Page 103 of Legacy Elite

"That was under investigation as an intimidation attempt against a student under review," Jon says, quiet and even. "It is now something else. It happened while this—" he indicates the table "—was being assembled."

And my stomach goes.

Because I've been so busy with a six-year-old that I hadn't done the sum.

LEAVE IT BURIED.

Somebody sent me that while Hess was in an archive turning pages. Not after. While.

"Who knew you were close?" I ask.

Hess and Falken look at each other.

"That's a great question," Falken says.

"That's not an answer."

"No," he says. "It isn't. I'll have one."

I get one more thing out of that room, and I have to fight for it.

"Who gets told?"

"The Council, formally, today. The legal office. Academy security." Falken is already writing. "And the three Great Houses."

"Why them?"

"Because they are constitutionally entitled to notice, and because if they hear it from a rumour instead of from me, we lose control of it entirely."

"Students?"

"No announcement. Not yet."

"It'll leak."

"It will absolutely leak," Falken says. "Probably within the week."

"Then I'm telling my people first." I say it before he can get to the next line on his pad. "Not summoned into an office. Not read a notice. My friends, and—the others. They hear it from me, today, before anything goes out."

Falken looks up.

For a second I think he's going to explain to me why that's not possible.

"Yes," he says. "That's fair."

Security cleared my suite that morning.

Cleared is apparently a flexible word, because I'm still sleeping in Sophia's room tonight, there are two guards downstairs, and I'm not allowed to be alone up here. But they gave me access back, which is enough for what I need.

I send the messages before I can think too hard about any of them.

Twenty minutes later, I get everyone into my sitting room, which turns out to hold nine people extremely badly.

Sophia's on the couch, obviously. Declan's on the floor. Renzo's in the ugly chair. Freya's in the window seat. Torres is standing behind me with his hand at the small of my back and hasn't moved since I came in.

Luke's by the fireplace. Soren's in the doorway. And Ander is by the window with his arms folded, and I don't know who told him to come, and I notice that nobody's asked why he's here.

"Right," Sophia says. "You've got the face."