Page 65 of Mate of a Monster

Imagine what she could do with inside knowledge.

“But, my king,” Vaelor begins carefully, glancing once at the Headmaster before straightening again, “she saved the children. If she hears what we know, perhaps she could—”

Arabella steps forward before he can finish. “She came from the ocean,” she says sharply. “She lived on an island surrounded by it. Do you not see that she is manipulating you all? The sea just so happens to rise the day she appears. What does that tell you?”

Two of the new council members nod faintly, fear always eager for direction.

Haide has the nerve to just stand there like we’re boring her.

“Enough,” Creed interjects calmly, but the tension in his gaze is unmistakable as he nods toward Vaelor. “Go on. We can worry about the rest later.”

Vaelor inclines his head, and steps closer to the table where a projection has already been activated. A faint shimmer rises above the wood, the surface rippling as an arcane recording unfolds in layered illusion.

“We consulted the Tideward Echo Archives,” he says, gesturing to the projection. “The Mirror Tides were active along the eastern barrier at the time of the breach. They capture magical disturbances in coastal wards.”

The illusion sharpens.

One moment the sea is calm, slate gray; the next, the wind shifts.

“There,” Vaelor points. “You can see the moment the air begins to distort.”

“A spell of some sort?”

“That’s what’s odd. There’s no trace of residual magic.” He looks across us. “The only thing we detected was harmonic resonance along the ley line.” The projection shudders to show us a slight rippling wave breaking across it, as if a soundwave is being tracked through a radio signal.

“What are we looking at exactly?” Creed frowns.

“It wasn’t pressure that broke the barrier,” Vaelor says. “It was sound.”

I scowl, cutting a quick glance at Arabella when her fingers tighten in mine. “What does that mean?”

“Well, the only conclusion is the waters, or perhaps the air, began to…sing.”

Arabella exhales sharply, incredulous. “That is ridiculous.”

Every head turns to her.

Vaelor does not.

“We reviewed it three times,” he says steadily, eyes on Creed. “The harmonic signature prior to the attack, it was not Stygian or Argent, nor Water Fae.”

“What are you saying?” Knight steps closer.

“The source is an unregistered, which means—”

“Untraceable.” Sinner scowls, eyes locked on the water in the illusion as it splits and the barrier snaps. The flood surges and just as it breaks against the academy, he wipes his hand through the illusion and it vanishes.

Arabella lifts her chin. “You have an exile who escaped a royal banishment. Unheard of just like what you are explaining. She is responsible, manipulating everyone, just like before.”

“And yet,” Creed stares her down. “The Echo Archives recorded the harmonic spike before she entered Tideward airspace.”

I drag my gaze to Haide, mind reeling.

Her lips move soundlessly as she stares at the ground with furrowed brows.

Is she doing some sort of spell?

When the fuck did she get so much power?