“How do you know what to focus on?” Zani said, spinning slowly to take in the ever-changing artwork. “It’s like they’re all competing for attention. It’s enough to make you dizzy.”
Before Will could respond, a door at the end of the hallway opened, and Amrita Berman herself emerged, her petite frame carrying an air of quiet authority. Her dark hair was swept into an elegant updo today that complemented a well-tailored charcoal gray suit. Despite being in her late fifties now, she moved with the energy of someone much younger, though her eyes held the depth of someone who had seen far more than her years suggested.
“Right on time,” she said, offering them a warm smile. “I’ve been expecting you both. I suppose we have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”
Will wasn’t surprised that she already knew why they were there. As Director of the Society, very little escaped Amrita’s notice, especially concerning matters of magical significance.
“Please, come in,” she said, gesturing toward her office. “The tea is already steeping.”
They followed her down the corridor, passing several rooms filled with magical displays. Will glimpsed a miniature storm system contained within a glass case in one. In another, there were climate- controlled cases full of mushrooms growing into fairy rings. He recalled the room set up like a kitchen from his last visit to the museum. There was a hearth with a small fire in there. Visitors were encouraged to write their intentions on a scrap of paper and watch for the colors they produced when they burned. If he remembered correctly, it was best if they burned blue.
Finally, at the end of the hall, they reached Amrita’s office. It felt much more like a cozy living room than the administrative center for one of the most powerful magical organizations in the world. Deep chenille armchairs sat before an antique mahogany desk, and warm light filtered through stained glass windows. It cast jewel-toned patterns across the Oriental rug.
“Darjeeling for Will, and I think we’ll do some chamomile with honey for Zani,” Amrita said, pouring from a copper kettle that sat on a small table by the window. She handed them each a delicate porcelain cup and took her seat behind the desk.
“You know why we’re here.” Will said. It wasn’t a question.
“I assume it has something to do with that bloodstone you’ve been chasing down for some time now?” Amrita raised a brow, but her expression was serious. “I, too, have been following the bloodstone’s path for longer than you might imagine.”
“How much do you know?” Zani asked, leaning forward.
A smile played at the corners of Amrita’s lips. “For me, it’s been decades since I met the two of you at Burnside’s lecture. But it’s barely been a moment for the two of you, hasn’t it? When were you there?”
“Yesterday,” Zani answered.
Will felt the oddest sensation of time collapsing inward and undulating, like the accordion folds of a bellows. It took his breath away for a moment. “You remember meeting us there?”
“Of course!” Amrita nodded. “I was only eighteen. A first-year student with big dreams and bigger questions. But the biggest question I’d been pondering that night was how I was going to get over my broken heart. I didn’t think it was going to be possible. Until I met the two of you. I knew immediately you weren’t from my time. But more importantly, I could tell you knewme. You were both surprised to see me,” she added, giving them both a meaningful look. “In fact, you both seemed a little nervous. Like you’d just met someone really important.”
“Was it that obvious?” Will asked.
“Yes.” Amrita suppressed a small smile. “It was.” She turned to Will. “You were blushing beet red all the way to your earlobes when I asked to take the seat next to you, and don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were elbowing Zani.” Will felt the same blush fanning out across his cheeks now.
Amrita turned to Zani next. “And I didn’t really have to compel you to get you to admit to your mission. I mean, the gossip scarf served a purpose, but it wasn’t spelled with such strong stuff as to make anyone give up state secrets. For you to have told me what you were up to, you had to have wanted me to know. “
It was Zani’s turn to squirm in her seat now. “I…” She shrugged. “I thought maybe you’d have some insight?”
“I might have a bit more now than I did then. But the point that I was making is that I have to thank you. If the two of you hadn’t shown up when you did, I might have spent the rest of my college career feeling sorry for myself because my best friend stole the love of my life. Instead, you gave me a project, and over time, that project and several more gave me purpose. You see?” She gestured to the office. “I don’t know that I’d be sitting here without the two of you.”
“I’m sure you would have been just fine…” Will waved a hand.
“Would I?” Amrita mused. “We’ll never know, will we?” She tapped her fingers on her desk, still pondering the might-have-beens for a moment before continuing. “At any rate, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. From the moment you showed up in Primrose Court to visit Maida,” Amrita said, “I suspected we were close.”
“You knew Will and I would be traveling together?” Zani asked.
“I didn’t know… but I suspected. And I’ve been waiting quite impatiently, for so very long, for this moment to arrive.” Amrita set down her cup with deliberate care. “In fact, I should probably confess that my ordering you to stay and catalog the contents of the archives wasn’t entirely about your organizational skills, Zani.” Amrita looked up mischievously from her cup of tea, eyes sparkling.
Zani’s eyebrows shot up. “That was a setup? To get me and Will together?”
“Let’s call it a gentle nudge toward an inevitability. The universe has its own way of bringing together those who are meant to find each other. I merely... expedited the process.”
Will felt the heat rise to his cheeks. The idea that the formidable Director of the Society had been playing matchmaker was both embarrassing and oddly touching.
“My scholarship to the Ordinary school, and the room in the dorm with Maida?” Zani asked.
Amrita merely shrugged. “I’ve pulled some strings here and there. But I didn’t facilitate anything you hadn’t legitimately earned, or that wasn’t meant to be. I know better than to mess with timelines, too. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you sooner, Will.” Amrita continued, turning to Will. “But you’ve done just fine despite your early hardships. You were so kind to me at that lecture. Most people would have dismissed the enthusiastic questions of an eighteen-year-old, regardless of who she’d turn out to be someday. You took the time to talk with me, to treat me with respect, and you even tried to make me see the humorous side of getting dumped. I’ve had a soft spot for you ever since.”
“I can’t even recall what I said,” Will confessed. Even though it had only been yesterday for him, he’d been too gobsmacked to reliably record the encounter in his memory.
