“Of course, Headmistress,” I demurred, stepping out of reach as soon as I could.

  “Alright then, off with you.” She turned on her heel and moved back into the great hall, leaving all of us to take one great big relieved breath.

  “She confuses the hell out of me,” Rina confessed, the moment we were alone. “You say she’s part of the Syndicate, yet she’s had so many opportunities to hurt you…”

  “Some people are in it for the long game,” Bane grumbled, looking back over his shoulder as if to check she wasn’t there. “Look at Lucinda. She could have killed me a thousand times over in the last year, but she didn’t because she wanted something more than just my death.”

  Yes, Lucinda had wanted something more than his death... she’d wanted him. “I’m not sure I want to know what Professor Saxon wants.” I forced back my bitter thoughts as we started walking. “I think it might scare me more.”

  Chapter 31

  As it happened, Professor Saxon’s definition of soon happened to be five weeks later, when most of the gossip about my wings and extra horns was finally dying down. I, along with everyone else, had almost managed to convince myself it was a fluke that all six first-years had gone through their showings. She waited until we were just finishing her citizenship lesson to surprise me.

  “Lilith, if you’ll stay behind for just a moment,” she called out just as I got up to leave.

  My head swivelled, searching for Daron and Bane in the crowd of leaving students.

  “What do you want us to do?” Daron asked.

  “Do you need a distraction?” Bane frowned as he sent his message.

  He was still struggling to get to grips with communicating down our bond and I think we both suspected that the reason was that his wall had damaged whatever was between us before it could really form. Talking to the others was like having someone whisper to my heart, talking to Bane down his bond was like yelling across a vast lake on a windy day and hoping the person on the other side could hear you.

  “Just, stay with me like this?” I suggested to both of them. “She’s never tried anything before…”

  Daron’s nod was barely perceptible as he left the room, fingers already typing away on his tablet, no doubt alerting the others to the situation. "I’ve got you on the school cameras, if she tries anything, I’ll know.”

  “There’s always a first time,” Bane disagreed, but reluctantly followed Daron out of the room.

  “Sorry, I know you probably want to eat.” Saxon tidied away her desk with graceful, efficient movements as she talked. “But I’ve been thinking about your friend, Abraxon’s supposition from a few weeks ago.”

  “That I can somehow help first years go through their showing?” I hedged, focusing on her every move. “It seems a little far-fetched to me, Professor.”

  She shrugged. “Either way, if you don’t mind, I’ve set up an experiment… It’s in my office, and I promise it won’t take more than a few moments of your time.”

  Her tone was light, but I noticed she wasn’t asking me, something that was confirmed when she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the side door that led straight to her office. When she paused, holding it open for me, I had to physically force my feet to follow her. I felt oddly alone as I crossed the threshold, my imps had been gone most of the afternoon, and I desperately wished they were with me as the door closed behind me.

  Her office seemed the same as when I had last seen it on the day of my own showing, books on every shelf, and the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows. The only difference was that this time there were a group of around ten others standing in the middle of the room.

  “Lilith, these are some first-years from the other colleges across the country,” Professor Saxon began, striding towards the group, beckoning me to follow her. “All of them are still in their—”

  But whatever she was about to say was cut off by one of them dropping to his knees, grunting with pain as he clutched his chest.

  Saxon beamed, taking her seat behind her desk as a girl towards the back screeched. “Lilith, I think we have our answer…”

  I shook my head slowly. “Professor, I—”

  But I was cut off by another scream.

  One of the boys actually tried to make a run for it, but the moment he went to move past me he collapsed, clutching at his stomach.

  It felt like an hour passed, watching all of them succumb to the agony of their showings but, it must have taken a few minutes at most. I helped the boy who’d tried to run to his feet and watched as he guiltily shuffled back to the group. When each one of them had finished screaming, and sobs had turned to whimpers, Saxon finally spoke.

  “You may all go. Your teachers are waiting for you in the entrance hall. You will tell them nothing about what happened here.”

  “Yes, Professor,” they muttered, shuffling out of the door in a line, letting it slam closed behind them.

  “Have a seat, Lilith,” Professor Saxon instructed. “Would you like a liquorice?”

  I shook my head and all but fell into the chair, completely overwhelmed. “Professor, I don’t want to do whatever it is you want me to do.”

  “I can’t believe that.” The Headmistress raised her brows in disbelief. “How many unshown beg every day for a showing? How many weeks have I spent teaching you that our race is in decline, and yet you balk when gifted the opportunity to help? Unbelievable.”

  “But, I didn’t ask for this.”

  I would love to make it so that no one ever became unshown again, but that seemed completely beyond my abilities. I was barely past my own showing in demon terms and I still couldn’t figure out why Professor Saxon was pushing this issue. How did it benefit the Syndicate to have me preventing unshown from being created when they seemed to be of the belief that some demons were inherently better than others anyway? I didn’t know why she wanted me to do this, and I didn’t trust her sudden interest in me at all.

  “Lilith, I don’t think you have much of a choice here.” Professor Saxon’s voice dropped into the reasonable and calm tone of someone used to negotiating and coming out on top. “First-years arriving in September will need to use the great hall. How is anyone supposed to hide it when all eighty of them have their showings at the same time? Why would you want to? You are a hope for the future of all demons. Can you imagine, children no longer growing up petrified of being declared unshown because they know that you exist?”

  I shook my head. “I know what you’re saying but…”

  “Perhaps if you could see the impact for yourself, you’d understand.” She rose and walked over to the window. “I will make a deal with you, Lilith. You know that students after the midsummer ball rarely complete their showings, correct? If you agree to meet the remaining first-years from the other colleges before the ball, and you’re still not moved, I’ll say no more on the subject. I’ll arrange for all of them to come here, and all you have to do is walk into the great hall.”

  “What is she saying?” Daron asked down our bond.

  “She wants me to make the first-years from the other six colleges go through their showings,” I admitted, “It sounds like a nice thing to do, but…”

  “What’s her motive for this?” Daron asked, echoing my thoughts. “This sounds suspicious.”

  “But there’s nothing wrong with being unshown,” I protested meekly to the Professor.

  She smiled like she knew she had me, and in a way, she did. I wanted to help more than anything. “If you truly believe that then take the deal.”

  “It could be an attempt to recruit new blood for the Syndicate,” Daron reasoned. “Bane says it could also be to deprive the Resistance of new members. Fraxis and Lucinda’s focus on them shows that the Syndicate is interested in resistance activities. The fewer unshown the less potential rebels there are.”

  I struggled to think. “But to what end?” I asked Saxon, who was still staring calmly at me. “There may only be seven colleges in this country, but what about the rest of the world? I’d never be able to help them all. You even taught us that demonic society couldn’t function without the unshown.”

  “Sometimes, change comes whether society is ready for it or not.” Saxon’s voice was cold as she shifted her gaze to stare evenly out of the window. “I’ll admit, I’m disappointed with your reaction.”

  “Why do you want me to do this?”

  She frowned. “You’ve seen what happens to your classmates every year at the solstice ball when they’re declared unshown,” she reminded me. “I’ve seen that happen to a handful of students every year since I became headmistress over a century ago. This will be the first time that I won’t have to watch a single one be disgraced in front of the elders, and I don’t want it to be the last.”

  I could see a hard glint forming in her eye and it was making me nervous. The temperature of the office seemed to drop slightly the longer I tried to think about it, conspiring with the headmistress’ heavy gaze to pile pressure onto me.

  “Take her offer,” Bane advised, his words staticky but audible along our bond. “The Resistance will survive without a few new recruits, and no one wants to be an unshown. But she could make your life a living hell for the next two years if you don’t go along with things for now.”

  “I’ll do it,” I conceded. “But only the students who want to go through their showings have to come. I won’t force anyone into it.”

  Saxon beamed. “Wonderful.” She returned to her desk, “I’ll organise everything… Oh, one last thing. I received a formal notice that you’ve been accepted as the head of your family. That’s going to mess up your modules for next year.”

  I stared at her for a second, uncomprehending. “In what way?”

  “Well, obviously you’ll require the module on Demonic Politics, but you don’t have space on your timetable because it’s an advanced class. Acolyte Ezra has also noted you down as one of his picks for the Advanced Theology class which only further complicates things. You’ll have to either drop one of your smaller modules like Language, Citizenship or Theology, or self-teach as you did for your etiquette module last year.”

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Is there no other way?” I wasn’t good enough at speaking in demonish to consider dropping it when it helped with my other classes, and citizenship was the only class which gave me any idea of what to expect when they released us at the end of our fourth year.

  Professor Saxon shook her head, “Unfortunately not, unless you can find a professor willing to give you evening lessons… Professor McKinnax used to do that with a few combat students, but he’s just informed me of his intention to retire at the end of this year, and his replacement might not be so willing.” She studied the paper on her desk and sighed. “I’ll let you think about it, but I’ll need an answer by the solstice. Perhaps your results will help you pick.”

  “Yes, Headmistress,” I agreed, slipping toward the door.

  “Well then, you’re dismissed. I’ll let the other heads know about the arrangements and you should expect to see the students just before the ball.”

  I turned and walked from the room, barely controlling the urge to flee.

  I turned onto the corridor only to run straight into Daron and Bane, the former dragging me into his arms.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Are you okay? We saw all of the first years leave.”

  I nodded into his chest, inhaling the minty scent of him as I soaked in his warmth. “I’m fine,”

  Daron released me, and I looked over at Bane. My Greed mate opened his arms slowly, as if unsure about my reaction, and I surprised us both by stepping into them. Between us, the mating bond flared to life, demanding more contact, pulsing with the need for skin to skin touch. My face pressed against his chest as he rested his chin on my head, inhaling deeply.

  “You’re sure you’re fine?” Bane checked.

  I nodded against him, and he pulled back, looking into my eyes for a long second, likely gauging the truth of that statement for himself. He would have pulled away entirely, but I linked our hands before he could go any further. He was stunned for the briefest instant before he cleared his throat.

  “We should get to dinner; the others will probably want to see the truth of that for themselves.”

  “Actually... I have something planned for Lilith’s dinner...” Daron looked torn, his eyes fixed on our joined hands hopefully.

  I knew he had been quietly championing my forgiving Bane from the moment his full story had come out, but I’d had a lot of time to think over the last few weeks and the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with him.

  “Is that today?” Bane interrupted whatever Daron would have said, disentangling our hands reluctantly. “I’ll tell the others you’re fine, and we’ll catch up when you get back.”

  Instinctively I leaned towards him and pressed the swiftest of kisses on his cheek. “When I’m back, could we talk?”

  He nodded jerkily, a slight smile on his face as he held his hand out, opening his fist to reveal one of my hair clips.

  I rolled my eyes, grinning as I took it back. Truthfully, I’d started putting random tiny objects in my pockets for just that reason. It was a weird habit that I hadn’t gotten out of even when we weren’t talking, and he hadn’t been taking them, and I was strangely glad that he’d started stealing from me again.

  We split up, Daron took my bag again and escorted me to the gates like he had before, whilst Bane headed to the main hall. Blaze wasn’t waiting for us by the Gatehouse like he had been at our last date. Instead, Dorian McKinnax waited under the portcullis until we were through, then disappeared with a quiet wave back into the school grounds. A waiting black Land Rover stood directly across the moat, keys in the ignition and doors unlocked.

  Daron looked at his tablet. “Blaze says we should enjoy ourselves, but something came up, so he can’t drive us.” He put the tablet back in his bag, holding open my door for me. “He also promised to disembowel me if he has to take the blame for any scratches when we get back.”

  He walked around the car, getting behind the wheel with a confidence that surprised me. “It’s a long drive,” he admitted, passing me a chocolate bar from his bag before chucking it into the back. “I brought this, so you wouldn’t get hungry.”

  I smiled as my heart fluttered slightly. “Thanks... So where are we going?” I unwrapped the chocolaty goodness and almost moaned as the taste of chocolate and marshmallow chased away all thoughts of Professor Saxon.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” he promised, pulling the car around and beginning the route down the drive. “But you might as well get some sleep. You’ve had a long day, and you’ve been looking more and more tired every time I see you recently.”

  As if my body was conspiring against me, a huge yawn forced its way out of me. “I have been,” I admitted, “It seems like there’s never enough time... Exams are coming up and between studying and trying to keep enough power to make it through the day...”

  “Sleep now,” Daron suggested. “I promise I’ll wake you when we get there.”

  And, like a traitor, my body did as he said.

  Chapter 32

  “Lilith.” A gentle hand stroked the side of my face. “Wake up, we’re here.”

  I blinked my eyes open to the smell of salt and the view of a thousand stars above me. It took me a second to realise I was in Daron’s arms, and he’d somehow extracted me from the car without my waking. Onyx and Ivory flitted around us, flying away then returning almost reluctantly to my side.

  “Where are we?” I wondered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and looking around at the endless expanse of water in front of me.

  “Beadnell Bay,” Daron announced.

  “...the sea?” I gaped at the vast emptiness.

  “Specifically, the North Sea... I thought we could picnic here...”

  I nudged at his arms for him to let me down. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I yanked off my shoes and felt cool sand beneath my toes. I looked longingly at the waterline, where Onyx and Ivory were both splashing in the calm water, then back at Daron.

  “Can we?”

  In answer he stripped off his own shoes, discarding them as carelessly as I had. “I’ll race you.”

  It was completely unfair, my Envy mate was the tallest of all my mates, and he had the legs to match. So, I did the only thing I could do and raised a shield of PK in front of him, sending him sprawling to the soft sand as I raced ahead.

  “I’m winning!” I yelled back, gasping as my feet made contact with the freezing water. When I looked back to find Daron, it was only to see him sitting on the sand with an indulgent grin on his face.