My hands tremble in my lap. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know what an Arcana Guardian is.”
Briar ignores me completely, turning to Laurel instead. “You’ll need to remove her from the camp. I cannot allow disruptive elements around those too unstable to control themselves. Especially not ones said to carry the mark of a demon.”
Laurel inhales sharply beside me. “That isn’t fair, and you know it. Poppy is Zoe Hallowind’s daughter, true, but her awakening only began three days ago. She has done nothing wrong.”
Briar’s expression remains flat, unmoved. “Her bloodline is marked. That means her presence is a liability. The Guardian did not misidentify her.”
“Maybe that’s true,” Laurel counters, her voice rising, “but even if it is, that doesn’t mean she’s dangerous. She’suntrained. You’re talking about punishment when what she needs is protection.”
I don’t even know what’s happening right now. Maybe it’s blood loss, but the way Laurel is talking, I might actually believe she gives a shit about me.Ha, fat chance.
So, what’s her angle? What is she trying to prove by playing the part of a concerned coven leader?
A beat of tense silence fills the room. The orbiting books slow to a crawl.
After a moment, Laurel continues, softer but firm. “If Zoe Hallowind broke her oath to the goddess, and a demon marked the Hallowind bloodline, then Poppy needs training more thananyoneelse here. We can’t just send her back to awaken among the nocana population. The only answer is for her to stay here until she has a handle on her affinity.”
Briar pegs her with a pointed look. “And what is her affinity?”
Laurel lets out a long sigh. “It seems it will be spirit magic, like her mother.”
Briar narrows her eyes. The temperature in the room plummets, and one of the floating books halts mid-spin, suspended in the suddenly frigid air. She turns slowly toward me, studying me like I’m a bomb about to blow.
“You’ll be watched. Closely. And if there is even a whisper of dark magic or necromantic influence...” She lets the threat hang in the air like ash. “Don’t make me regret this, Poppy.”
She waves her hand. “Dismissed.”
I rise on shaking legs, my knees threatening to buckle. Laurel grabs my arm, gently tugging me toward the exit.
As the door closes behind us, I hear a voice whisper: “She shouldn’t be here, mistress. A demon’s mark has no place in Arcana.”
I don’t hear the headmistress’ response, but I don’t have to. I feel sick. I’ve been marked by a demon. My mother broke some kind of magical code. None of this makes sense. All of it terrifies me.
“What happens now?” I ask.
Wylder, Orion, and Eliza step over to join us, and Laurel meets their expectant gazes. “What now, indeed.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Follow me.” Wylder’s voice is gruff and graveled. “And try not to draw too much attention.”
We leave Laurel outside Headmaster Briar’s office and move through a series of winding hallways. The architecture shifts from the medieval-gothic aesthetic of the main Arcana Academy to something more organic once we get to the living quarters provided for those staying here to study.
Enchanted arches frame our path, each one shifting in hue from deep indigo to pale silver. As we pass beneath them, I cast a glance over my shoulder as each arch flickers briefly as if responding to our presence.
When Wylder passes, the arch pulses a steady, earthy green. Orion triggers a warm amber glow. And when I step through, the arch goes haywire—flickering between pitch black and an electric pale blue.
Wylder glances back, his expression unreadable.
“What? How can that possibly be my fault?”
He rolls his eyes. “The arches read your magical signature. Yours is fluctuating.”
Just what I need, more evidence that I’m out of control.
But isn’t that why I’m here?
The whispers start almost immediately. Students passing in the opposite direction cast sideways glances, their expressions ranging from curiosity to outright suspicion.
