“So, hear any interesting theories about who they suspect?” Eva asked, taking a seat at my table for our final class of the day—Intermediate Potions and Poisons.
I shrugged. The PIA had detained Ms. Seeley for two whole days because she was half-fae, which prompted a lot of ignorant people to believe that she had something to do with the fae invasion. I thought all those people were idiots. There was no way Ms. Seeley would allow those monsters onto academy grounds. I remembered all too well how distraught she’d been when one little redcap had opened a faerie hole and tried to take first Mina, and then Amethyst back to Faerie with him.
“Nothing?” Eva looked disappointed that I didn’t have new gossip
“To be honest, I can’t imagine anyone here would do such a thing.”
Of course, I had a personal theory. Because Ishtar could possess a ghost and gain access to Spellcasters, it didn’t seem too far-fetched that somehow, she could get the Dark Court fae here too. But I couldn’t tell anyone that, because I needed to provide proof. And proving it meant putting Amethyst at risk.
“Miss Dane?” Professor Bane, a younger woman who wore round, green glasses, stopped at my table.
A Crucible student who I’d often seen trailing Headmistress Wake and taking notes stood at the professor’s side.
“Yes, Professor Bane?”
“The headmistress would like to see you.”
I cocked my head. “Okay. Right now?”
Professor Bane nodded. “Leave your things. You may return to class after your meeting.”
Eva placed a hand on my shoulder, questions plain in her eyes.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “Guess I’d better go find out.”
The Crucible student introduced himself as Tim and led me to Headmistress Wake’s offices. I could have gotten there by myself, but this was part of his job, so I rolled with it.
When he knocked on her door, the headmistress answered right away.
“Enter!”
Tim poked his head in. “Headmistress Wake, Odette Dane is here to see you.”
“Send her in.”
Tim gestured for me to enter, and shut the door behind me once I’d walked into the office.
“Welcome, Miss Dane,” the headmistress said without looking up from a pile of paperwork. “Please have a seat.”
I obliged and crossed my legs. “You wanted to see me, Headmistress Wake?”
She nodded, and after a moment, shoved the pile aside and gave me her full attention. “Yes. It’s about your schedule this month.”
My schedule? Like how it was so full to bursting that I rarely got even six hours of sleep, and thought I might fall over from exhaustion any minute? Something told me that wasn’t what Headmistress Wake was referring to.
“As you know, the first Spy Games event is at the end of September, during Mabon.” She looked pleased that the game organizers decided to hold the challenge on one of the four sabbaths that many witches celebrated. “All Grind students must complete one of their three missions before Samhain. Since I do not want to risk you being injured for the Games, I’ve scheduled your mission to be the first in your class.”
“As in, I’m going soon?” My mouth dried up. “With a partner, right?”I hoped that it was Eva or Hunter.
She nodded. “A very suitable mission arrived from the PIA. And yes, in the Grind, you will always work with a partner during your missions. Yours will be Phoebe. She passed her make-up Beltane Trial the other day.”
“Alright,” I sighed, but tried to contain my disappointment. At least it wasn’t one of the people who had been snubbing me for four months. In fact, now that Diana and I had made up, Phoebe had been civil too. “Do we get any hints as to what we’ll be doing?”
During our Culling-year, we’d gotten hints about what we’d encounter prior to the Samhain and Beltane challenges.
“None,” Headmistress Wake said. “You and Phoebe will be on your own in almost every sense of the word.” She opened a drawer and rifled through it, before producing an object that looked like a pin. “This will be your single lifeline. If you find yourselves in a position requiring immediate extraction, all you must do is press down on the center of these pins. Professor Tittelbaum will wear a pin linked to yours. He will open a warphole to your location, and a team will bring you here. Phoebe has already taken one. This one is yours.”
I took the circular pin. It didn’t look like anything special, just a small gold daisy-like flower, but I guessed that was the point.
