Her eyes narrowed briefly but she opened the door fully and stood aside. ‘I see time hasn’t improved your manners,’ she muttered. ‘He can join you, as long as he can behave and show some civility.’
Gray ignored Josephine and nudged me. ‘You’re gonna owe me on the epic after this.’
I had a feeling he was right.
After Onyx stalked off, Josephine led us along a number of corridors before taking us in a coded lift up to the top floor of ‘Command’ building – into the heart of Academy territory.
She ushered us into a vacant meeting room and took her position at the head of a large oval table. The room was sparsely furnished, the ebony table, surrounded by a dozen boardroom-style chairs, taking up the majority of the space. The door and three of the walls were painted linen white, while the other wall was made entirely of glass and frosted white in typical Academy fashion. Gray and I took seats opposite one another.
Josephine looked exactly the same as I remembered. Her brown hair with strong auburn streaks was pulled back in a severe manner and she wore a deep purple pencil skirt and black fitted shirt. Her heels were off-the-charts high and she wore them with the ease of someone slopping around in slippers – though, of course, nothing about Josephine was sloppy. She was as immaculate and as cold-looking as ever as she settled her aqua-blue eyes on me.
‘What do you know?’ she started.
Okay, so clearly we’re not bothering with niceties.
‘Spence is missing. Chloe is in a coma but the one time she did come around she asked for me. And some people mistakenly think it’s possible Spence has been corrupted.’
Josephine nodded. ‘And while I’m sure that is not all of it, it’s a good enough place to start, I suppose. And what is your intention from this point? You must realise that this is an Academy issue. Any decisions on how to proceed will be made through the Assembly.’
In other words – through her.
But this was where my status as a Rogue helped.
I leaned back in my chair casually, all but putting my feet up on the perfectly polished table. ‘Well, we are going to have to discuss that. You see, I’m not Academy and I do not answer to the Assembly. But we both know you want me here, for whatever reason that may be.’
Josephine’s mouth twitched. ‘What are you proposing?’
‘Why did you bring me here?’ I countered.
Josephine looked down briefly and I could tell she was deciding how much she was prepared to say.
Games. It’s always the same with her.
‘Spencer was on a mission with his partner. It captured my attention. I’d very much like to know what he discovered and I believe you are possibly the best chance we have of finding him. Besides that, I also believe it is time some things were settled and having you here might do that once and for all.’
I watched her suspiciously. Did she know of the bald, briefcase-wielding exile? Did she know he was behind the tournaments? I was positive there was more to it, but she didn’t trust me any more than I trusted her. Frankly, I was surprised she’d given me this much information.
‘I’m here for Spence, pure and simple. I want to get him out of whatever trouble he’s in. If I have to take down a bunch of exiles in order to make that happen,’ I shrugged, ‘that’s just fine with me. You and the Academy can take all the credit and call the mission whatever you want. But I’ll do it my way and on my terms.’
‘And if I don’t agree?’ she replied sharply.
I raised my eyebrows. ‘You know what I’m capable of. Do you, for one second, believe I won’t walk right out of here and go and get him anyway? But I warn you, if it goes that way, any semblance of mutual respect between us will be over. We are not now, nor will we ever be, friends, but do you really want me as your enemy?’
Josephine glanced at Gray, no doubt wondering if having me as an enemy also meant making one of Gray, one of the most respected Grigori among the Rogue community. The flat smile he gave her seemed to be all the confirmation she needed.
‘I never wanted you as an enemy,’ Josephine said. ‘I wanted you as part of the Academy, if you recall. I still do.’
‘I recall everything, Josephine. We’ve all made our choices and we all live with the consequences. But right now, all I care about is Spence. And if you’re hoping to use this as an opportunity to make me a part of this Academy, you will be sorely disappointed.’
I knew I was coming off bullish, but I needed to establish these things before we got any further. Josephine wasn’t sitting here out of the goodness of her heart and most certainly not for Spence. She had an ulterior motive.
‘You will not disrespect Academy procedure or the role of the Assembly while you are here. Nor will you attempt to recruit any Academy Grigori to your Rogue ranks,’ she said.
‘I never have,’ I retorted, offended by the suggestion. ‘And anyway, I won’t be staying here.’
She raised an eyebrow.
‘We’ve organised more … neutral accommodation,’ I explained, keeping my expression blank.
She saw through it immediately. ‘He’s running the mission.’