Page 16 of Darkness and Deceit
Was.
How many decades ago was this? Was she Headmistress then?
Something in my chest tightens. “What happened?”
“He made a choice,” she replies, her tone measured. “To stand against the Balance. To try and remake it in his image. He almost succeeded too, convincing others to join him.”
Simon mutters, “And so you buried him.”
“No,” Bennett replies. “We contained him.” Another beat of silence. Then she adds—too fast, too reflexive—“It was the only way to stop Magnus and his Rogues.”
The name hits the room like a blast of cold air.
Simon inhales sharply beside me.
Vaughn goes rigid.
Even Kai shifts his stance.
“Magnus?” I echo.
Bennett doesn’t answer.
She said it.
And now it’s out there.
“So hedoeshave a name,” I say softly.
Her silence confirms everything.
And suddenly, the truth feelscloserthan it’s ever been.
The room erupts—Simon’s voice tight and demanding, Vaughn cursing under his breath, Kai cutting in like steel. But it all feels warped, like I’m hearing it from the bottom of a lake.
Because I’m not here.
I’m ten years old again. Curled in a blanket outside my father’s study. I used to sneak down there all the time, wanting to be closer to him. His voice drifted through the crack in the door lower than usual.
“If it’s really him…” He paused, taking a ragged breath. “If it’s truly Magnus…”
The rest blurs, but I remember hearing paper tearing, a whoosh as a flame caught.
He never said the name again.
And I never asked. Because I knew how secretive and dangerous his job was… but now, I would give anything to know.
I drag myself back to the present—back to the room still thick with tension. The guys are watching Bennett now. But I’m watching her closer.
“How do you know all this?” I ask quietly.
She blinks once. “Excuse me?”
“You said he tried to remake the Balance. That he was once a student. That he was contained.” I tilt my head. “How do you know, Headmistress?”
For the first time, something flickers in her expression. Was she there? Did she play a role?
“Or are you just repeating what the Keepers told you?” I press, voice rising. “Because I’m the one who saw him.Felthim. And what I saw was a prisoner.”
