The warm comfort of his words flooded her, loosening something in her chest so that she could breathe again, properly. A grateful smile almost twisted her lips, but she stifled it with a stubborn counter-pull, refusing to be as moony-eyed as every other Calami witch when he gave thatlook.
They stood together in silence for so long that Seren’s feet began to ache and her stomach growled, full of nothing but dull hunger, as her appetite hadn’t quite been sated before he summoned her away. Just when she didn’t think she could take a moment longer and opened her mouth to say so, the doors creaked open and a burst of cool air sent her long dark hair twirling behind her.
The room, cold and dark, was not what Seren had been expecting at all. She’d envisioned lavish tapestries and hearths burning with the heat of warm sunlight. Perhaps even magical fruit-bearing trees blossoming out of the floor. Instead, they were greeted by a vast cavernous space, with only a single circular hole carved into the ceiling. From it, moonlight trickled in, slow and silvery. Its beam was a spotlight, fixed on a tall stone basin set in the center of the room. Within it, a shallow pool of water was carved, its surface resting still as glass. The scene would have seemed simple and mundane if not for the way the moonlight gathered into the liquid.
Seren squinted her eyes, thinking for a moment it was a trick of the light until drawing closer. The moonlight was no ordinary glimmering trail of silver. Instead, small particles gathered within it, like snowflakes or . . . dust. As more gathered, the water within the basin took on the silvery glow, a pool of liquid mercury. Transfixed, Seren inched toward it. Her whole body hummed, vision tunneling, dead set on the incandescent wonder.
Stretching out her arm, something within begged her to dip her fingers inside. To feel the cold power she knew would fill her at its touch. A sound built in her ears, like slapping waves pulled by a lunar tide. She wanted to feel it,neededto. She was close, mere inches away, and was it a trick of the light or was the liquid really rising to meet her fingertips—
His warm hand captured her wrist, jerking it sharply back from the pool, her along with it.
“Are you mad, Miss Marudas?” he hissed, breathing hard. “The pure power within that basin would consume you from the inside out.”
"What… what is it?"
"Moondust."
All at once, Seren’s mind settled with a returning clarity. She stared up at Icarus, her professor, moonlight dancing off his bright eyes, and jerked away from him. He let her go without protest, but moved to stand between her and the basin, signaling her further into the vast room to a path that led down another tunneled hall. With his augure he provided light through the thick darkness until they came to another, simpler door at the end. Icarus pushed it open without waiting this time and inside sat the headmistress behind a tall oak table almost as long as the room itself. Spread out on either side of her was her board–which Seren noted was made up of nearly half of Calami's professors. Some she recognized; others were as unfamiliar as the room itself.
“Good evening Seren.” The headmistress began with a smile warm as fresh bread before gesturing for her to have a seat in the lone chair on the opposite side of them. “I apologize for disturbing your evening, but some of my colleagues fear this is a matter best addressed sooner rather than later.”
Sitting stiffly in the offered chair, Seren felt the sudden urge to look at Icarus but quelled it. He was already moving around the long table to seat himself between Madam Courvo and an auburn-haired Elementals professor, Merida Callahan. Seren wasn't sure she was fond of the way the woman's blue eyes sparkled when Professor Atwood settled next to her. But there was no time to dwell on those particularly unwelcome feelings.
The headmistress cleared her throat. "Considering that you were the professor present, dear woman, I'll let you open tonight's line of inquiry should you wish to."
“With pleasure, Headmistress." Professor Musgrove stood, murky eyes trained on Seren with an intense dislike. Her face scrunched as though she'd gotten a sniff of decaying meat as she weaved her knobby fingers together in front of her waist and stood. "I insisted on this meeting because I believe Seren Marudas is a danger to both magical and mortal races and should be expelled from Calami Tower immediately."
Gripping the carved armrests, Seren felt her stomach lurch with a pulse of terror. A sensation like frigid water filled her from head to toe as she watched a few other professors nod, though to her slight relief, many seemed confused and the headmistress's brow crinkled with concern.
"What evidence do you have that Miss Marudas' magic is dangerous?"
The heat from the lit hearth behind the council table seemed to intensify as Seren waited for the woman to damn her. Had Professor Atwood lied? Perhaps told Musgrove all he knew about her dark, unpredictable power?
But when she glanced at him, his jaw was clenched tight, eyes narrowed. He was angry, she thought. Almost as angry as she felt.
"My evidence is simply her display of magic in my classroom yesterday. What I witnessed was dangerous and too powerful to predict. Giving the girl access to more magical knowledge is only asking for trouble. Trouble we cannot afford at such a . . . delicate time." The way she saiddelicatehad everyone sitting up a little straighter, including Seren who eyed each face curiously for a trace of a hint of what she meant. "This type of accelerated and unpredictable magic is more in line with that of the Wizards, and to my understanding eventheydo not foster the old, primitive ways anymore."
Then you understand nothing.Seren longed to snarl the words as loudly as they erupted in her head. She pictured Calder, the way his amber-orange eyes had flashed as he cast spell after spell. The ancient witching power lived in his veins as surely as it did hers, and if he was any example, then she knew for a fact it was more than spells to grow flowers that were being taught and practiced at Mistral Hall.
Her lips parted, curling against her teeth as she battled with the urge to defend herself. It took everything to hold back the magic rushing within her blood, heated by her fury. But such rashness would only prove the professor right, so she sucked in a deep breath and tucked her chin, trying to appear meek though it sickened her to do so.
Again, his voice shocked her, rushing out in a smooth and even cadence. She hadn't expected him to come to her defense, and her jaw dropped as he spoke, "She is exactly what this school needs again. We should return to our roots. Doing parlor tricks for the royal family and nobility is beneath us. What happened to the witches and wizards of old? The epic quests? The drive to maintain balance and peace among humanity? We've become vain and petty creatures. Miss Marudas is the past brought into the future—the past we desperately need. And before you say it,Professor Musgrove, I'm not talking about another Trinity or Magnus War. I'm talking about an age of Unity. About the time that came before. The original wizard, witch, and mortal who founded this all and bridged us together in harmony. About the Vessel and–"
Professor Musgrove scoffed, "I know exactly what you’re talking about, Icarus. What all you and your brethren obsess over. Do not bring that nonsense into a place of education."
"It isn't nonsense. There is proof of the Three, records that date back to the time—"
She cut him off, her thin nostrils flaring. "You know I'm not talking about the three founders. Do not be fooled into thinking we are not all aware of your family's history, IcarusDarkmore. Of the gruesome attack on your mother and your father’s role in it. His insane obsession, That sort of sickness does not skip generations. I'm still amazed you're allowed behind these walls. I'd bet my blood you'd turn on us as soon as it suited you. After all, you betrayed your own family, your own bloodline. What's the saying?Once a traitor always a traitor…And trust me when I say we all know the details of the fairytale that brought about their doom."
Professor Atwood rose from his chair. Behind him, the fire in the hearth grew brighter and flared an alarming shade of grey-blue. The color reflected in the deep shade of his irises and Seren's stomach clenched at the sight of such power and fury. She was tempted to rise and stand between them, if only to keep the man from losing his position at the Tower because she felt she owed him that, but the headmistress beat her to it.
The woman climbed to her feet, her presence almost intimidating. Crisp air rushed forth, batting back the flames and knocking both professors into their chairs. Seren winced at the flash of pain that came over Icarus’s face—it was clear he hadn't fully recovered from the dark spell she'd accidentally unleashed on him.
"Enough." The headmistress's voice rang cold and final as she stared between them. "Not only is this a highly unprofessional way to speak to your peers, but you seem to have forgotten there is a student present. Professor Musgrove, Professor Atwood’s intentions are not in question here. He has earned his place thrice over, and I will not hear it challenged again. Is that understood?"
A stunned silence fell over the room. Those who still had their wits about them managed to nod.
More than anything—more than her fear of expulsion or her anger at Musgrove—Seren felt a need. A desperate need to know the story Professor Atwood had been about to tell before being interrupted by that venomous bitch. He obviously knew more than she'd found in the library so far, and she'd make it her mission to get every detail out of him if it was the last thing she did at Calami Tower. It had to be the key to figuring out what happened to her sister. And Calder’s wretched plans for her.
