“What?” Catherine snapped, eyes wild. “What is it?”
Dina unfurled her palm and revealed a small piece of paper. There was something etched upon the ripped-up parchment. A drawing. “This is the only thing I found.”
Catherine’s expression hardened. “What do you mean?”
“There’s nothing else in there.” Dina let out a shuddering breath. “It’s empty.”
28
IRENE
There weren’t many Ascended duties that Irene was fond of, but reformatory watch had to be one of the worst. It was incessantly boring, not to mention an absolute waste of her time and talents. It wasn’t like the students in reformatory could leave. A magical barrier surrounded the room, which meant that even if theywantedto try to escape, they couldn’t. Irene’s presence was merely an extra defensive measure.
A stupid one, Irene thought with a grumble.
She crossed her arms and leaned her head against the door. She could hear what sounded like sobbing on the other side, but it was muffled. It didn’t matter either way. She’d dealt with reformatory before.
The kid would survive.
As the afternoon ticked by, slow and seemingly endless, Irene’s mind wandered to her last conversation with Mateo. She didn’t understand why he was being so secretive. Sure, she hadn’ttechnicallyjoined the Order yet, but she was quite literally risking her soul to help them infiltrate the school. Shouldn’t that be enough reassurance that she was on their side? Shouldn’t that be enoughto convince them that she was truly one of their—
Irene.
Irene stilled, yanked out of her thoughts. Had someone spokenher name? She glanced left and right, but there was nobody lurking in either of the corridors flanking her. Could it have been the student on the other side?
Irene.
She jumped, startled. Okay. Now she wascertainshe’d heard a voice. It had come from the left, farther down the corridor.Screw it.It wasn’t like the student in reformatory was going anywhere.
Irene ventured down the corridor, listening intently. Waiting, and waiting, and…
Irene.
The voice was right behind her.
She spun on her heels, bracing for a fight, but instead came face to face with her own reflection.
It was a mirror. It was floating, the golden frame hovering in the air.
“Hello?” Irene called out, feeling a bit foolish for talking to her own reflection.
She waited. For a moment, she swore she saw something changing in her reflection, another set of eyes staring back at her, another face lurking in the distance. Irene took a rigid step backward…but it was too late.
Irene barely had time to gasp before a pair of hands reached out, gripping her shoulders, and pulled her into the mirror.
She landed on her hands and knees in a rather ungraceful heap. The first thing she noticed was that she recognized the room she’d been thrown into. It was the main hall of Bonestrod. She’d recognize those dark, decrepit floorboards anywhere. And if therewas anybody who enjoyed meeting in Bonestrod, anybody who enjoyed dramatic entrances…
Irene groaned. “Silas.”
The Headmaster’s voice echoed not a second after. “Thank you for meeting me here, Irene. Apologies for the abrupt call.”
Headmaster Silas was standing by the stone hearth, Samira and Everly waiting by his side. They looked equally frazzled and disheveled, which led Irene to believe they’d been called here in the same unconventional manner.
“Honestly?” Irene pushed herself to her feet, blowing a strand of dark hair away from her face. “I’m starting to get used to it.”
“All right. Irene is here.” Everly crossed her arms, staring up at Silas with a scowl. “Can youpleasetell us if this is a test now?”
Silas’s lips curved into a smirk. “It’s…somethinglike that.”
