CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

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The foyer's empty now, and Chloe immediately turns down a long hallway. Carved wooden doors with bronze numbers march down the right wall, but on our left, the wall's made entirely of glass.

Which means I'm still on display for all the students out front to see.

I keep my red face down, staring at the dark polished wood floor, counting each step in an effort to calm myself.

But I'm not freakin' calm.

With every step I take, my anger burns hotter.

My body's aching from a million recent insults, and my life's a goddamn wreck.

I'm so over all this shit.

My whole life I've been ignored, abused, and bullied. And now I'm thisclose to getting executed because a mythical monster tried to eat me. Screw this secret society bullshit.

Enough already!

I'm fuming by the time we reach the elevator at the far end of the hallway.

The steel doors slide open, revealing even more clear glass at the back of the elevator.

Dubois shoves me into it.

"Don't touch me!" I round on him with my teeth bared.

"Leave her alone," Chloe snaps.

He glares at her, but she's ignoring him, pressing her palm to a bronze metal plate on the wall. Instead of choosing one of the buttons with a floor number, she pushes the one with a Metatron's Cube on it.

The doors slide shut, and my stomach flips as we start to rise.

After a second, I dart a glance out the clear back wall and edge closer to the doors, wishing I could grab the rail. Too high.

Students are boarding the buses, and they're all walking around my backpack like it's infected with the plague. It's all alone on a bare patch of sidewalk, stuff half-falling out.

Whatever. No one here's gonna steal my dirty clothes and dollar bills. Not even sure I need them anymore.

Heat rushes through me again, my anger boiling over.

The elevator dings, and Chloe turns to Dubois. "After you."

He steps out almost reluctantly, and Chloe leans in, close to my ear.

"Be quiet in there," she whispers. "Be respectful. And let me do the talking."

I nod stiffly, then follow her out of the elevator, and into

an open space much like the first-floor foyer.

Part of the clear dome and Redwood canopy are above us, and the floor is polished wood with another large stone tile engraved with a Metatron's Cube.

The wall across from us reaches all the way to the dome ceiling. Benches line the wall on either side of a pair of imposing wooden doors.

Chloe marches right up to them and knocks three times.

After a minute, the door swings open, revealing a tall, middle-aged man. He's wearing a red robe and has graying black hair and aquiline features.

The second he sees Dubois and me, his face transforms into a sneer. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I apologize, Guardian Ferrero," Chloe says quickly, her face flushing. "Lyric and I are here for our meeting with the chancellor. But as you can see... complications have arisen."

"Indeed." Ferrero sniffs. "One moment."

He slams the door in our faces.

"Hope you remember your etiquette lessons." Chloe raises her brows at Dubois, an amused gleam in her eyes. "I know it's rare that a Cerberus agent gets an in-person meeting with an ArchGuardian. Try not to get too excited. You wave that wand of yours around, and you'll lose more than your job."

I snort, and Dubois bristles worse than a porcupine. He looks like he wants to strangle us both.

The door creaks back open, revealing an annoyed-looking Ferrero. "Follow me."

He leads us into a large office, and there's an irritating high-pitched ringing noise in here, but I can't tell where it's coming from.

There's a wooden desk, chairs, bookshelves, and a thick blue rug, but nothing that should sound so awful.

Ferrero leads us straight through the room to another set of double doors and throws them wide open for us. "Chancellor ArchGuardian Visconti will be with you shortly."

He gives me and Dubois an extra disapproving look, then turns and heads back to his desk.

Screw you too, assistant dude.

Chloe confidently strides through the doorway.

I lift my foot to follow, and Dubois gives me another hard shove.

With my arms cuffed behind me, there's no catching myself. I trip and slam face-first on the wood floor.

All I can do is groan as Dubois marches on by, his boots an inch from my throbbing skull.

The irritating vibration's even louder now, stoking the flames of my rage.

I'm about to commit my second murder of the week!

Chloe's back, and she's pulling me up by the arms.

Her blue eyes are wide, and she shakes her head and presses her index finger to her lips.

What? Can she see the anger on my face? Does she know I'm homicidal?

"Behave," she mouths.

She keeps her hand clamped on my arm as we enter the enormous foresty-looking room beyond.

Chloe halts next to Dubois in the center of the room, on a deep purple rug. It's got a gold Metatron's Cube on it.

The window-wall across from us is facing a forest of Redwoods. Its canopy extends above us, through the clear dome ceiling.

There's a seating area to our left and more doors. White sofas and armchairs are arranged around a heavy-looking carved wooden table. There's also a tall, mirrored cabinet reflecting the forest outside and a wooden bar with an iridescent stone top.

That super-irritating, high-pitched hum pulses through me, and I cringe, trying to find the source.

To our right, there's another set of double doors, bookshelves, and a huge desk and white leather chair.

The desk's made of twisting branches with a glass top, and it's empty except for one thing.

Aether.

The palm-sized glass orb is hovering above the corner of the desk, purple smoke swirling inside.

I'm pretty sure the sound's coming from that thing. How can anyone stand to be in here with it?

One of the doors behind the desk swings open.

The chancellor has arrived.

She looks just like she did earlier. Same navy blue dress, same red lipstick, same ageless model-perfect face. Only her updo has changed. Now her highlighted brown locks are framing her face in soft, shiny waves.

We turn to face her, and Dubois drops to his knees and stares down at the rug.

"Kneel," Chloe whispers, pushing down on my shoulder.

I drop to my battered knees beside Dubois, wincing in pain.

Chloe's still standing, with her head slightly bowed.

This is crap. My knees hurt way too much for this. Why the hell are me and Dubois kneeling for this chick like she's a freakin' queen?

The chancellor rests a well-manicured hand atop her white desk chair and assesses us with a cool gaze. "You're late, Guardian O'Connor."

"I'm very sorry, Your Excellency. I can explain." Chloe's head is still down, and she sounds nothing like the proud, confident Chloe I know.

"I hope your explanation's a good one. I did not invite a Cerberus agent to our meeting today."

Dubois clenches his jaw, but he doesn't say a word. He's just staring at the floor.

"Agent Dubois and his team attempted to arrest Miss Hart. He created a terrible commotion outside, scaring all the freshman students. I didn't believe you would sanction Lyric's arrest or approve of Agent Dubois's behavior on this campus. We are here to clear up the matter."

"I assume he has a warrant?"

"Here, Your Excellency." Chloe retrieves the warrant from her purse and shuffles forward, her head still bent, like she's approaching an altar with an offering.

Ugh. I am so not a fan of this pretentious crap.

The chancellor quickly scans the warrant with zero expression on her face.

"Agent Dubois," she finally says, "You may rise. Wait in the hall until we're finished here."

"Yes... Your Excellency." Dubois's face is beet red.

He starts to leave, and the chancellor snaps her fingers.

"Agent! I shouldn't have to tell you to uncuff Miss Hart before you leave."

"She's dangerous. Her powers must stay bound." He turns even redder and clears his throat. "Uh... Your Excellency."

"I've already placed a binding spell on her," Chloe says politely.

The chancellor's staring at Dubois, unblinking.

The vein in his neck is bulging as he moves behind me and grabs my wrists painfully.

The moment the cuffs release, I let out a loud sigh of relief, and Dubois stalks from the room.

I'm nauseous, and my head's starting to pound. The ringing noise in this room just won't quit. It's like the faulty wiring in my burnt-down house, singing off-pitch high notes through the walls all day.

I wanna go grab that stupid purple orb and throw it out a window just to make it shut up.

The chancellor has gotten a wand from somewhere, and she waves it at the doors. They swing shut with a soft click, and she walks past us, toward the sofas.

"Come, Chloe. Miss Hart."

"Yes, ma'am." Chloe replies.

Well that's less formal than before. Are we done with all the 'Your Excellency' stuff?

I get to my feet, woozy.

This is it. I'm gonna be quiet and respectful, just like Chloe said.

And maybe somehow, someway, this will all go away.

The chancellor's sitting across from us in an armchair, and the warrant and her wand are on the table between us.

She's staring at me intently, but I can't read what she's thinking at all. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Miss Hart?"

So much for staying quiet.

I glance at Chloe, but she's no help. So I sit up straight, nerves fluttering in my stomach, and try to look like I'll be the best non-homicidal student they've ever had. "What happened was self-defense. Accidental self-defense. Please... don't let Agent Dubois take me." I clear my throat. "Please, ma'am. I mean, Your Excellen... ArchGuardian."

She gives me a small, fake smile. "Self-defense. I see. And yet, according to this warrant, four ArchGuardians—one from each House, the Director of Cerberus Enforcement, and every single member of the Shifters' Council, all believe you committed murder. They have a witness. So did you, or did you not, murder a siren?"

A witness? What witness! 

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