Page 64 of Dead Wrong

“Madame Greene? To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?”

I looked up from my coursework—a boorish set of fractions that I couldn’t care less about—to see Mother standing at the door of our schoolroom. Lynette looked up as well, her face mirroring the same curiosity as mine.

What was Mother doing away from her office? She rarely ventured into the schoolroom while we had our lessons.

She entered the room in the same haughty circumstance that followed wherever she went. “Good day, lady Bask. My apologies for interrupting your lesson, but I will be taking over from here.”

Our tutor paled, bowing her head. “Of course, Your Grace. Please forgive me if there has been any oversight on my part?—”

“You may wait outside,” Mother replied, not looking at the woman.

Bask bowed once more, abandoning her lesson and leaving through the still-open door. Mother hovered by our work table, eyeing the formulas scrawled on the chalkboard. She ran her hand along the edge of the table, her nails digging into the wood. “I have a lesson for you, my children. Put away these silly calculations and pay attention, now.”

Lynette and I shared a look of worried confusion but did as we were told.

“You’ve been taught about the birth of the Magi, correct?” Mother asked, moving to the chalkboard and picking up the eraser with a look of disdain.

“Yes, Mother,” we replied in unison.

“Tell me what you know,” she ordered us, wiping the board clean from our previous lesson.

“The world was full of only mortals before the Awakening,” Lynette answered. “They didn’t take care of the land or each other very well, and there was a lot of fighting. Ms. Bask called them ‘wars.’”

“That’s right,” Mother replied, now picking up the chalk and drawing a large triangle on the board. “And after the Magi were created during the Awakening, they quickly ended the suffering of the mortals, showing them that there was more to live for than killing one another. But this is not all of the story, dear children.”

“It’s not?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

“Far from it. To the mortal eye, all Magi are equal, each of them gifted with magical talent through the Awakening. However, we know this isn’t exactly true.” Her hand drifted from the top of the triangle down to the bottom two points. “After all, there are plenty of Magi who lack the skill to cast more than the most basic of spells. And yet, there are those who have been given the responsibility to rule, to guide the Magi with their vision of what is possible.”

Mother stepped back from the board, displaying her diagram. At the precipice of the pyramid was the Adored. Beneath them, forming the base two angles, Hallowed and Unseen.

“As you can see, the Adored are chosen to lead. We are predestined for greatness, children. Given the gift of influence, we can shape the future and steer it towards a brighter tomorrow. A second Awakening. Now, I’m curious. Can either of you tell me what role I fill?”

We both raised our hands.

“Lynette.”

“You’re the leader of the Council of Magi. They help make decisions about rules that Magi must follow.”

“That’s right,” Mother replied, a smile devoid of warmth creeping onto her face. “A role that you will inherit one day, Lynette. It has been the duty of our family since the first Awakening. Our history goes back nearly a thousand years.”

Lynette raised her hand again.

“Yes?”

“How did our family become the leaders of the Adored?”

Mother’s brow furrowed. “It was a decision made long ago, Lynette.”

“By who?” she pressed, leaning forward in her seat. “Was it the mortal leaders? Because we learned about them from Ms. Bask, and a lot of them were bad people.”

“Does it matter?” asked Mother. “Adored have the power to unify the Magi. It is only just that we are the ones who lead them. The mortal leaders are no longer a concern of ours.”

“But couldn’t someone from the Hallowed or one of the Unseen be just as good at leading?” Lynette continued her questioning.

This actually garnered a laugh from Mother. “The Hallowed would never leave their precious sanctuaries long enough. They simply lack the backbone, dear. And the Unseen are not equipped with the higher mindset required. Their magic is primitive and affects their composure. How can they expect to remain level-headed in the face of adversity?”

“So, they have to be servants?” I asked, Lynette giving me a nod of approval. My mind was on Azzy and his father. Would he still want to be my friend if he didn’t work for my family?

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