“Yeah,” I reply. “It’s been a lot.”
“I understand that it’s overwhelming. However, I’ll need to take the book,” she says, sharper again. “Given that it contains Professor Morgrave’s annotations, it may be relevant to our investigation.”
My fingers tighten on the leather cover.
But refusing to hand over the book would look suspicious. And looking suspicious would be more catastrophic than one of my lightning storms.
“Right.” I force my grip to loosen. “Of course.”
I hold the book out to her, and she takes it with a nod of acknowledgment.
Her thumb brushes the spine, and she opens it to the Ambrogio passage. Her eyes move over Thad’s markups, and her fingers go white-knuckled on the leather.
Then she closes it, tucks it under her arm, and smiles.
Great. Perfect. There goes my only link to understanding any of this.
She rises from the bench, turning to face me with her hands folded over the book.
“I have good news for you, Jade. I’ll be sharing it with the rest of the academy at breakfast, but given how close you and Oliver were...” She tilts her head, watching my reaction. “I thought you’d want to know first.”
“What about Oliver?” I ask, my voice thin.
“The Council has determined that Oliver Thorne and Professor Morgrave are not dead. They left the island together during the Halloween storm and are lost in the surrounding waters.”
I stare at her.
What?
“The seas around Blaze Academy are notoriously dangerous,” she continues, as if she’s reading from a prepared statement. “They have unpredictable currents, magical interferences, and creatures that don’t take kindly to trespassers. It explains why they’ve yet to return.”
I continue to stare at her, dumbfounded.
Does the Council actually believe this? Or is this the official story they decided to sell?
Either way, I have to nod along like this makes sense while knowing that the real story ends with two bodies turned to ash on a volcanic peak.
Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.
“So they’re alive?”
“That’s our current assessment.” Helen’s eyes study my face. “Search parties are being organized, and we’re hopeful they’ll be found soon.”
I press my nails into my palms so electricity doesn’t force its way out.
“That’s...” I pause, contemplating how a normal person would react to this news. “That’s great. Really great. Evie will be so relieved.”
“I thought you’d be pleased.” She gives me a smile that Imighthave considered genuine if she wasn’t putting me so on edge. “I know how difficult this week has been for everyone.”
Questions crowd my throat.
How did you determine this? What evidence do you have? Why would Oliver leave with a professor without telling his sister and emberlinked partner?
But Helen turns and walks away before I can say another word, her heels clicking against the stone path.
I sit there for a long moment, alone in the garden, staring at the space where she stood.
The sky above me remains empty of any sign that T is listening, or watching, or that she cares at all about the mess she’s made of my life.
