“I’ll try to make this as quick as I can.” He gestures at a chair positioned across from another that I assume is his own, then adds, more gently, “There’s no need to worry—this isn’t an interrogation. I’m just trying to figure out what happened to your teacher and friend. So, I’ll ask questions, and you’ll answer. The fire does the rest. That’s all. Okay?”
That’s all. Sure. Just answer honestly about how I watched my roommate’s brother get murdered by my professor multiple times in a row—because oh right,time travel exists—and then called down lightning from the sky to destroy the evidence.
I sink into the chair, my legs grateful for the support.
Through the dome above us, the storm clouds continue to churn. They’re darker now, close enough that I swear I can feel their weight pressing against the glass.
“I always think it’s best to start with the basics.” He sits across from me, motionless in his chair. “Do you remember where you were when the Unity Flame went out?”
“I’d stepped outside for some air,” I say, steadier than I expected, thanks to how many times I’ve repeated this story. “It was getting stuffy in the ballroom, you know? All those people, the fireplaces, the… anyway. I was outside when the storm hit.”
Truth. Technically.
“You left your date alone at the ball?” He studies me with unnerving focus.
“Oliver was talking to his friends. Tyler and Avery, I think.” I grip the armrests of my chair, forcing myself to meet his unsettling gaze. “I told him I’d be right back.”
“And when the storm began?”
My fingers tighten on the armrests. Every question feels like a trap with a false bottom, and I can’t tell how far the drop goes.
“I got turned around.” The lie flows easier now from practice. “The wind was insane, and I couldn’t see anything. There was rain everywhere. I just kept moving until I found my way back to the ballroom.”
That explains the mud, the disheveled dress, and the time I was gone. At least, it should. If I say it with enough conviction, maybe the gap between what happened and what I’m describing will stop clawing at my ribs.
“By then, the Unity Flame was already out,” I continue, because silence feels more dangerous than talking. “People were crying, the decorations were destroyed, and I couldn’t find Oliver anywhere.”
“That sounds overwhelming.” He pauses, and I swear I see a flash of silver in his eyes. “Did you see Oliver after you left the ballroom? Or at any point during the storm?”
“No.” The word comes out fast and sharp. “I looked for him after everything calmed down, but I couldn’t find him. I assumed he went back to his dorm, or maybe he was helping with cleanup. I didn’t realize he was missing until breakfast the next morning.”
The lies are stacked so high I can barely see over them. My bracelet is going to have finger-shaped dents by the time this conversation is over.
“Your hands haven’t stopped moving since you sat down.” He glances at them, then back to me, with what seems to be genuine concern in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? I know this must be harder for you than most, since you went to the ball with him and are friends with his sister.”
“My friend and a teacher are missing.” I manage a shaky laugh. “Of course I’m nervous.”
“True.” Tobias is quiet for a moment. “But there’s a difference between nervous and guarded. You seem guarded.”
My heart nearly stops. “What?”
“The mind protects itself by burying what it can’t process,” he says, softer now, his eyes going far away for a second. “My job is to find what’s been buried, and I always do my best to be careful. So if anything feels off, I want you to tell me. Okay?”
Do my best.
That’s… not reassuring.
Outside, thunder rumbles, closer now.
Glass sphere,I remind myself.Put it in the glass sphere. Maybe if I contain the truth enough, he won’t be able to see it. I’m powerful, right? Chosen by a goddess? And Logan’s compulsion doesn’t work on me, so I should absolutely be able to block Tobias from my mind.
“I’ll only be viewing surface memories from the night of the ball. It won’t hurt.” He waits, and I realize he’s asking permission. So, I give him a small nod, and he reaches for my temples, the golden fire around his fingertips casting his sharp features in warm light. His fingers make contact, and the pressure is immediate and enormous, like a fist closing around the inside of my skull. “You’ll feel a slight pressure, and then?—”
The glass sphere shatters.
JADE
Power surges through me,wild, desperate, and uncontrollable. It’s the same power that answered my call on the Crown.
