“Then we need to figure out a way around her, Dr. Devane,” Professor Maddox says, her voice low. “Red tape, rules, regulations… Our job security is not worth a single student’s life.”
“Or their magick,” Professor Broome ads.
The agents consider our words, and I know the moment we’ve won them over—at least partially; Casey’s energy shifts from tense and guarded to resigned.
“If you want information…” She rises from her chair, then crosses the room to whisper something in Agent Quintana’s ear.
He nods and clears his throat, then steps forward, not meeting anyone’s eyes.
“None of this has been reported in the mainstream press,” he says, “but outside the bubble of this academy, eleven more witches and mages have been executed in half as many days. Protests and counter-protests are tearing the country apart. Violent crimes, looting and rioting, destruction are running rampant—both magickal and non-magickal. New York City will be under full military control by six a.m. tomorrow morning. The president is considering military requests from Los Angeles and Chicago as well, and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of our cities follow suit. People on both sides are terrified, and a scared populace is a dangerous populous.”
Ani shakes his head. “So we’ve got dark magick thugs inside campus, the world going to shit outside campus… Where do we even begin?”
Kirin puts his arm around him. On his other side, Baz and Doc draw closer. Seeing them like that, the brotherhood—mybrotherhood—gives me more hope than I thought possible just now.
“Agent Eastman is going to recommend to the headmistress that a curfew be implemented and off-campus travel be forbidden to all but faculty,” Quintana says, “and that even faculty travel be limited. Faculty who live off-campus will be asked to relocate to any available housing inside the Academy boundaries as soon as possible.”
“Asked or ordered?” Doc asks.
“Asked,” Quintana says. “For now, it will be voluntary, but highly encouraged. I can’t promise anything beyond that.”
“It’s for your own safety, Dr. Devane,” Casey says, but her attempts to smooth things over fall flat.
There are a few more questions after that, but in the end, the agents have shared all they’re willing to share. As more students begin to trickle into the common room after a night of drinking or hanging out with friends, our meeting finally breaks up.
“I’m going to walk the Professors back to the Promenade,” Kirin says. “I’ll check in with you guys later.”
“I’ll take Isla and Nat back to their dorms,” Ani says.
“Nat’s going to stay with me at Blood and Sorrow,” Isla says. Then, smiling up at me, “Want to join us for a sleepover?”
I glance over at Baz, his eyes blazing with a question, and I nod, my lips quirking into a smile despite the craziness of the night.
“I’ve got her covered,” he says.
“I bet you do,” Nat mutters, and I elbow her in the ribs, both of us trying to stifle our smiles.
After I say goodnight to the professors and the girls, Doc approaches me in front of the fireplace, his mouth drawn tight.
“You okay?” I ask him.
“I was about to ask you the same question.” He’s close now, his voice low and sultry before the crackling flames. “When we couldn’t reach you earlier, I thought…”
“I was fine.”
“I know. I just automatically feared the worst. It’s, as the kids say these days, kind of athingwith me.”
“Wait.” I can’t hold back my smile. “Did Dr. Seriouspants Devane just make a… a joke? Like, an actual ha-ha-funny joke?”
He gives me a real grin in return, softening the lines around his mouth. “Don’t get used to it. And don’t call me Dr. Seriouspants. I prefer Dr. Serioustrousers.”
“Wow, you’re in rare form tonight. If you’re trying to soften me up, the answer isno, I’m not helping you move. You’re supposed to ask the friend with the pickup truck, not the one with the broomstick.”
“Noted.” His grin finally fades, and he puts a hand on my shoulder, warm and reassuring, his dark eyes shining. “We’ll get through this, Stevie. Together. I promise.”
I cover his hand with mine and nod. “I promise too, Doc. Brothers, remember?”
“Brothers.”
