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“He’s taking it hard,” she said, almost apologetically. “This happened on his watch. He can’t forgive himself for that.”
I could understand that. But still. I wouldn’t be able to forgive him if he broke my guys the way he had tried to break me. I trusted Cassandra—within reason—but I knew that the more Toland panicked, the worse it would be for all of us.
The isolated waiting room looked like it had been furnished in the ‘60s and had never been redecorated. The furniture appeared blocky and uncomfortable, and a few novels lined a small bookshelf.
Jesus. How long am I expected to be here? Do they think I’ll have time to read a whole book?
Picking one up, I opened it to the first page then closed it again. I was too restless to even think about reading.
“Is it really true that actors are more easily swayed by sirens than other people?”
I asked the question out loud just to fill the space with something. Vesper was still hovering nearby, and the silence was making my skin crawl. She didn’t answer, and I was about to open the book again when the door opened.
Vesper cocked her head, then nodded once, the gray streaks in her hair gleaming in the bland yellow light of the wall sconces. I’d always assumed she was about the same age as Toland, but she looked better preserved. The effect of less stress and responsibility, maybe.
“Ah. They’ve all finished.” She crooked a finger at me. “Come with me. Toland wishes to speak with you all.”
I blinked at her. “Umm… I’ve been in here for two minutes. He got through all four of them already?”
She offered a tired smile. “The waiting room is enchanted. You’ve been here for five hours. Come on, he’s waiting.”
I shook my head, wondering if I was ever going to get used to this place. I followed her out and around a corner to a boardroom I had never been in before. All the men were all ther
e. Kai looked ashamed, which was weird for him. Kingston looked extra haughty, which made sense. He and Xero had shared the killing blow that took down Owen, and Kingston was allergic to guilt. Xero was the opposite though. He looked drained and miserable. Jayce was the only one who didn’t look like he’d just been through the wringer. He actually looked better than he had when they’d come to fetch me in the morning, and he even cracked a smile at me.
“Have a seat, Piper.” Toland gestured to a chair with one hand while pensively scratching his eyebrow with the other. Once I was settled, he sat at the head of the table and looked around, meeting our eyes one by one.
“First, I owe you all an apology. I should not have pushed you so hard. Especially you, Piper. And, Kai, you as well.”
I tried to share a look with Kai, but the coldly beautiful man wouldn’t meet my gaze. His cheeks were slightly flushed, tingeing his bronze skin a deeper shade.
Neither of us spoke up to accept Toland’s apology, and after a brief pause, the headmaster continued.
“I can tell you that I believe your story. I have no doubt that it happened just as you all say it did. Unfortunately, we still have a problem. Kai and Piper have missing memories due to falling unconscious, and we need to know what happened in those moments.”
Kai’s gaze snapped up, his dark eyes as bright and hard as obsidian. “You want us to go back in there?”
“Not right away. Cassandra and Devra need time to recover, and I’m sure you could both use a reprieve as well. I’ll expect you back here in three days, right after breakfast.” Then he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “There is another problem, however. Extenuating circumstances aside, you did miss your finals. I absolutely cannot allow you to move forward with your schooling until you pass those.”
“And if we don’t pass—what will happen?” Jayce asked.
Toland frowned. “Generally speaking, you would be banished to the underworld. Unfortunately, our current circumstances make that impossible; while we could remove you from the school, it’s possible we would be making ourselves vulnerable to detection if we were to do so. Since that is the case, anyone who doesn’t pass will have to be isolated within the school itself until such a time as we find a way back to earth. Then they would be banished.”
“Hold on.” My eyebrows shot up, and I raised my hand like an over-eager five-year-old in school. “We almost died trying to save you and everybody else, and you’re telling me that I still have to pass a fucking scantron to prove myself to your organization?”
Toland stared at me for a moment, his face still. “You will pass,” he said finally. “You all will.”
I frowned. “How do you know, you gonna give us cheat sheets?”
“Of course not.” He scoffed. “But you have two days to prepare. And as you stated, you’ve already proved yourselves to me, which means the tests will be easy for you.”
“You aren’t making any sense.”
“You’ll understand when you sit for your exams,” he said tiredly. “You are to meet Ms. Jewel in the magic lab at nine o’clock sharp the day after tomorrow. The following day, you’ll be back down here. After that, maybe we can all focus on getting home.” He gestured with one hand. “Dismissed. Vesper will show you out.”
The guys rose, but I stayed in my seat and gave our headmaster a hard look.
“Okay.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “So I understand the need for an interrogation. Someone died, and obviously there’s a mystery to solve. What I don’t understand is why you are so hell-bent—so to speak—on us taking these goddamn finals. Surely there are more important things for us all to be worrying about right now.”
