I smirk and activate their plates, adding an additional protection charm to each of them out of habit.
Just as I transfigure their water glasses into festive fae wine, a hush falls over the Great Hall. My quintet turns to see Maven walking in with the Garnet Wizard.
The expressions on the other acolytes’ faces are priceless. They range from appalled to furious to outright fascination as they watch her join us at the head of the main table set apart from the rest.
I note that one of the gawking acolytes’ attention quickly moves from Maven to Everett, and he gets that same obnoxiously starstruck expression on his face as the former model received at Everbound all the time.
Baelfire frowns deeply as he watches the Garnet Wizard take a seat at the head of the table. My mentor is far more wrinkled and grayed than earlier. I've seen him at every phase of his curse—having been around it for nine years, I forget to find it odd.
Dinner proceeds. Now that we're more or less alone where the other acolytes aren't likely to hear, I address my old mentor.
“What do you know of hybrid casters? Those able to use multiple types of magic?”
“I know your keeper became one through years of torturous experimentation,” he muses, sampling the potatoes. “Otherwise, it is highly uncommon.”
Baelfire cuts straight through his plate with his dinner knife, his expression stormy as his eyes shift to dragon slits. He covers his face, trying to calm down.
“Boo,” he says roughly, clearly wanting answers.
“He's making it sound worse than it is.”
She's lying. I'm getting better at reading her, but when she pointedly ignores our stares and pretends like the Brussels sprouts are fascinating, I sigh and turn back to my mentor.
“I can still use my blood magic. It wasn't burned away in the fever transitioning into a necromancer.”
His face lights up with fascination. “Truly? Show me.”
“I can’t until I feed on her.”
The wizard rubs his graying facial hair. “Only from her, eh? How very unprecedented. Perhaps it's all to do with who you are bound to, as she isalsoquite unprecedented. After all, the most powerful keepers result in the most powerful quintets and have been known to influence the range of their quintets’ abilities. Or perhaps this has something to do with you being bound to her shadow heart.”
I frown, telepathically reaching out to Maven.You told him we're bound? And about your heart?
I told him a lot of things. The good news is we'll get etherium as soon as it arrives from where he's been storing it outside the country.
What’s the bad news?I press.The price?
She stabs a sprout.He wanted knowledge. I’ve had to tell him about shit I’ve tried hard to forget.
“Pity, though, that you had to become a necromancer,” the wizard tuts, interrupting us.
I look at my own plate. “I regret nothing.”
“Besides, it’s the best of both worlds,” Baelfire pipes up, his shifter emotions swinging back to cheerful as he finishes his ham. “Now you can heal our keeperandsee dead people. I see it as a win.”
“Except for the part where he's now a feared pariah of society,” Everett points out.
Crypt isn't eating, of course. He's trying to balance forks in a tower as he smirks. “Aren’t we all, though?”
Very true.
“E—excuse me?” the starstruck acolyte says, approaching our table nervously. He dips his head respectfully at the wizard but turns quickly to Everett, eyes wide. “You’retheEverett Frost! I’m—gods, I’m a huge fan. I’m an atypical caster,” he adds almost sheepishly. “Grew up in New York, and my mom and I are both fashion enthusiasts. She’s actually an editor for Vogue, so I’ve been to lots of shows and…again, I’m just a big fan.”
Everett slips into a pleasant, practiced persona I’m sure he perfected for his career, thanking the fan despite Baelfire snorting derisively and Crypt tossing scalloped potatoes across the table at them.
“Sorry to bother you, but…” The acolyte holds up a permanent marker hopefully.
Everett autographs the caster’s arm, politely answering a couple of questions to say he isn’t going to be at Paris Fashion Week next year, and, yes, he is friends with some famous human singer I’ve never heard of.
