Chapter Twenty-Three: Senior Trip | Part 2
Seerla’s face turned bright red as she spotted Azirenne while dismounting from the table. “Sorry, Headmistress,” she said sheepishly.
“That’s quite alright. Congratulations, Miss Devinsmeade. Glory to Grimmary and praise to the Twins.”
The students repeated the greeting.
“I wanted to remind the seniors that, while they are excused from class today, they are expected at the campus gates at 16th bar. The carriages will leave promptly for the portal at 17th bar, and we will not be waiting for anyone who isn’t present. Have an excellent day.”
The scraping of chairs and zipping of bags filled the hall. Thirtyx shouldered his bag. “Well, I’m off to go pack.”
“Hey!” Rhea protested. “Didn’t you both promise you’d pack last night so you could come keep me company while I packed?”
“I said I might.” Thirtyx shot her a cheesy grin. “Come on, you know me better than that.”
Benn chuckled. “I can entertain you. You know, I was reading an article the other day on the magic theory behind modern projection orbs—”
“Venmagalion.”
A shiver rolled down Thirtyx’s spine. Even in his relative truce with the headmistress, her voice spurred a chill that reached to his bones. He turned slowly. “Yes, ma’am?”
Her eyes flitted to Rhea and Benn. “In private, please.”
The twins both stiffened, but Thirtyx nodded. If he was keeping up the farce that he’d told the headmistress their secrets, meeting with her in private made sense.
He followed Azirenne to a small antechamber just outside the dining hall. Benn and Rhea both entered his mind around the time she locked the door.
Azirenne cleared her throat. “I believe you owe me an explanation.”
Thirtyx didn’t have to play at being confused. “Of what, ma’am?”
“I patched the hole in our security system. I figured out how the Grimmary twins were getting through it—although I still don’t understand how they managed it without my notice—and I altered the magic so that it would alarm much more strongly if they tried it again.” Her tail flicked in clear annoyance. “It hasn’t alarmed.”
Thirtyx still wasn’t sure where this was going. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Both of their essences vanished from my field of surveillance last Sorspane between 24th and 36th bar.”
Thirtyx’s stomach flipped, his panic echoed by Rhea and Benn. He fought to keep his face impassive. “So… you think they left campus another way?”
“I think you know whether they left campus another way. And for once, I am not concerned with where they went. I am concerned with how they did it.” She hissed out every word with a furious precision. Thirtyx’s brain spun into overdrive to find any statement that could get him out of this. Rhea and Benn offered unhelpful suggestions at a dizzying speed.
Hush, or I’m kicking you out!
“You don’t deny it?” Azirenne pressed. “That you know how they once again escaped my school without notifying anyone?”
“Honestly, Headmistress, I’m a bit more concerned that you’re monitoring their essences. That’s an extreme breach of privacy. And talking about Wydewood like it’s a prison one has to escape—”
She pounded her fist against the wall, and her tail flailed so hard he thought she was going to scratch him again. “Watch your tongue, Venmagalion. Our deal hinged on you being truthful about how they were leaving campus, and since you didn’t hold up your end, I don’t have to hold up mine.” The way she tilted her head made the light glint off of her eyes in a manner that brought out the malice in them. “I wouldn’t even have to prove misconduct, with discrimination against Veriths now legal in Ix. Do you want to take your chances that the school board will side with you over me?”
