Seventeen
STEVIE
I almost don’t recognize him outside the context of Kettle Black. He’s traded his usual form-fitting T-shirt and jeans for a pair of equally form-fitting gray slacks and a mint green dress shirt that brings out his eyes. Instead of a paperback, he’s carrying a cardboard to-go tray in one hand, balancing two cups with black lids.
The warm, creamy scents of cinnamon, espresso, and honey drift to my nose.
He remembered…
But then I see the silver academy pin on his collar, and I remember, too.
He’s an Academy student—probably a graduate. He’s… oh, hell. He was waiting for me out here. He’s the research assistant tasked with giving me the tour. With helping me decipher mom’s work.
And he knew—formonths—who I was. That I’d end up right here.
Stevie, you clueless, heartsick idiot.
It takes a full minute for the anger to bust through the shock, and when it does, I’m rocketing to my feet, fire in my veins, ready to explode.
“You’re one of them? You’ve beenspyingon me?”
“It’s not like that,” he says. “I swear. Stevie, let me explain.”
“Talk fast, Kirin. You’ve got one minute. And the only reason you’re even getting that much is I don’t know another soul on this campus other than two professors and the headmistress, and that’s not saying much.”
“Okay, okay. Can we just…” He nods toward an alcove on the side of the building.
Reluctantly, I follow him into the shadows, out of sight from the other passersby.
“Thirty seconds.” I fold my arms across my chest and lean back against the rough stone wall.
“Stevie, I just…” He sighs, frustrated, his brow creasing behind his black frames. “Okay. I don’t know all the details, because the headmistress has been extremely tight-lipped about the whole thing. But yes, I’ve been spying on you. Keeping a protective watch, more accurately.”
“Fifteen seconds.”
“From the few details she shared, I know she had it on good authority that you’d be arrested and jailed some time this summer or fall for crimes of public witchcraft, and the outcome would be really bad. She didn’t know the exact date, or what would precede it—only that you’d be arrested at Kettle Black, and it would happen in the morning between ten and eleven. So I was sent to just… just be there, I guess. Every day. I had no idea if I’d be able to see it coming, or to help, or to stop it, or just… Well, in the end, all I could really do was phone it in after the fact.”
I close my eyes, trying to process all this. The fact that he phoned it in is probably the only reason I’m standing here rather than rotting in that prison.
Right now, even being supremely pissed off feels like a privilege.
“You just bought yourself another two minutes,” I say, some of my anger receding. “So who’s this so-called ‘good authority’ that knew I’d get pinched?”
He shifts uncomfortably, his glasses sliding down his nose. I see now that his eyes are rimmed in red, as though he hasn’t been sleeping much.
It reminds me of all the times I read his energy at Kettle Black, made him the perfect cup of tea to brighten his day, put a little pep in his step.
“From your mother, Stevie.” Kirin’s voice is gentle now, which tells me he knows a lot more about the situation with my mom and the Academy then he’s letting on. “Apparently one of her predictions was about this. Again, not specific enough that we could totally prevent it, but we managed to piece together enough details to know you’d be in trouble, and that you’d need our help.”
“How do I know this entire thing isn’t a setup? That the Academy didn’t orchestrate the thing with Luke so I’d end up in jail, with the Academy being my only shot at freedom? Devane and Trello both said it—you guys need me. No one else has been able to figure out the prophecies.”
“That’s not how we operate. It just isn’t.”
“So I happened to get framed for magickal murder exactly when the Academy most needs something from me? That’s some coincidence.”
“No, it isn’t.” He points to the sky and steps closer, his summer-storm scent lingering. “That’s the universe nudging you onto a path you’ve been ignoring for far too long.”
I take a step back. “You don’t know anything about me, Kirin, so do me a favor and stop acting like a font of fucking wisdom.”
