Page 63 of A Winding Wave of Magic
At that, I earned a sharp glare. “That’s still a very dirty word in some circles, and one I wouldn’t use around any Council members.”
I felt as if I was frozen, unable to turn my head away from that icy gaze. So I moved my mouth instead. “Doyouthink it’s acceptable?”
“What I think doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. Especially if I’m trusting you to guide me through all of this.”
Jonathan cast his eyes upwards with a suppressed huff and muttered something that sounded like “Goddess save me from O’Brien women.” Then he looked back at me and folded his hands together. “Between us? No, I do not agree with that supposition. Do I think some people are more suited than others to govern? Absolutely? But do I think the basis of that character is genetic? Not at all.”
Truth rang through his words—enough that I didn’t feel the need to grab his hand to know if he was placating me.
“Well, good. At least that’s something.” I relaxed and ate some more pasta. “What about abdication if I don’t want any of this? Is that done?”
“It is,” Jonathan replied easily. “Not very often, and with similar results. Perhaps more severe, though.”
“Do you think I should do it?”
He set down his cutlery and focused his green, penetrating stare on me. “I’m saying it’s a special situation.”
“What exactly would happen though, if I gave this up?”
“The Council elects a new member, and your family loses its claim to any position or materials connected to the Council, all of which must be returned. More importantly, any protection youcurrently have is undone, and you would be exposed to anyone looking to find you.”
“What do you mean, exposed? I wasn’t aware I was in hiding.”
At that, I received a look that would have withered a daffodil in full bloom. “You can’t be serious.”
I set my jaw. “I don’t know anything about this. Penny said she came here to hide, but beyond that, what else is protecting us?”
Jonathan sighed and rubbed his face. “Cassandra, haven’t you noticed that few people in this town seem to remember you,despite the fact that you grew up here? None of the people I’ve asked about you knew who you, Sybil, or Penelope Monroe were. Honestly, it was obvious within twenty minutes of arriving here that Penny tampered with the memories of most of Manzanita’s residents.”
My mouth dropped. “She didwhat?”
But now that he stated it out loud, I couldn’t deny it. Things I’d always written off as general Northwest awkwardness, the memory loss of an older population, lack of popularity in school, or just resentment…it was because they literally didn’t know who I was.
“On top of that,” Jonathan rattled on, “the original Council members built a series of powerful spells to protect Penny and the Secret. Penny was also the most powerful shield in the Council. That’s why she was given her task, and also why no one could find her once she disappeared. I believe her enchantments also extended to you and your mother. Many appear to be in place—it’s been bloody hard to find you, I’ll have you know. She taught you to erase your footprint on the world almost every day.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him. To ask more questions about what a shield was and how such spells were created andwhat other enchantments surrounded my mother and me. But once again, the answers were in front of me.
The saining.
The open windows.
The smoke that cleared my apartment every day affected the rest of the world around me too.
“Are you on the Council?” I had to ask.
Jonathan balked. “Of course not. That position is held by my father.”
“But you’ll inherit?”
He paused, another bite of salmon balanced on his fork. “Unlikely.”
It was clear he wasn’t interested in expounding, and I wasn’t interested in another fight. For now.
I grimaced and shoved my food farther away. I’d box it up. My appetite had vanished completely. “This hardly seems fair. Sign on to protect a massive secret that has already killed one of my family members, from the sound of it. Or say no, and get dropped at the nearest bus station.”
“It’s not entirely fair, I admit, but there is always the possibility you won’t pass the examinations. If that’s the case, you’ll have shame, yes, but not full exile. And you won’t lose your protection. You are not yet thirty-three, correct?”
