Now they’re here again, drifting around like nothing happened?
“Logan.”
Helen approaches from behind us. Her tailored coat is as pristine as always, even in the humid caves, and her brown eyes are fixed on Logan, her smile looking almost genuine.
“Helen.” Logan inclines his head. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“My colleagues and I are stationed at the academy to observe—not to enforce rules.” She stops beside us, her posture relaxed in a way it definitely wasn’t at the Fury Loop earlier today. “My job is to record. Most students at the school are here tonight, therefore, I’m here recording.” Her gaze flicks to me, brief and dismissive, before returning to Logan. “It’s good to see you out. You’ve been keeping to yourself lately.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“So I’ve heard.” Her eyes hold his for a beat too long. “Your father would be proud of how you’ve handled the ill-fated incidents this semester. You’ve done an exemplary job of keeping students calm and maintaining order during such a difficult time.”
My chest tightens at the casual mention of Logan’s father, the easy intimacy between him and Helen, and how she talks to him like he’s family.
“How are the memory sessions progressing?” Logan asks.
“Most students have been cooperative.” Helen’s smile doesn’t waver. “There are a few gaps here and there, but nothing unexpected, given that trauma affects memory recall.”
If that’s true, I’m surprised I can remember anything at all.
Needing to occupy my hands, I take a sip of my drink. The liquid burns going down, and I try not to make a face.
Great job not drinking, Jade. Really nailed that one.
Logan shoots me a glare, then returns his focus to Helen. “Have the search parties had any progress with locating Thad and Oliver?”
“We’re following several promising leads.” She absently adjusts her pearl earrings. “The surrounding waters are treacherous, but we have reason to believe they may have found shelter on one of the smaller islands.”
They talk about Council protocols, investigation timelines, people and places I don’t know, and politics I don’t understand. The entire time I just... stand here, holding my drink and trying tonotdrink it again. Logan will give me a hard time if I do, and given that there are people here who wouldhunt me down to experiment on meif I got drunk enough to slip and reveal what I really am, I don’t blame him for that in the slightest.
“—wouldn’t you say, Jade?”
I blink, because Helen’s looking at me like she expects a response to something I definitely didn’t hear.
“Sorry, what?”
“I was remarking on how fortunate it was that no one was injured during the storm today.” Her smile sharpens. “The timing was quite extraordinary. All seven orbs destroyed, and not a single student harmed.”
Every nerve in my body locks up.
She knows. She has to know.
“Yeah,” I say, the word coming out too high. “Super lucky. The weather here is insanely unpredictable.”
“Indeed.” Her gaze lingers on me for a beat too long. Then she turns back to Logan, and I’m furniture again. “I should continue making my rounds. The Council appreciates thorough reports.” She touches Logan’s arm, brief and familiar. “Take care of yourself, Logan.”
Then she’s gone, disappearing into the crowd with her orbs trailing behind her.
“She definitely knows more than she’s letting on,” I mutter. “The way she looked at me when she mentioned the lightning was totally the look of someone who knows.”
“She suspects. She doesn’t know.” Logan’s fingers close around my elbow, steering me deeper into the crowd. “There’s a difference.”
“Is there? Because it felt a lot like?—”
I stop.
Because the air just got warmer. It’s not gradual, and it’s not the natural heat of bodies packed into an enclosed space. This is sudden and sharp, like someone cracked open a door to Hell.
