through the door behind her as Steffen sat on the bench.
    “Move over,” Effie ordered.
    Steffen did, and she sat beside him. There wasn’t enough room for them to sit without their shoulders and knees touching.
    Steffen was in no mood to chat, and Effie clearly wasn’t either. So they waited in silence, watching as other students came in with letters only to encounter the same problem. Many hadn’t brought any money to the Academy. A few had and went to retrieve it. The rest glanced at Effie and Steffen, then left instead of waiting for the mail to be sorted.
    “How much longer?” Effie asked the woman behind the counter.
    “Soon.”
    Eventually a man came through the back door with two letters and handed them to the woman.
    “Two thirty-nine,” she announced.
    Effie stood and accepted them. “Only two?”
    “From Oakshen, yes.”
    “No one else would be writing to us,” Effie said.
    “Then that’s all the mail for you today.”
    Effie accepted them and handed one to Steffen as they left. It was from his mother. Effie’s bore her family’s return address.
    Gabby didn’t write to me? he thought. It was a complete shock.
    The letter was heavier than usual. It must have a few coins in it so I can write to her back, he realized. It was thoughtful of her. For just a blink, he considered using his mother’s coins to write to Gabby, but he could never be so cruel.
    “Is this what our days are going to be like?” Effie asked. “Waiting, walking around an empty campus, reading mail?”
    Steffen shrugged.
    “I should’ve gone with them,” Effie muttered.
    He wasn’t sure why she couldn’t relax and even less sure what he could do about it.
    When Effie opened her letter after they’d arrived home, they found out Gabby had