The preceptors and various other members of staff were to be expected. What I wasn’t expecting to see were four members of the California Mage Council. Three of them I recognized: Leonidas Levi, Raffe’s father, and the supposed deciding vote on important Council matters. Next to him sat Nicholas Mephiles, the revered alchemist who’d managed to turn stone into gold. He looked like he’d put on a few pounds since the last time I’d seen him, his stomach straining at his too-tight crimson waistcoat, while his jowls wobbled as he laughed at something Leonidas had said.
Then, there was the incomparable Imogene Whitehall, who offered me an encouraging smile as my eyes settled on her beautiful face. She wore a long, cream dress of delicate cashmere, buttoned from waist to neck, with a single silver bangle pushed up to the middle of her forearm. She was effortlessly stylish, her pale blond hair curving across her shoulder in a single braid. It made her look like some sort of Scandinavian goddess.
Beside me, Wade melted into a puddle of adoration, smitten to the core by Ms. Whitehall. I had to agree, she was an impressive woman who seemed to flood my mind with warmth. I just wished Wade’s admiration for her weren’t magnified through me. My heart beat faster and my stomach turned into a knot at the very sight of her.
I nudged him in the ribs. “Can you not do that right now?”
“Do what?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Fawn over Imogene. I can’t block it out.”
“I wasn’t,” he protested.
“That doesn’t work on an Empath, remember?” I chided, feeling him trying to block me.
The last Council member was a man I didn’t recognize. He was tall, in his mid-forties, but good-looking for his age. A graze of pale stubble edged across his jaw, leading down to the merest hint of a tattoo that clawed its way up his neck. His sandy hair was barely streaked with gray or white, and his caramel eyes still held a youthful vibrancy as they assessed me closely. A small X marked the spot beneath each of his eyes, giving him a rough-and-ready vibe.
“Who’s that?” I whispered to Wade.
“Remington Knightshade,” he replied. “Levi’s right-hand man.”
I grimaced. “And just as stuck up?”
He shrugged casually. “Maybe forty percent of Levi, if you want to look at it that way. He’s part of the California Mage Council as well.”
“Harley! You’ve made it,” Alton announced, breaking up our conversation. I stared at him, trying to figure out whether that was a reference to my poor timekeeping or my induction into the coven. Judging by his flat tone and the mixture of frustration and excitement that came off him, I presumed it was a thinly veiled jab at my tardiness.
Wade let go of my arm and made his way toward the rest of the Rag Team, his emotions growing fainter.
“You’ve drawn quite a crowd,” Alton went on, his chest swelling with something akin to paternal pride. He wore a variation of the coven’s uniform, his collar and cuffs navy while the main body of his suit gleamed with a rich, golden hue. “Now, let’s begin before everyone starts thinking about the banquet tables.”
My stomach grumbled. “Don’t jabber too long on my account,” I muttered. The nerves hadn’t left me, but I tried to focus on Alton as he addressed the crowd.
His soft voice somehow carried across the congregation. “We never expected to have such a strong-willed Merlin enter our ranks. It’s an honor, not only because of who you are, Harley, but because of what you have done for us.” He smiled at me. “That’s the most important and most treasured aspect of your presence here—the selfless way in which you’ve risked your life, saving people you didn’t even know. That is your nature, Harley Merlin, and that is the beating heart of the San Diego Coven. Everyone here is glad that you’ve chosen us as your family.”
My eyes filled with sudden, unexpected tears. A mixture of emotions overwhelmed me—my own and Alton’s, weaving pride with joy and a sense of belonging. Despite the Dempsey Suppressor inside me, and the lingering, terrible reputation that my father had left in his wake, I’d overcome. I’d proven myself more than worthy to be a part of this coven. I already knew that, deep down, but it felt so good to hear it said out loud.
“Thank you, Alt—Director Waterhouse,” I said, clearing my throat.
“There’s danger lurking in our city, and we will defend our home with every ounce of magic and determination we have,” Alton replied. “Your presence here only serves to strengthen our resolve. We will not be defeated.”
I nodded effusively, thinking of the kids that Katherine had stolen—well, that the Ryder twins had snatched on her behalf. Whatever it was she had up her sleeve, it had something to do with her endgame of becoming a Child of Chaos. How she’d do it and why she wanted to… that remained a mystery.
My gaze drifted across the gathered crowd, their emotions bombarding me like artillery fire. I let them in, and my nerves curled in frustration as I battled to make sense of the noise. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I let them in regardless. There were twenty or so that I couldn’t feel. Shapeshifters. The rest… I couldn’t help but see them in a different light now. Someone here, potentially in this very room, was spying on us for Katherine. Maybe there was even more than one mole. Either way, they’d leaked the information about the kids to Katherine and the Ryder twins—they’d had the details of each one, which had come directly from the coven’s archives. There was no other way they could’ve gotten their hands on the intel.
Where are you, you traitors? Where are you hiding?
“Before you make your pledge to us, Harley, you must display your full spectrum of abilities so we can categorize you accordingly in our official records—you’ve got quite a few, after all,” Alton explained, bringing my attention back around to him. “Using the information from Dr. Krieger’s Reading of your blood, you have Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Telekinesis, and Empathy abilities. Now, we ask that you begin with Air and work your way through accordingly. Does that make sense?”
Part of the pledge ceremony was my registration into the official records of the San Diego Coven. They had everything else. It basically meant adding my name to the game roster, so to speak, as an active member instead of a limited onlooker.
I nodded anxiously. “Yes, Director Waterhouse.”
“Excellent. We’ll clear a space, and you may begin when you’re ready.” He eyed the emerald silk of my gown and lowered his voice to a murmur. “Perhaps you should change your clothes first? Those who take the pledge are not usually so… formally attired until afterward.”
I shot a look at Tatyana and Santana, who gave me a thumbs-up.
“This dress is surprisingly flexible,” I replied calmly. “I’ll be fine.”
“All right. You can start whenever you’re ready. Best of luck.” He looked amused, but I felt anything but. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. Sure, I knew what I was doing at least half the time, when it came to my abilities, but that didn’t mean I could put on a show for people.
I waited for a space to be cleared at the front of the podium—a cordoned-off semicircle, away from the mirrors, the seated preceptors, and the members of the Mage Council. That didn’t bode well. Struggling to ignore the crowd, I looked down at my Esprit and let it bring me comfort. I admired the pearl and onyx of the ring and bracelet, linked by four stones—sapphire, garnet, emerald, and diamond. A wash of tentative calm shivered through my veins.
I might not have full control over all of you just yet, my pretties, but dammit, let’s make this work and not embarrass me, okay?
I peered at Nomura for a moment. His curious eyes stared back—one blue, the other a rusty orange. I might not have been a particularly patient student in Nomura’s school of Esprit-less thought, but his teachings about control made a lot of sense. My Esprit was supposed to enhance what was already there. Control was key to everything.
Now, all I had to do was get through the next five minutes of my Air ability without seriously injuring or maiming anyone, and I’d be just fine. How hard can that be?
The crowd of the packed Assembly Hall was about to find out. I could feel them bracing themselves, the room bristling with nervous energy. I lifted my hands to begin.
Two
Harley
The diamond of my Esprit glowed, and a hush descended across the room. Whether they were waiting for me to fail or succeed, it was hard to tell. A blend of both encouragement and skepticism pulsed through the atmosphere toward me; I allowed it to feed my concentration.
Without warning, an ice-cold adrenaline rush powered through my body, coursing toward my palms. Terrified of what it might do, I reined it in and stopped it in its tracks. It shuddered straight back up my arms, seeping into my muscles and making them suddenly heavy. My breath came in sharp bursts as I paused, my body shivering from the bitter bite of Air’s elemental influence. I hadn’t expected that, but then again, Air wasn’t my forte.
This isn’t going to work.
“Alton?” I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Is everything all right?” he whispered. He looked suitably worried. I was letting him down, right in front of the Mage Council.
“It might be better if I started with Telekinesis…”
“As you please, Harley.”
“Thanks.”
I lifted the long skirt of my gown and tied it like an apron around my waist, shortening it to my knees and revealing the heavy-duty lace-up boots beneath. A giggle snaked through the crowd. They could laugh all they wanted. At least now I had the flexibility to move around properly, without any fear of tripping over my own dress. Falling flat on my face isn’t a friggin’ option. Alton pursed his lips, while Imogene chuckled to herself. Her laugh I could tolerate, though I didn’t dare look over at my friends.
I took a fighting stance, one leg in front of the other, keeping my knees soft for balance. It wasn’t necessary, but I wanted to make a decent show of things—especially on the abilities I was confident with. As I lifted my hands, the pearl of my Esprit shone vividly.