The Novem’s Council of Nine had gathered.
On the second floor, I ignored the receptionist, one hand resting on the hilt of the τ?ραζ blade, marched down the corridor that held so much history, and crashed the meeting.
Nine faces turned in my direction. Seven of those I’d yet to meet, but from what I’d gleaned from Henri, Sebastian, and the others, I wouldn’t have trouble putting the names to the faces.
No one, however, seemed surprised to see me.
Deep breath.
All I had to do was think of Violet, of us laughing and running down First Street in our masks and gowns, of her voice telling me that I was beautiful, of the image of her jumping Athena and stabbing The Bitch in the heart, and I found my strength.
I grabbed a spare chair from the corner and dragged it over the hardwood floor, letting it screech, hoping it’d send chills down the spines of the council members. At the large oval table, I spun the chair around and sat down.
Slowly I met each pair of eyes.
The heads of the three witch families: Lamarliere, Hawthorne, and Cromley. The three vampire families: Arnaud, Mandeville, and Baptiste. And the three demigod/shape-shifter families: Deschanel, Ramsey, and Sinclair.
Another deep breath. Another small bubble popped.
“I’d like to enroll in the Presbytère,” I said.
Josephine, in her expensive cream-colored suit, barked a laugh. But no one laughed with her.
After a long moment, Michel spoke up. “I don’t see why that should be a problem.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, Michel. Tell us, Ari, what interest could you possibly have in attending the Novem’s school?”
“Well, I’m here to stay. And the way I see it, you need me. All of you need my help. War is coming to New 2.”
“We have power,” Soren Mandeville said. “And we have enough to protect the city and the people in it.”
“In the past, maybe. But this time you have nothing”— my harsh gaze pierced Josephine, promising retribution for the betrayal of my father, for turning him over to Athena when he sought protection within the Novem—“or no one to trade for peace.”
“We have you,” Josephine said quietly.
“Please, Josephine,” Rowen Hawthorne said. “We have already agreed to provide sanctuary to Miss Selkirk. We have already fought with Athena and sealed our role in this war. Threatening this young woman is . . . redundant.”
“You offer to fight, to be part of this battle. And all you want in return is sanctuary and schooling?” Bran Ramsey asked suspiciously.
“I want knowledge.” I sat forward, elbows on the table and heart hammering. “I want to learn everything about Athena, the gods, the past, everything there is to know about my curse. I know the Presbytère contains a secret library, one that the students don’t even know about. I want access to that, too.”No one spoke, but a few incredulous gasps spread around the room.
“You ask too much,” Bran said.
Nell Cromley spoke up, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the dark-haired, blue-eyed witch was directly related to the Alice Cromley whose bone I’d ingested into my lungs. “Our knowledge is kept hidden for good reason. Only the nine of us and the translators are permitted within those walls. Our own families do not have access. I am sorry, child, but you are simply too young and inexperienced to grasp what you ask of us. The responsibility that comes with bearing such knowledge is too great.”
If only she knew the things I’d had to “bear” in my life already. I hated the implication that I was incapable or irresponsible. Hated. It. Frustration ate away at my calm. “Can any of you kill a god?” I glanced around the table. “I mean, really? Just kill one by standing there and being yourself ?” My gaze came back to Nell. “I’ll have that power one day. I might have that power now. I don’t need your library’s knowledge for that. You saw what I did in the cemetery. She’s afraid of me.”
Michel’s lips curled into a small smile, and his gray eyes took on a decisive glint. “I doubt Ari intends on exposing our secrets and our history to the world. Allowing her access to our library and our knowledge only benefits us if the result is Athena’s defeat. My son can assist her—”
“Oh, bravo, Michel!” Josephine scoffed. “Bastian is powerful enough.”
“And what of our children?” Soren jumped in. “You expect us to agree on your son learning the knowledge and not ours?”
“He will be head of this family one day,” Michel said. “He will learn it eventually.”
“Oui,” Soren shot back. “When he takes your place. Then and only then. Just as it is for the rest of us.”
Heads nodded around the table. Michel sat back and shrugged. I had to give him props for trying (and for sneaking his son into the library years earlier to show him the Mistborn tablet, something the Novem obviously didn’t know about). Now I knew where Sebastian got his tendency to defy authority.
“I would consider this,” Nikolai Deschanel said thoughtfully, “if she enters alone, and leaves with nothing. No artifacts, scrolls, or books. No notes, nothing of any kind except what is committed to memory.”
“I’d agree to that,” I said immediately. I didn’t exactly have a photographic memory, but if I found information that helped me locate Athena and Violet, I doubted I’d forget it. And more than anything, I was anxious to get started. “So, what’s it going to be? Let me in the school, give me access to the library, and”— I smiled—“I’ll take care of your goddess problem.”
A few chuckles went around the room.
“But why?” Another Novem head, Simon Baptiste, spoke. “You are a smart young woman. You could hide, disappear from Athena’s radar. What could possibly motivate you to do all this, to put yourself in her path and help protect this city? What do you really want? Riches, control, power . . .”
My pulse skipped as my gaze fixed on the powerful vampire. A current of anticipation and conviction snaked through my veins. It was simple.
“I want vengeance.”
That one single word reverberated through the room as though it held power.
Slowly I leaned back in the chair as the goose bumps on my arms faded.
Vengeance.
I wouldn’t stop until I got it. Wouldn’t stop until Violet was returned to New 2 safe and sound. Wouldn’t stop until my ancestors could rest in peace, and my father was freed. I’d never stop. Not until Athena was dead.
Somewhere in the din of my thoughts I heard them vote. Heard every member echo the word “Aye.”
And it was then that I knew, one way or another, no matter how long it took, I’d have my revenge.