EVIE
The door slamsopen so hard it cracks against the wall, and I jolt upright in bed, fire prickling along my fingertips as I map the thermal signatures of the intruders.
One burns with controlled authority, a steady heat that never wavers. The other is warm with cooler fractures running through it, like cracks in a heated stone.
Headmistress Constance Holbrook’s silver-streaked hair is pulled back in its usual severe style, and Tobias Cane looms like a shadow behind her, his pale blue eyes looking everywhere but at me.
“Evangeline Thorne,” Constance says, her voice sharp. “Get up. Now.”
I scramble out of bed, suddenly very aware that I’m wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts covered in tiny book patterns. Not exactly the attire one wants when facing the Headmistress and a Council interrogator.
“What’s going on?” I glance at Jade’s bed automatically. It’s still empty, made, and untouched.
Even if the party ran late, she should be back by now. It’s?—
I check the clock. 9:47 AM.
“That’s what we’re here to discuss.” Constance steps further into the room, her eyes scanning every surface. “Tobias will be exploring your memories to determine what you know about your roommate’s recent activities.”
Activities.
The training sessions with Logan.
My heart stutters.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The lie sounds unconvincing, even to me. I’ve never been good at deception. My face gives everything away, my voice goes too high, and my hands start fidgeting with whatever’s closest.
Right now, that’s the hem of my sleep shirt.
I force my hands to my sides.
Constance’s eyes narrow. “Last night, your roommate revealed a unique ability that poses a threat to everyone on this island.”
I shake my head, genuinely confused. “Jade can barely maintain a flame for more than a minute.”
“I’m not referring to fire.” She steps closer. “I’m referring to her lightning.”
“Lightning?” The word comes out blank. “That’s not possible.”
But is it? When we were battling the Hydra, I thought I saw webs of electricity around the sword Jade threw into the Hydra’s mouth. I waved it off as a trick of the light and haven’t thought about it since, but now…
“Jade pulled lightning from the sky in front of over forty witnesses,” Constance says. “She used this ability to kill a swarm of hellhounds that attacked the party, and then she disappeared.”
The room tilts.
Hellhounds. Lightning. Forty witnesses. Disappeared.
“I didn’t know,” I force out, desperate for them to believe me. “I swear, I had no idea about any lightning magic.”
Tobias calls small golden flames to his fingertips. “Would you be okay with me verifying that?” he asks, swallowing as if he enjoys this as much as I do. Meaning, he doesn’t enjoy it at all. “I’m always as minimally invasive as possible. During your initial interrogation session, I only examined the events of Halloween night. Now, I promise to only search for memories related to Jade.”
I should invoke student rights. There’s a section of the Blaze Academy handbook that states students can’t be forced to undergo magical examination without... Council approval. Which they already have, since TobiasisCouncil.
“Fine.” I force myself to hold still as Tobias steps closer, his movements careful, almost apologetic.
He presses his fingers to my temples, and the sensation is unpleasant, just like when he searched me after Halloween. It’s like he’s pushing through my thoughts, digging into places no one should have the right to occupy.
Then, finally, the magic withdraws.
