by Candy Crum
Scarlett smiled. "I've checked them all. They're all very clean. They’re terrified of what the Boulevard students are capable of, but they refused to do anything for fear of Amelia. They'll only move if they have someone they can trust to win this for them."
Jackson's brows furrowed as he stood. "Talia, what’s she talking about?"
Talia once again looked at Scarlett, who nodded. "It's safe. Spill it," Scarlett told her.
Turning back to her audience, Talia smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. "It looks like I’m telling you a few things sooner rather than later. Scarlett is a mystic. I'm sure all of you are familiar with the mystical arts, even if you don't know how to use them, yes?"
Everyone looked at each other for a moment before turning back to her and nodding.
"Good. I don't trust anyone. I'm sure all of you can understand that, given what we've been through. Scarlett here helps make sure I know exactly what's going on. I think it's time that I did as Jackson suggested, so let me introduce myself properly. My name is Talia, and I am the daughter of your past Chancellor, Adrien."
For a moment, looks of confusion swept across those in attendance. Everyone once again glanced at one another for answers, but slowly, as they gazed at her, studied her, those looks of confusion melted away, and their eyes reflected recognition.
Talia looked so much like her mother that it was hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for. Only then could you spot Adrien's obvious features on her beautiful face.
"Adrien had a daughter?" Victoria asked, her bright blue eyes glowing with excitement as she studied Talia’s face.
Talia looked at her. “He kept it a secret because he was rather paranoid. He knew someone might use me against him.”
Or—more accurately—meet an untimely end by some Boulevard bitch, she thought to herself.
“If he did, he wanted to make sure he had one person he could trust no matter what. Unfortunately, I didn't get my letter from Doyle until after my father died, but I vowed I wouldn't let his death be ignored. But make no mistake… I am not my father. I have no interest in power, or in building an airship, or any other exorbitant plan for dominance he may have once entertained. All I want is to continue ruling in honor of the man who gave me everything, who made me strong. All of you want that as well. Even if you hated my father, you know he was right. The people of Arcadia have their place, as does magic."
Talia was careful to choose her words, avoiding anything that sounded like revenge or that could induce terror. She wanted them to believe she wanted to reinstate her father’s rules without being as violent as he’d been. She wanted them to believe she’d be the ruler they’d always wanted Adrien to be—though sacrifices would need to be made.
Jackson's eyes were wide as he stared at her. Talia gave him a reassuring smile, hoping that he would buy that she was sincere. "Jackson, I hope you don't feel betrayed or misled by me. That was never my intention. I never wanted to cause damage, only heal and do things the way they should have been done. Now that I’ve gotten close to you, and I've seen the devastation these people can cause. My mission no longer matters. Now it's our mission."
Jackson gave a small nod before looking at the floor. He seemed to be mulling things over. Finally, he looked at Talia and smiled. "I understand. I don't feel that you betrayed me. I guess I would've done the same thing in your shoes. It's not like you could just come in here and announce you were Adrien's daughter and have anyone trust you.”
He sighed as he looked around the room to the other faces. “We would have, but everyone else would've hated you. You never would've even gotten the job in the first place, and we would be stuck. Your reasons for coming back to the city aren't important. Not anymore. What's important is that you found it in your heart to help us."
Rebecca, another teacher, stood then. Her brown eyes seemed dark, furious, though her expression was amused. "Those Boulevard kids are capable of terrible things. We can't let them destroy our Academy, and we can't let them hurt us. We all know as soon as they learn magic, they will use it against us. They will take all those years of imaginary abuse out on us, when it was never our fault."
"I couldn't agree more," Talia assured her. "So, the question is, will you trust me? Will you let me help you? I promise—if you do—the city will find its final transformation. It’ll be everything it should've been from the beginning."
One by one, everyone stood, and one by one they pledged their allegiance to Talia.
Scarlett took a step forward, sitting the bag on a table and opening it up. She pulled a bottle of wine free and held it up. “To celebrate, I brought a very special wine for all of us to share while I tell you a legend. And if you know anything about mystics, you know we are wonderful storytellers. Some would even call us master illusionists…”
***
Arryn awoke with a start as she did every morning, heart racing and sweat beading on her forehead. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
She sighed heavily and took a drink of water from the bedside table before standing and making her way out of the room. As she headed downstairs, she smelled something burning.
Rushing into the kitchen, she saw Cathillian turn with a start and look at her with wide eyes, guilt all over his face. Arryn closed her eyes for a moment as she crossed her arms.
"What exactly are you up to in here?" she asked. "Are you trying to burn the house down?”
"Sorry! You get mad at me when I wake you from those dreams, so I thought I’d make breakfast instead. I would have asked Celine, but she’s still passed out. She’s always up early, so I figured she could use the rest. Quit giving me that look. It kept me busy and out of your hair, didn't it?"
Arryn crossed the room and sat at the table, laying her head on the cool wood. "Well, whatever it was, I’m pretty sure it's done.” She smiled, but it was hidden from his view. “And I do hate it when you wake me from those dreams. I just wish I’d quit having them. I figured they would've stopped by now; they’ve never lasted this long."
"Do you want some blackened coal for breakfast? Because if you do, I'm a damn good chef."
Arryn laughed, looking up from the table. "Coal is black, dork.”
“Yeah, but I blackened it more. It’s like—twice blackened. See? Talent.”
Arryn rolled her eyes, her expression still very amused. “Even if it didn't smell like that, I still wouldn't eat it. I don't trust it. You'd trick me into eating a fried piece of dog shit if you could."
His brows furrowed as he looked down into the scorched pan before looking back to her. "So, you mean I snuck into the neighbor’s yard this morning and waited for the dog to go back in for nothing? I nearly got punched to make you this fine breakfast."
Arryn was already beginning to feel better. Her heart had slowed to a regular rhythm, and the laughing was taking her mind off everything. "What did you actually try to cook?"
He smiled, but it was full of mischief. Arryn's face fell as she stared at him.
"Cathillian…” her voice a bit sterner. “What did you try to make?"
"Well, let's just say that I wasn't lying about nearly getting punched this morning." Cathillian only grinned again as Arryn looked at him incredulously. "Or about waiting in the neighbor’s yard... I might have stolen some eggs."
"Holy shit, Cathillian! What’s the matter with you? You didn't have to do that. I have money now, you know. By proxy—you have money now, too. We can buy eggs. Or chickens."
Arryn made a mental note to hunt down some chickens. Of course, she would have to pay the neighbor for the eggs her ridiculous friend stole, but then she could teach him how to properly cook them. It was obvious he'd never cooked a thing in his entire life.
"So, enough about my exciting morning and fine cooking skills. What are you up to today on your day off?"
"I think I'm gonna go see Amelia. She's convinced that either Doyle was lying, or she was del
irious from blood loss. Either way, she doesn't believe anything she remembers, but I do. I think Doyle was very serious about someone coming to the city, and it’s way too much of a coincidence to find out about it after having met Talia."
"So, you think the big bad is Talia?" Cathillian asked.
"I don't know. It's odd. The day we met Amelia I got a buzzy feeling in my head because she was looking inside my mind. That's a feeling I’ll never forget, mostly because I feel it quite often at school."
Arryn crossed the room, filling a pot with hot water before setting it to boil. Though Arcadia didn't have kaffe like they did in the Forest, it did have tea, and that would have to suffice.
"It doesn't matter at this stage if I'm right or wrong. I just need to either prove it's not her so I can move on with my life and maybe even try to like her, or prove that it is her, so I can make sure she doesn't do any damage to the city. I've been there for a while now and that feeling hasn't gone away, but it's not like she's tried anything weird either. I just need to talk to Amelia. Maybe Adrien left some things that I can go through."
"Do you even know what you're looking for? Didn’t you say Amelia told you Doyle didn't give her a name?"
Arryn shrugged as she turned and went back over to the table, waiting for the water to boil. "No, he didn't give her a name, but my dream isn't just a dream, it's my actual memory. It's everything that really happened that night, and it's exactly how I remember it. My father told my mother there was a big secret, something he’d found out about Adrien. He said something, but I didn't hear him that night because I was freaking out."
Cathillian looked at her incredulously. "Don't you think that’s stretching? Maybe you're seeing what you want to see."
"Exactly!" Arryn exclaimed, her hands going out to her sides. "Don't you think I know that? That's why I need to get into Adrien’s stuff. I need to find out what that secret was. Maybe he was sending money or gifts or other stuff that could tell me something. There has to be something somewhere. I just need to talk to Amelia."
Cathillian nodded, his expression telling her he thought she was nothing shy of insane at the moment. "If it’ll make your ass a little less nuts, then go see Amelia. I’ve been up for about an hour and already you're driving me fucking crazy. Also, I may have burned the eggs, but I'm pretty sure you’re burning water."
Arryn rolled her eyes as she crossed the room, taking her pot off the fire and pouring the hot water into a mug. She'd let it get too hot, but it wouldn't take long to cool off. Then, after tea, she planned to go see Amelia.
***
Amelia had been fighting the need to work all day. Everyone was gone from the Academy and there was no one in the Capitol Building, so she didn't want to be there either, but she couldn't get her mind off recent events.
It was hard for her to stay at home when everything was so close to coming together. Plus, she was still having a hard time with the Doyle episode. Nearly dying had affected her more than she'd like to admit—she'd never come that close before.
There was a knock at her door, interrupting her thoughts. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Arryn standing there. They had spent quite a bit of time together after everything that had happened, going over all that Doyle had said.
Finding out if Doyle had been telling the truth had become priority number one for Amelia, but Arryn had been suspiciously obsessed with it as well.
"Hey!" Amelia greeted her with a smile. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be enjoying your day at home?"
Arryn stepped inside. "I had another one of those dreams last night. They’ve been less frequent since the whole raid thing, but they're still happening, so I couldn't rest. I decided to come see you instead."
Amelia nodded as she made her way over to the couch. She sat down and patted the cushion next to her. Amelia decided it was time to find out exactly what was going on. She needed to know why Arryn was so interested in all this.
"Even though I know you can sense me doing it, I'm not going to look inside your head." Amelia looked at Arryn, who nodded. "That being said, I want you to tell me the truth. I know something's going on."
"Okay, ask away. I'll be honest."
"I know you have the sense of duty instilled in you by your parents. But Adrien is gone. Even with him gone, however, you're still obsessed with finding the person Doyle was talking about. I know I probably sound paranoid, but why are you so obsessed with it? You haven't even been here for ten years. This isn't your problem to solve."
"I can see why you would think that," Arryn replied, "but it's not true. I always thought my vow was to avenge my parents, but once I got here, I realized it wasn't. Now that the city is safe, or at least safer, I feel the need to make sure it stays that way. I still have to find my dad, but if there's a possibility some psycho is going to come and try to tear the city apart, then I need to make sure that doesn't happen first."
"Dreams are often our mind’s way of telling us there's something we need to do. It's our own stress weighing on us. Protecting the city is literally invading your sleep. That’s obsession if I've ever heard it."
Arryn rolled her eyes. "Damn, now you sound just like Cathillian. I told you I’d be honest, and I'm gonna be. The reason I'm here is because I need you to help me find Adrien’s things. I need to go through them. I need to find out who this person might be. I know you don't wanna hear it, and I don't even wanna tell you, but the moment I met Talia my gut rolled over—and it wasn’t the shitty Arcadian food. I don't like her. I sense something about her that just isn't right."
Amelia laughed. "Well, the funny thing is the day I told her about you, she suggested you might be the one who had kidnapped Amos. She had a point. You were brand-new to the city, and that was about the time he disappeared."
Arryn's jaw dropped, her expression revealing her shock. "Of course, she would say that! Why the hell else would she immediately start blaming me? Probably because she's guilty!"
"Relax, Arryn." Amelia reached over and gave Arryn's hand a quick squeeze. “I told you that only because it shows that we aren’t the only suspicious ones around here. Talia is worried, too. If I choose not to trust her, I have to choose not to trust you either.”
Amelia understood Arryn's hesitation. Her paranoia. Amelia felt same way. Still, she couldn't go around pointing fingers at anyone who was new in the city, because there were quite a few. It would take time, and she needed proof. She didn't want to alarm the city any more than she wanted to frighten off the new teachers at the Academy by accusing them.
"I don't believe her worries about you being a murderer any more than I worry about her. It's my job to make sure I investigate everything; even Doyle's claims, which I’m almost positive were ripe bullshit. I'm not even sure he said those things, let alone that I heard them correctly. Or possibly they just aren’t true. Talia helped save the city, so maybe she's not as bad as you think."
Arryn sighed. "No, you saved the city. She’s just doing some supplying because she wanted to look good."
"And you saved my life," Amelia argued. "Were you just trying to look good, too?"
Arryn sighed again, leaning back against the couch. She seemed exasperated, but she nodded. "I get it. And that's why I need to prove it. Right or wrong, I just want to get past this. Nature magic lets a person sense the overall intentions of the individual. It's not flawless by any means, but most times you can get a good sense of a person from it. Talia was just wrong. So, if you have anything of Adrien’s, I'd love the chance to go through it, just to ease my mind."
Amelia understood that. It wasn't that she didn't believe Arryn; it was just that Talia had been such an asset and Amelia had spent so much time with her that if she was bad, then anyone in the city could be.
She didn't want to think about that possibility.
But if there was something to find, there was a chance Arryn would find it.
Amelia stood, went to her bedroom, grabbed a large box, and brought it back to Arryn. "T
his was Adrien's. I gathered these things myself out of his office in the Academy tower. I'm sure there's more in his old house, but this should get you started. I've looked and looked through here, but I can't find anything. Maybe you’ll have better luck."
Arryn stood, taking the box like it was a delicate piece of glass. "Thanks. I'll start going through it tonight. I'm sorry to be so pushy. I just need to know if I should get along with her or kick her ass."
Amelia smiled. "Don't worry, I understand. I guess I'm no different because I’ve been tearing up everything in hopes of finding evidence that will explain things. I just don't have a suspect. That's the difference between us—you do.
CHAPTER NINE
Things had been going great. The students had all fallen in love with Talia. The Chancellor had fallen in love with Talia. The city had been told of the things that Talia had done to speed up the rebuilding, so they loved Talia, too.
Everything was exactly the way it should be. Everything had been perfect.
Until that bitch Arryn showed up.
Ever since the day Arryn arrived at the school and Scarlett had informed her that she was someone to worry about, Talia hadn't been able to think straight. Arryn was everything Talia was afraid of.
She was from out of town, supposedly very skilled, smart, and—most importantly—on a mission.
But that was okay… She could now focus on Arryn even more now that Amelia was preoccupied with the murder of yet another student.
The body of Dallas—the boy who led the group that had attacked Jackson and who had soon met an untimely end at Talia’s hand—had recently been found and there was no lead to what happened.
The only clue available came from a frightened best friend that had hid in his house for two days because of the mysterious woman in a cloak that had come for Dallas and threatened him as well.
Scarlett’s magic had worked perfectly. The boy had seen a feminine figure clad in a cloak but with no other discernible features. The Academy was in an uproar over it all, terrified of what another murder meant.
