Page 105 of Class Studies

I blanched. “Why would Tederwinkle even have access?”

Beryl shook his head. “Director Flemmings gave it to him right before the announcement came out.”

Professor Garnet rubbed his neck. “She also relieved Officer Keres of duty.”

I blinked in shock. “Can she even do that?”

“Legally?” Beryl asked. “I’ve no idea. But she did, so yes?”

My heart fell. “I thought she was one of the good guys.”

Professor Garnet held up his hands. “She is. We have to be missing something.”

I bit my lips together, not liking this at all.

The professor reached over and squeezed Tanwyn’s shoulder. “I’m still mad, but you need to show us everything. We can’t stay in the dark.” He turned to Beryl. “Make sure everyone’s in Aphy’s tower. Let’s say ten o’clock tonight. That will give us plenty of time for some research.”

Beryl put his closed fingers to his forehead, making a sloppy salute. “Will do.” He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before racing off.

My inside churned unhappily, and I looked up at The Nest. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

“So, who is Tederwinkle?” Beryl asked as we gathered in my tower at the designated time.

The folding chair he sat in looked comically small. He leaned back, all his weight on one leg bending under strain. My heart jumped into my throat.

“He’s a recruiter for Global Tech,” Saffron responded from his spot, lounging on my entire couch. He slept there pretty much every night, so I guess he had a right to it.

Professor Garnet tapped my kitchen counter. “I don’t believe that.” He leaned against it. “But as Officer Keres explained this afternoon, not even the MA can find anything saying different. The good officer shared his doubts with me, but not much else. I would guess the Director blindsided him when she fired him.”

“I can’t add anything.” Tanwyn held his arms up, seated in the other folding chair. “I’m still catching up, sorry.”

Ashe rubbed his beard, sitting straight in his usual spot next to the fire. “But he’s inserted himself into A’s life. He has the Director buying into his fucking reenactment; which will clearly not be a fucking reenactment.” His beard ate his scowl. “It’ will cause chaos.”

I winced. Tederwinkle used the chaos of my spell to break into Abe’s office, but that seemed obvious. I wasn’t sure if pointing it out would help.

I shifted my crossed legs, my ankles digging into the plastic of the folding table. “Ah, I think Abe knows more.” I straightened. Sitting on the table made me higher than all my boyfriends, and I enjoyed looking down at them. “She wasn’t surprised he broke into her office. She said he was as crooked as they came.”

Professor Garnet groaned. “That woman knows everything. Maybe we should’ve invited her to this meeting.”

“This isn’t only about fucking Tederwinkle. It’s about us as a unit,” Ashe growled, meeting each of our gazes. “We have no fucking allies. Whoever dragged Saffron through the mud made sure it splattered on all of us.”

“Bro, Tederwinkle’s bad, though.” Beryl put one of his beefy arms behind his head. “I’ve already received orders for weapons and potions which shouldn’t be inside these walls. It won’t be a mock battle.”

I pressed my lips together. “You turned them down?”

Beryl’s face twisted. His hand shook as he reached over, roughly petting Vac. “Nitis didn’t.”

I rubbed my cheek where Nitis’s hot pink spell sunk into my skin. “So, what do we do?”

“We wait.” Professor Garnet dropped his hands to his side. “And we watch.”

Tanwyn shook his head. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re a teacher here. You don’t have to sign up for a team.”

I threw my hands out. “We’re all signing up for Roisin and Cal’s team. They are our friends, and I don’t want to fight against them. We should stick together.” I smiled. “Like Beryl said, the five of us, even without Keith, are a powerhouse.”

Ashe wrinkled his nose. “Obvious trap is fucking obvious.”

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