Two weeks since Rose and I destroyed the blood contract, and the aftershocks are still rippling through the magical community. Two weeks of chaos, emergency meetings, and restructuring everything about how magic is governed. Two weeks of watching the old guard cling desperately to power even as it slips through their fingers like water.
And two weeks of something else entirely with Rose, something I’m still trying to understand.
A sleek black town car pulls up behind the helicopter parents, and another family emerges. This one I recognize. Their lineage goes back almost as far as mine. They spot me, and the father’s face twists like he’s smelled something rotten. I make sure to smile at him.
I continue my circuit around the grounds, enjoying my role as overseer. It’s temporary, of course, once the elections are held next month, my position will be obsolete. But for now, I have the authority to ensure the transition happens smoothly, that the remaining students are protected, and that Wickersly doesn’t try to sabotage the reforms before they can be fully implemented.
A few minutes later, I spot a familiar blonde head. Thorne stands with a small group of students, her designer bag at her feet as she gestures animatedly about something. Surprisingly, Harry is with her, nodding along to whatever she’s saying.
I change course, curious despite myself. As I approach, I overhear their conversation.
“Harry thinks it’s actually better this way.” Harry is saying, referencing himself in the third person. Such an odd boy.
Thorne tosses her hair. “Plus, I’m not running away just when things are getting interesting. My father wanted to send me to Paris, but I told him I could go there any time.”
She spots me and straightens up, the others following her gaze. The wariness in their eyes hasn’t completely disappeared, I was still the Blood Moon Coven leader who helped facilitate Jasmine’s rise to power, however briefly. But there’s less fear than before.
“Staying put, I see.” I stop a few feet away from their little group.
“Obviously,” she rolls her eyes. “Why would I leave right when the real drama is starting? Besides, I’m nominated for the student council position on the Coven Council.”
Of course she is. Thorne may be a privileged brat, but she’s smart enough to see which way the wind is blowing. Better to be part of the new power structure than cling to the old one. And I have to admit, she’s shown a different side these past weeks.
Harry nods enthusiastically. “Harry’s running her campaign. Harry thinks Thorne could actually win.”
“Rose will be interested to hear that you’re staying.”
Thorne’s smile turns smug. “She’ll deal. We may not be friends, but I saved her ass during the Jasmine situation, so she owes me.” She hefts her bag onto her shoulder. “Besides, she’s too busy with her ghost boyfriend and your old ass to care about school politics.”
“Charming as ever, Thorne,” I say. But the girl nearly died helping Rose against Jasmine. That buys her some of my patience.
I leave them to their plotting and continue toward the main building. The physical changes to the academy are subtle but significant. The crest above the main entrance, once bearing only the Crescent Moon Coven symbol, and then the Blood Moon Coven’s red moon, now shows two entwined snakes, mirroring those on the gates at the entrance.
Inside, the bulletin board in the main hallway is covered with notices. Prominently displayed is a large poster announcing ‘COVEN COUNCIL ELECTIONS February 15th’ with details about positions, eligibility requirements, and voting procedures. No longer will a single headmistress or coven leader make unilateral decisions affecting hundreds of lives. Now, a council of elected representatives made up of students, faculty, coven members, and even representatives from the non-coven affiliated magical community, will govern.
It’s inefficient. It’s probably going to be a clusterfuck of competing interests and endless debates.
It’s also the right thing to do.
Near the library, I pass a small group of students talking to Lucien. He catches my eye over their heads and gives me a small nod of acknowledgment. I nod back,
Victoria Wickersly’s office door is ajar as I pass, giving me a clear view of the former all-powerful headmistress buried under stacks of paperwork. Her glasses have slid down her nose, and there’s an ink smudge on her cheek. Without absolute authority, she’s been reduced to what she perhaps should have been allalong, an administrator, an educator, not a magical dictator. I briefly wonder if she’s found and cleaned out Jasmine’s secret compartment yet.
She glances up, sensing my presence, and for a moment, our eyes meet. There’s resignation there, but also a stubbornness. Victoria Wickersly isn’t done fighting, she’s just choosing her battles more carefully now. She’ll work within the new system, try to shape it from the inside, and I know enough to never turn my back on her or underestimate her. She’ll remain a threat for the rest of our lives.
I’m close to the classrooms when a familiar voice catches my ear.
“This is so fucking stupid.”
Rose rounds the corner, arms full of books, hair escaping from her ponytail, looking frazzle and thoroughly annoyed. She stops short when she sees me.
“What’s fucking stupid?” I ask, enjoying the way her cheeks flush when she realizes I’ve overheard her.
“This.” She gestures with the stack of books. “All of this. We literally rewrote magical history a few weeks ago. We broke a centuries-old blood contract and fundamentally altered Serpentine Academy. And yet I still have to take a stupid exam at two o’clock.”
I try and fail to hide my snicker. For all her power, and make no mistake, Rose Smith is possibly the most naturally powerful witch I’ve ever encountered, she’s still so stubbornly human.
“The revolution continues, even in the face of midterms,” I say solemnly, which earns me an eye roll.
