“What for?”
Clare shrugs. “Some kind of announcement, I gather.”
I peer at Thorne. “Did you know?”
He shakes his head. “I hadn’t heard.”
“Probably the shadow weavers don’t have to be there,” Fly says, rolling his eyes.
“How long have I got?” I ask him.
“Ten minutes, Cupcake.”
I curse under my breath and run up the stairs. I’m back again in five in my uniform. Now that I’ve filled out a little, it’s less baggy than it was, and I’ve learned from Fly how to style it better. I wear the skirt rolled up and the blouse tucked in. The blazer, though, still looks ridiculous.
Dray, Beaufort, and Thorne are right behind me, and the six of us walk together through the academy toward the Great Hall. There are still soldiers patrolling the walkways, and I notice how all of them stare at the three Princes as we pass – the three Princes andme. I bet they’re wondering who the hell I am.
On our way, I quiz Clare about what she’s found so far, which is disappointingly precisely zero.
“I’m going to keep trying, though,” she says, with a determined nod. “I’m convinced there’ll be something of use to us in that library.”
The other students are lining up outside the Great Hall when we arrive, already divided into their Quarters. I go and stand at the back of the Slate line, noticing Stanley somewhere near the front. I’m relieved to find his face isn’t battered and bruised, and for a moment I think that maybe the Princes actually listened to me last night.
Then I see him turn. His right hand is bandaged. Although I can’t see any other injuries on him, so maybe – hopefully – could he have just shut his hand in a door or something? Unlikely.
The Titan twins are there too, trumpeting their whistles at us and commanding the shadow weavers to enter the hall first. Of course, Slate Quarter enters last, and we’re resigned to the hard benches at the back of the hall, where the masonry is at its worst and a cold breeze seems to sweep through the building and make us all shiver.
There’s a stage positioned at the front of the hall, and I crane my neck, trying to see who’s out there. Is Bardin back? Or is it the Empress?
But it’s neither of them.
A tall, skeletal man strides onto the stage, a dark academy cape billowing out behind him. His hair is jet black and smoothed against his skull, his eyes sunken and his nose crooked.
Is this the elusive Head? Has he returned now that Bardin’s gone?
There’s muttering around me, but then the man raises both his hands and gives us all a hard stare. Everyone falls silent.
“Good morning, children,” he says, his top lip curling as if we are vermin. “I have been sent by your Empress. No doubt you are aware by now that the deputy headmistress of the academy, Madame Bardin, has been found to be working in league with the demons.”
I’m guessing not everybody has heard this rumor, because gasps ring out across the Great Hall, and several people around me seem to pale visibly.
“The Empress’s Guard are working hard to locate the whereabouts of Madame Bardin, arrest her, and bring her to trial.”
He pauses, linking his hands behind his back and strolling across the stage. When he reaches the edge, he turns swiftly, his cape whipping through the air.
“Her Royal Majesty has appointed me to run the academy. My name is Chancellor Silas Sterling, but you will address me at all times as Sir.”
He reaches the other side of the stage and turns sharply again.
“These are dangerous times for the realm. A most trusted and esteemed servant of the Empress has been found to be a traitor. There may be other traitors among us.”
He narrows his eyes and sweeps his gaze across the gathered students, as if searching for those traitors now.
“For our safety, the Empress’s soldiers will remain at the academy. You will follow their orders as you will follow mine. This is a time for vigilance and obedience. I will not tolerate any kind of insubordination or misconduct. Any such behavior will be met with the severest of punishments.”
One side of his mouth lifts slightly as he says these words, as if the idea pleases him immensely.
There have been many people in my life I’ve taken an instant dislike to – many who’ve made me uncomfortable or given me the creeps. But this guy? He takes the baton. He wins it all. I dislike him. I dislike him a lot.
