“So you’re saying I can graduate? This term?”
“I’m saying that it would be in your best interests to commit yourself to running The Order full time, as soon as you are able to.”
“Don’t I need an education to fall back on? You know, in case it all goes wrong?”
“If it goes wrong, it’ll be because you’re in a coffin. There is no backup plan within The Order. This is it for you now.”
“Well, what if I’m not ready? What if I want to finish my time here at Knox? Or somewhere else?”
“You don’t have a choice. Every day that you’renotthe head of the Snaidhm, you place our entire establishment at risk. Lives are on the line. My father is not our only or biggest threat rightnow. So the longer you stall or delay, the more deaths could end up on your hands.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I tilt my head at him. I can see he’s manipulating me, but why? What does he stand to gain from stepping down and handing power over to me? His words don’t match his actions.
“Because it’s time you stepped up and took your role seriously!”
“Seriously?!” I explode. “How the hell am I supposed to take it seriously when the only tasks you’ve given me for The Order have been dead ends, wild goose chases, and ambushes?! I feel like you’re texting me at every turn and wasting my time, when I should be learning how stuffreallyworks, not fighting off thugs in the woods!”
“I needed to be sure?—”
“Either I’m ready, or I’m not. But stop wasting my time either way. I’ve had enough!” I get to my feet and cross to the door, unlocking it and flinging it open. I don’t flinch when it hits the wall with a bang, not breaking eye contact with Monty. I’m pissed off. He’s up to something and I’m determined to get to the bottom of it.
Before leaving I tell him, “Iamgoing to be graduating this term, alongsideallof my team. Just so we’re clear, that’ll be Baxter, the twins, Kalen, ElsieandAdrianne. We’re leaving. Together. And you can’t stop any of us.”
I’m still raging as I storm along the corridor, late for whatever class I’ve not done the homework for. I don’t even remember my damn timetable anymore. I decide with how badly I’m doing with everything right now, skipping a class won’t matter.Especially with graduating early. Though I should probably figure out how that’s going to work in reality.
I take a detour to the library instead. Not because I plan on studying, but because it’s quiet and the last place anyone will think to look for me.
“Amelie? What are you doing here?”
“You know, Sawyer? For someone who doesn’t work here anymore, you spend a lot of time on the damn campus,” I snap. Because he startled me and because I’m wound up. It’s not his fault though. I sigh. “Sorry. I had a meeting and it didn’t go to plan.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Let’s just say, I expected to cross a few things off my list, and instead, the list just seems to have grown.”
“That’s pretty standard for Order stuff. But I’ll let you in on a secret…if you leave some things long enough, they eventually fall off the bottom of the list. Also, if someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, wait until they ask a second or a third time. If they forget, it obviously wasn’t that important in the first place, and you won’t have wasted your time.”
He grins at me, eyes sparkling with mischief, and in that moment he looks much younger.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re really here?”
“I had to stop by and see Dad, but I also made you an appointment and was coming to steal you away for the afternoon.”
“Please tell me it involves dick, at this point I feel like a born-again virgin. I might need someone to sweep out the cobwebs.”
Sawyer snorts at my comment. “I’m sure we can organise something, but that wasn’t why I was stealing you away.”
Sawyer takes me by the hand and leads me away from the library and towards the car park. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going or is it another surprise?”
“No, smart ass. It’s time to get your tattoo. What better way to show Monty how serious you are about leading a band of merry men…and women.”
“Hold up, how do you know?—”
He cuts me off with a laugh. “There isn’t much I don’t know. I also know my father, and he never thinks anyone is ready. It was bad with Onyx and Slate, and even worse with Kalen. He still tries to protect him, even now.”
We reach the car park and Jasper is waiting beside Sawyer’s car. Shit, I should have told him I was going to see Monty, but his obsession with Elsie makes it so easy to give him the slip. I think we need to have a talk about that before he gets fired when my ass is kidnapped.
Sawyer opens the passenger side door and I slip inside, the door shutting behind me. He gets in on the driver's side and nods to Jasper. Then he looks at me with a tight smile. “You do know he’s going to get fired.”
