Josephine’s doors were slightly ajar and I could hear her voice from inside. I knew she must have been talking to Lincoln, who had been called in to see her just before me.
‘You’ve always had great potential, Lincoln. I’ve had high hopes for you. I must say, after watching your display this morning against Seth, you have only confirmed my suspicions that you may one day be eligible for a seat on the Assembly. That would make you the first Grigori made by a Power to be elevated so high.’
‘A position on the Assembly would be a huge honour,’ Lincoln said.
‘Indeed it would. But I have to be honest with you, if you continue on this path I can’t see that happening. Your connection to this girl is clouding your judgement. You are putting her above your responsibilities to the Assembly.’
When there was only silence, I heard Josephine sigh.
‘Lincoln, she is not one of us – I have an eye for these things. You’re honour-bound to her, which is admirable, but you also need to look beyond her and see the bigger picture.’ She gave another heavy sigh. ‘I think you should consider putting forward an application for a partner replacement. Griffin and I are both capable of appealing to the Seraphim guides on your behalf.’
I was sick of hearing conversations from the other side of the door. Sick of being let down by people and only finding out what was really going on in the world by eavesdropping.
Lincoln’s power caressed me lightly, sending a warm shiver through me. I smiled, realising he was reminding me he could feel me from a mile off, just like I could him.
‘I’ll take that under advisement, Josephine,’ he said, his response so non-committal I almost laughed.
Her tone dropped down a notch. ‘Why am I sure, then, that you will not?’
‘Because she is my partner,’ he said, as if that answered everything. ‘Shall I bring her in now?’ he added, not so discreetly telling Josephine I was standing right outside her partially open door.
Score one for us!
The door swung open and Lincoln stood behind it, gesturing me into the room with a wink. It seemed Josephine wasn’t the only one who could play the word game.
Josephine had a long list of dos and don’ts she felt the need to run through with me. I paid attention to the headlines. Effective tomorrow, I would be expected to participate in Academy training. Like Spence, I would not have to attend normal classes, though special theory sessions would be arranged to bring me up to speed on Grigori history. Much to Josephine’s surprise I was happy to hear that.
The part I wasn’t so excited about was that I would be Academy-bound until after my formal testing in three weeks and had to choose an in-house senior Grigori as my mentor to prepare me. I had to nominate someone by the end of the next day.
I agreed to everything, then asked, ‘Where are my parents?’ I stopped short of adding, ‘And when can I see them?’ The truth was, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that yet.
Josephine pursed her lips. ‘They are in the holding cell on the level below here. They will remain in quarantine until Evelyn has been through a full debriefing. However, as per your father’s stipulations I will arrange for you to have access to him in due course, though visits will be supervised.’
I gave her a level stare. ‘You do realise holding her won’t accomplish anything. She’s Grigori, just like you. All she wants to do is stop Lilith, that’s all she’s ever wanted to do.’
‘We have our reasons. They are not for you to question, Violet.’
Josephine sat back in her chair wearing a smug expression.
She was up to something. Why was she so keen to have Evelyn locked up? What would she gain from holding her here? Me? No, it was more than that. Every move Josephine made was calculated. I suddenly had a terrible thought: ‘You want Lilith to come for her?’
Lincoln straightened in his chair beside me when Josephine didn’t immediately deny it.
‘You have her locked up and defenceless because you think Lilith is crazy enough to break into the Academy just to kill her!’ I shouted, jumping to my feet.
Josephine still didn’t respond.
‘Is that true?’ Lincoln asked.
Eventually, Josephine waved a dismissive hand in the air. ‘Even if that were to happen, which I’m not saying is our intention, we have both of your parents well guarded and behind Academy shields. No exile, no anybody, could even get close to them.’ She smiled tightly. ‘Evelyn isn’t going anywhere without my say-so.’
Before I could argue, Lincoln stood and placed a halting hand on my shoulder. ‘Have you had any more leads come through on Lilith’s whereabouts?’ he asked.
She turned her attention to her perfectly manicured fingernails. ‘Not yet, but we will. Griffin has passed on Evelyn’s theories regarding the missing children. We’re yet to form an opinion on that, but we’re looking into it.’
I worked hard not to roll my eyes. She knew as well as us that all those missing kids were no coincidence. It was clear she had no intention of sharing any real information with us.