And of course, there’s a kettle for tea, courtesy of Graeme, and a coffeemaker, courtesy of Jack. They’ve stocked the kitchen area well, with more coffee and tea than a hundred omegas could drink in a month, and with shelf-stable foods like protein bars and packets of oatmeal. Besides the snacks, the omegas have primarily been surviving on rations Gerard was able to divert to them. Many have gained the weight they lost in confinement and are looking healthier than ever. Each day, they open up to each other, Ian, Jack, Graeme, and me, alittle more. Each day they come more into themselves now that they’re free.
I’m making coffee for Ian and myself when Cora races into the kitchen, coming to a halt right in front of me.
I startle but look up at her with a smile. “Cora. Did you want to practice your magic? I’ve got some time right now.”
“No,” she says. “I don’t want to practice my magic. I want touseit. I need to get out of here, Juniper. I feel trapped. I’ve been confined for too long, first at the ORC and then in the collar facility. I need to move. I know the world outside the castle is grim, but I need to see it for myself. And I want to help. Icanhelp.”
“You know how dangerous it is,” I tell her. “You could be captured. You’ve been captured twice before, despite your speed.”
She flinches, and I know I’ve said the wrong thing, no matter how true it may be. “So, someone got the drop on me. I refuse to let that happen again.”
“You’re just learning to control your magic, though, just getting used to it. You need to give it more time. I don’t want you to end up in another facility like Rad’s, or worse.” Like in the hands of my father, subject to his schemes. I’ve already seen part of it. Without more information, it’s too dangerous for any affinitied omega to be out in the world. And even more dangerous for those already confined. I couldn’t bear to see Cora locked up again.
“I may just be learning to control my magic, but I have perfect control over my affinity. I have skills, Juniper, an affinity that could help you get the information you’ve been looking for. I can’t keep sitting on my hands like this. I need to act.”
The information I’m looking for? Could she have been listening in on my conversation with Simon?
“No,” I say resolutely. “It’s too dangerous. You need tolearn to defend yourself with your magic first. We don’t know who’s looking for affinitied omegas, and you can’t risk getting caught again. It could very well mean your death!”
“Maybe I’m willing to die if it means I’m not useless!” she says, raising her voice and folding her arms across her chest. “Maybe I should get to choose what I do with my life for once. You’re too controlling! I’ve spent enough of my life being controlled and belittled for my magic. The last thing I need is to get it from you, too.”
I jerk back like she slapped me. Me? Controlling? All I’m doing is looking out for her safety!
Cora all but disappears in a rush of speed, leaving me alone with my thoughts and two steaming cups of coffee. I sigh and lean against the counter.
In truth, none of the omegas are prisoners in this castle. They’re all free to go, but they understand the inherent risks their affinities pose to them. They’ve all already been captured once and don’t want to be confined to a cell and experimented on again. Why can’t Cora see that? That she’s safer here until we can make the world safer for all omegas?
I won’t put these omegas at risk, not when I don’t know for certain what my father is up to.
On the afternoonof Cassian and Simon’s commencement, I sit with Pack Leclerc, Ellie and her mother, Melissa, right in the middle between Bethany and Ellie. Surrounded by my family. When Cassian mated me, he gave me something I’d never truly had before: a loving family. A place to sit and cheer at a graduation ceremony for my two loves, where I won’t be looked down on or shushed for my excitement.
And Iamexcited. I can barely sit still when Headmaster Langford takes the podium at the front of the hall. He rapshis scribe against the podium, silencing the murmurs in the audience and among the graduates.
I’ve heard his commencement speeches before when my siblings graduated, but those were nothing like the one he delivers at this graduation.
“Welcome families and friends of our graduating class of seniors. This class of seniors is unlike any class to come before it. They are resilient in ways no other class has had to be, resilient like all students at Fairhaven Academy must be these days. It is a dark world we live in right now, and our senior mages are about to step out of this academy into an uncertain future, but I believe in all of them. In their compassion, determination, and grit. These students have excelled in their magical studies and leave these halls as talented mages, mages who will be called on to fight for and protect those who cannot protect themselves. These mages are brilliant and kind, hardworking and courageous, just like the founders of our hallowed institution. They truly embody the spirit of our academy, and I commend them and wish them all the best as they step out into the world. Lux nostra virtute per tempestas.”
We all recite the academy motto in response, and never before has it rung truer.
Let our courage light our way through the storm.
One by one, students are called to the stage to receive their diplomas. I shift in my seat, waiting for Cassian’s name to be called.
“Mr. Cassian Leclerc,” the headmaster finally intones. “Graduatingmagna cum laude.”
I don’t just clap. I jump to my feet, cheering and clapping, just as Pack Leclerc does. The headmaster cuts an amused look our way, but we’re anything but ashamed of our pride in Cassian.
And when Simon is called, also graduatingmagna cumlaude, I’m the first on my feet to cheer for him, Ellie and Melissa a close second. Ellie catches me in a one-armed hug and gives me a squeeze.
“Thank you,” she says, “for loving my brother the way you do.”
“He’s easy to love,” I reply.
They both are. Both of my graduates.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Bethany has truly outdone herself in planning and executing Cassian’s graduation party. Banners in Fairhaven’s navy blue and burgundy hang from the stairs, and all the hors d'oeuvres are plated on silver trays covered in deep red linen napkins. It’s a beautiful party, like something my father would have had me throw, and its guests are no less prestigious.
