Page 103 of Her Dreadful Will
“I warned you about that ring, about its history and importance. I asked you to submit it to the Convocation. You promised you would.”
“I changed my mind. Is that bad?”
Tarek shifted his weight. “You see, when it comes to a magical heirloom of that quality, with that kind of history—you don’t really have a choice. Don’t you want to support the Convocation, Soleil? Why hold onto a piece of magical history that is so valuable to so many people? Doesn’t that feel selfish? Do you even know what it does?”
“I told you I couldn’t read it,” she hedged. “Doyouknow what it does?”
“No. That’s why the Convocation needs it, so they can inspect it and make sure it isn’t dangerous. Then they’ll preserve it as a treasured artifact.”
Soleil’s teeth clamped together, shutting in the rebellious response she wanted to give.
Before she met Achan, she would have caved immediately and handed over the ring. But the chaos witch had awakened something in her—a sense of her own identity and value, distinct from the strictures of the Institute, separate from the Convocation’s laws.
She did not have to obey Tarek, or the Convocation behind him.
“We’ll talk about the ring in a minute,” she told him coolly. “Is there another reason for this visit?”
“As I said, your recorded expenditure of magic is frankly inexplicable, and it can’t be healthy. By all accounts, you should be depleted by now, unless you’re taking multiple days off work to recharge in the sun. Or unless you have some other means of regenerating your energy.”
Tarek held out his right hand, and Soleil saw a new tattoo in the center of his palm—an all-seeing eye.
“I can perceive your radiance now,” he murmured, his eyes half-closed. “It’s off the charts. Much stronger than when you were first tested. What have you been doing, Soleil?”
Panic coiled in her gut, but she forced it down lest it betray her. “Extra sunbathing, like you said.”
“Hm. Have you had contact with any other witches in this area?”
Achan. The coven.
Soleil’s palms turned clammy and her heart sped into a dizzying rhythm. Did the Institute know about the moonlight dances? If they did, she would face censure and punishment, and possibly lose her chance of ever becoming a Highwitch. And the coven could be in danger.
She’d been quiet too long. Tarek’s face clouded with awareness and condemnation.
“One witch lives nearby.” Soleil’s voice was smaller and thinner than she would have liked. “I’ve spoken with him.”
“Often?”
“We met a couple of times.”
Tarek ran a hand through his dark curls. “I was afraid you had run into him. It’s unusual for two witches to be allowed in the same town, for obvious reasons. There’s the risk of magical exposure, for one, and then the risk of witches forming unsanctioned circles or covens, for another. Still, I wouldn’t have been so concerned if he was simply a graduate, or even a Highwitch. But for two novitiates to be placed together, in the same town, that seemed—”
“Wait.” Soleil gripped his arm. “Two novitiates?”
“Yes. The other witch here in town with you is also a novitiate, working on his thesis to become a Highwitch.”
“That’s not possible.”
Not possible, because Achan hated the Institute. He hated the Eldritch Convocation. He despised everything both of those organizations stood for. He would never try to become a Highwitch—would he?
No, he would have told her.Shouldhave told her.
“I assure you, it’s true,” said Tarek. “In our last monitors’ meeting, they showed us a map, with dots where each novitiate was located. There were two novitiates here, in this town. I received verbal confirmation of the fact from my supervisor before I came here.”
“Do you know what his thesis is?” she said tonelessly.
“His progress is being reviewed by another monitor,” Tarek said. “I don’t have access to his files on my end. Soleil, I came Stateside because the Institute wants a report on your unusual magic use, and the Convocation wants the ring of Catherine Monvoisin. But I have my own goal here, too, and it’s to protect you. You’re my friend. If you want, I can help you find out what this other novitiate is working on, and why you two have been placed in the same town.”
“How? You don’t have access to his files.”
