As quickly as it appeared, the mark vanishes before my eyes, my skin instantly cooling.
The pain is gone. The rage. All of it.
All that remains is his voice, the final threat he uttered in the realm seared into my memory for eternity, echoing through my skull.
The unworthy shall burn, burn, burn.
I will come for you, boy. One night, I will come.
And when you hear my clarion call, you willbegme to set you aflame.
To set you free.
Twenty-Two
CASS
Dawn has just touched the frost-covered window panes when I bang impatiently on the front door, scaring a few ground squirrels out of the bushes.
“We need to talk, Anna,” I call out. “Now.”
My patience for the headmistress is already well past thin. Add that to the fact that I’m here on her doorstep this morning instead of back at Stevie’s suite… Goddess, I hate that I had to leave her side. When she finally returned to us from the realm last night, it was all I could do not to break down. And in that moment—and every moment since—it’s been all I can do not to gather her in my arms and kiss her senseless…
Stop fantasizing about things you can never have, Professor.
I bang on the door again, so hard the decorative window pane at the top rattles. Seconds later, I finally sense Anna’s presence. She’s lingering just on the other side, but she makes me wait a few more beats before wrenching open the door.
Dressed in a dark gray pantsuit, her hair pulled into a severe bun, our illustrious headmistress looks even more uptight and terrifying than usual.
That might work on troublesome students or a donor unwilling to part with his cash, but the effect is lost on me.
With what I’ve come here to say this morning, I’m not the one who should be afraid.
“Cassius Devane,” she snaps, a bit of her composure cracking. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. Where onearthhave you been?”
“That’s not the question you should be asking.” Uninvited, I step inside the doorway, forcing her to take a few steps back. “The question you should be asking is, ‘What can I do for you, Cassius?’ Followed by the proclamation, ‘Whatever you need, I will move heaven and earth to make it happen.’”
I loom over her in the doorway, but she doesn’t flinch. With Anna Trello, it’s always a contest of wills—one she typically wins.
Not today.
“You obviously have no idea what’s been going on here,” she barks, doing her best to intimidate me despite the fact that I’ve got several inches of height and a whole lot more anger on her. “There was an explosion at a campus bar last night—no injuries, thank the Goddess—but Casey Appleton has not been seen since dinner. Janelle Kirkpatrick is also missing. The students are absolutely frantic over the explosion, which only fuels their speculations about the dangers unfolding just outside our walls. Our country is in total lockdown, Cass. The government is waging an all-out war against witches and mages at every turn. Despite all of this, you have the gall to grace my doorstep this morning, looking and smelling as if you’ve been cavorting with… withtowniesall night?”
She glares at me as if she’s daring me to deny her accusations, chin jutting out like some haughty aristocrat.
“Are you finished?” I finally ask.
“I beg your pardon?”
I hold up a hand to stop the next diatribe. “I’m here because I need a secure, off-campus location—cloaked if possible, warded at a minimum—with a basement and an SUV onsite. No questions asked.”
Anger rises from her toes to her eyeballs, turning her face the color of an overripe tomato. “What could you possibly need all that for? And what makes you think I have access to something like that?” She turns and heads into her living room, muttering all the way. “Unacceptable. Absolutely appalling behavior from an esteemed—”
“Anna?” I follow close on her heels. “Exactly what part of ‘no questions asked’ is confusing for you?”
“You come here making demands that are—”
“Well within your power to meet. In fact, I understand the Academy’s very own Red Sands Canyon community is lovely this time of year. And as the rampant militarization of our country makes it quite impossible for wealthy donors and dignitaries to visit us at this time, I’m sure there are plenty of vacancies, aside from our APOA guests. And Mrs. Kirkpatrick of course. Oh, that reminds me.” I tap my chin, my voice dripping with condescension. “I’m going to need a home as far away from the others as possible. I’m sure you of all people understand the need for privacy and discretion, particularly since popular bars are exploding on-campus and we’re still no closer to installing the additional security equipment we discussed weeks ago.”
