I’d never experienced an elder’s full power before that moment. I’d definitely underestimated them and would have to be a lot more careful how I dealt with them in the future.
“Oh, Jace,” she sighed. “I couldn’t live with myself if you were harmed because of my decision. Your headmistress is right. If your core fails, you could die. You need rest, not competition.”
Her words stung me like a slap across the face. I’d thought Hirani, out of all the adults in the room, would have taken my side. She’d always been so kind to me. She’d seen why I wanted this so badly, and she’d still denied me. I couldn’t believe it.
Brand was in my corner. Hirani wasn’t. That left Cruzal.
“If I win the Gauntlet, the Empyrean Flame will reward our team.” If they were worried about my health, this had to carry some weight. “It can heal my core.”
“Only if you win, Jace,” Cruzal said.
“We could bring the doctors and equipment from Bogotá.” It was a stab in the dark, but it was worth a shot. “They could treat me here, and I could still compete.”
Brand glanced to Hirani. She shook her head.
“Can’t do it,” Brand said. “A few months ago, we wouldn’t have had any problem transporting all the gear and personnel. But things have gotten dangerous. Portals aren’t as safe as they used to be, and we can’t risk mundane transport with so many valuables. There are just too many hostiles in the world, kid. As important as you are to the clan, we can’t risk everything for you.”
“What will happen if the dragons win?” It was time for a change of tactics. If I couldn’t convince them it was worth the risk to put me in the Gauntlet, then I’d have to make the alternative look absolutely horrifying.
“They’ll take control of the temples,” Clem piped in. “And leadership of the overcities. The last time they ruled, the dragons confined the Empyreals to Atlantis until the Empyrean Flame demanded our release.”
Well, that sounded horrible.
“There are other schools,” Cruzal said. “And we know there are others out there like Jace. Perhaps they have grown to their full potential.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m the only one.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” Cruzal snapped.
“I do, because—”
“He’s right,” Brand interjected before I could say anything about the Locust Court or the Lost. That meant the headmistress didn’t know the truth.
Well, that was interesting.
Cruzal stood from her comfortable-looking chair, smoothed her robes with the palms of her hands, and walked gingerly to the nearby side table. She moved stiffly, as if she were much older than she appeared. Her hands trembled, ever so slightly, when she poured her coffee, and her spoon rattled like an alarm clock as she stirred in cream and sugar. Cruzal was nervous. I needed to capitalize on that.
Somehow.
“It’s worth the risk to keep the dragons from winning.” I took a deep breath and looked at all my friends. “The team in this room can beat the dragons. I know we can, and you do, too. There’s no reason to be afraid. It’s my life. If I was ever going to risk it, this is the time.”
Cruzal froze, halfway back to the couch. She looked at me, almost as if seeing me for the first time.
“I know you want to do the right thing.” She sipped her coffee. “But think of all the good you can do outside of the Gauntlet. There are students who depend on you, Jace. Use this time to train them. In six months, they could be on the path to becoming as powerful as you are now.”
She was right, though I hated to admit that. If I put all my effort into training a new batch of hollow cores, they could be quite powerful in a short period of time. But that would require more Locust Court cores.
Or other types of cores, and I really didn’t want to think about that. The emissary I’d stolen my core from had been evil. If I hadn’t killed it, the spirit would have killed me and all my friends. That would have left no one to stop the invasion from the Far Horizon, which would have left the Lost lording over the ruins of Earth. The way Cruzal talked about the hollows, though, told me she wouldn’t be as picky about where the cores for them came from.
It was all very clear to me, now. Cruzal, or more likely someone even more powerful, wanted those hollow core students for a reason. Just like the inquisitors wanted to control me to ensure the “right” outcome from the approaching convergence. That’s why she was afraid. If I died before training the next batch of hollows, someone, or some thing, would be very, very upset.
“I won’t train them.” The words were out of my mouth before I could second-guess them. It was the only play I had left.
Every eye in the room shifted from me to Cruzal and back. No one spoke. I didn’t think they were even breathing. Openly defying Cruzal was far different from arguing with her about the team. This was tantamount to a threat to her authority, and no one was sure how she’d react to that.
And I didn’t care. This was my shot to heal my core. Next to finding my mother, there was nothing as important as that. It was worth the risk of any punishment Cruzal decided to drop on my head.
“You don’t mean that.” Her face had gone white and a dribble of coffee spilled from her shaking cup.
“Put me on the team, or I won’t train the hollows or any others like them.” My pulse pounded in my ears. “They can find their own way, or not. I’ll wash my hands of the whole project.”
“That project was your idea,” Cruzal said in a tight, angry voice. “You can’t just abandon them.”
“Put me on the team,” I said, forcing my voice to be far more even and calm than
