“Who else has seen it?”
“Astrid, for one.”
My insides chilled at her name. “She said she was sent here to be an additional guard for the school,” I said. Jacqueline nodded. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t the thing she was guarding against. That was just perfect. Kai’s new girlfriend was here to make sure I didn’t go postal. It was kind of poetic. Rage inducing but poetic.
“I hope you know you’ve got my full confidence,” Jacqueline said. “You’ll continue to move about the Academy exactly as you always have.”
“I’m surprised the Council aren’t freaking out about what happened last night with the shifters.”
She blinked slowly. “I won’t lie to you, there have been some calls to turn you over to the Dominion.” She held up a hand when I opened my mouth. “They are baseless, of course. It’s a ridiculous idea. Besides, Durin and Yolanda won’t stand for it. You saved his life and that means every shifter alive has been commanded to make sure nobody takes you without cause.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re not afraid of me.”
She reached over and patted my hand. “Fear is mostly borne of ignorance. Not all of us are ruled by it.”
“For some reason I thought the supernatural world would be more tolerant than the human one. Turns out not so much.”
Jacqueline’s lips pursed in a way that told me she didn’t care for the assessment. But she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she pulled out a piece of paper from the in-tray on her desk and placed it in front of me. Glancing over the page, I saw it was my new timetable for the semester. My attention snagged on the lesson after dinner. Kai was still scheduled to give me additional combat tutelage.
“Do you think Professor Eldridge would consider training me outside of school hours?” I asked.
She didn’t miss a beat even though she had to know why I was asking. “I’m sure she would be happy to oblige but the faculty members who are combat trained are being utilised for additional guard duties around the school. With the threat of a resurgence of the Soul Sisterhood, I can’t really spare anyone. Perhaps one of the upperclassmen could help you? There are several who are exceptional.”
“Sure.” I tried to smile. As if there were so many other people in this school who wanted to drop everything and help me after all.
“Just so you don’t get another shock, after your trial exams, Professor Eldridge and I agreed that both you and Miss Hess should be attending the third-year High Magic classes.”
The hits just kept on coming. “But I’m not a high-magic user!” Also, I didn’t want to go anywhere with Isla Hess.
“No, you’re not. But it seems like it would be a good idea to give you an understanding of what you’ll eventually be going up against. Professor Mortimer would also appreciate if you could update him on any additional Blood Magic lessons Basil decides to show you.”
“But that’s not fair! Lots of other kids get extra unofficial lessons from their parents or...I see. Lots of other kids aren’t a low-magic hedge witch with a demon blade.”
“It’s just a precaution.”
“Sure.” I glanced down at my hands. “Sometimes I think it would be easier if you just threw me in the Dominion prison.”
“We’re not at that stage just yet. These measures are for your own safety. Within reason. There’s the safety of the other students that we need to think of as well. The things you can do are almost unprecedented. And I’ll level with you, we want to know the extent of your powers just as badly as you do. Your abilities may give us a great advantage. It’s in our best interests to ensure you learn as much as you can.”
I couldn’t help snorting. “What if I don’t choose to be a guard when I graduate?”
“Guarding isn’t the only dangerous job we have.”
“What if I want to be a florist?” It wasn’t even a lie. I had considered it given my ability as a hedge witch.
“Good for you if that’s the case. Until then I need to do what’s best for you in terms of your education.” She squeezed my hand. “This won’t last forever. They will eventually let up. Come to me if you change your mind and I will make the edict official.”
Thinking she was finished, I went to stand. She waved me back down. “I’m not really sure how to broach the subject so I’m just going to come out and say it,” she said. “Keep in mind that I’m not saying this to you as your headmistress but as Malachi’s grandmother.” I gulped. I think I preferred it when she was grilling me. “My grandson has been through a lot. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him be himself. For the last few months I thought I was going to get him back. And then something happened. I understand the two of you had some kind of falling out?”
My heart twisted in my chest. I could feel my bottom lip wanting to tremble. I swiped at it with the back of my sleeve. Not even Sophie knew the reason why I’d cut things off with Kai before anything started. When she’d asked, I covered it up with anger until she knew not to broach the topic. I couldn’t use that here. So I tried to go for ignorance instead.
“To be honest,” I said, “there wasn’t really anything to fall out from. We’re just two very different people.”
“Are you?” Both her brows rose.
“Yes! He couldn’t possibly be more arroga –” I cut myself off, remembering who it was I was speaking to. “Anyway, we argue way too much. I really don’t want to spend all my time fighting a losing battle.”
“Is that all this is about?”
I nodded, holding my breath until I was finally out of her office. I think my face had gone blue by then. Blue
