“I didn’t tell you.”

She looked up at Robert. He was pale and shaking. “I didn’t reveal an agent of the crown. You pulled the information from my mind.”

“Is that your biggest concern, boy? That someone is going to yell at you for not keeping secrets? Do you honestly think that’s what’s important?!” Saints, here she was contemplating the fact that if this was handled incorrectly, they might be facing war, a real war between nations as opposed to the petty squabbles between nobles that dominated Harvest’s history, and this kid was afraid she’d made him look bad. “Get out.”

“Wha—”

“Get the hell out! I have what I need and I’m not here to entertain whatever horseshit is going through your mind.”

He waited a beat before hesitantly standing. When she ignored him, he took slow steps out of the room, closing the door behind him. Alyssa covered her face with her hand. “Why me?”

“Interesting.”

“Huh? What’s interesting?”

Umphrieltalia turned to her, something incredibly upsetting about the gesture as the woman’s eyes were closed. “I have some understanding of Lou. A firmer understanding of her wife.”

“Yeah, the two of you looked cozy riding together.” Alyssa hadn’t spared it much thought as she had too much on her mind. “What are you getting at?”

“Human melders seek to create men with the peak of men’s strength. Or what they can imagine it to be.”

“Uh…”

“It would stand to reason that an elf would meld someone to the peak of elven strength. For Kierra, that peak is the strength of an elf with a pure physical affinity.”

The instructor’s stomach twisted with a feeling akin to dread. “I think I get what you’re trying to say.” A melder had to have a goal when using their magic to alter someone. To make a man as strong as a bear, perhaps. Or skin as hard as iron. Eyes like an eagle. “You’re saying that Kierra melded her wife to rival her in strength naturally. Something I would normally say is impossible but—”

“But Kierra possesses a pure affinity. The only thing that can limit her in the realm of physical magic is her coefficient but melding is a process. As long as she has time, nothing is impossible. Such as giving Lou superhuman strength. And then giving her the ability to pass that strength down to her children.”

“Human-elf hybrids born with the strength of a pure physical caster with connections to foreign royalty. Saints save us all. No fucking wonder an agent of the crown blew her cover. We are all fucked once this gets out. I need a vacation.”

A knock on the door caused them both to look up as Orphelia Yemen entered the study. Alyssa watched her like one would watch a venomous snake as the young woman closed the door and casually took the seat across from them. If she had the choice, the instructor would have much preferred to deal with an actual snake. While it was injecting her with deadly venom.

“Lady Filagree, Umphrieltalia,” Orphelia greeted with a smile. “I apologize for my team drawing you away from your duties. Thank you for helping to clean up this mess.” She waited a beat for them to respond but carried on as if nothing was wrong when they didn’t. “Judging from Robert’s guilty face as he looked at me, I’m guessing he revealed my secret.”

“Who do you work for?” Alyssa asked with a resigned tone.

“My father. I could guess who he works for but it’s not my place to say.” Her eyes narrowed. “And it is not your place to ask.”

Alyssa leveled a finger at her. “Don’t get cocky. You are within the Hall and under the Grandmaster’s authority no matter who you work for.” As an agent of the crown, it was a sure bet that Orphelia was beyond the level of the usual initiate but she’d be damned if she let the brat talk down to her.

“Of course. Which is why I am here for my interview. Shall we quickly get to the pertinent questions? What happened? A man calling himself Ethor attacked us. He killed Sebas. In retaliation, I killed him and his team.”

“Truth,” Umphrieltalia said.

“What happened to your teammates?” Alyssa asked.

“They suddenly collapsed.”

“You had nothing to do with it?”

“Nothing.”

“Why did Ethor attack you?”

“He claimed it was prompted by his teacher, a knight acquainted with Sir Quintana, but that is unverified.”

And that was all she needed to know. Six initiates had died. She knew who killed them and she knew why. The rest had nothing to do with her and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “We’re done.”

“Excellent. Then, there is something else.” She turned to the dorm mother. “Under the authority of the crown, I am drafting you to assist me in questioning Lourianne Tome.”

Alyssa stood up, glaring down at Orphelia. “What the hell? Inquiries at the Hall are to be conducted by a senior instructor and inviting interrogators can only be done with the express permission of the Grandmaster. You can’t ask her to go digging in someone’s mind because you’re curious!”

“This is not an official inquiry and Umphrieltalia is not an interrogator. As such, I’m not breaking any laws.”

“There are laws about unsanctioned use of the mental affinity on citizens of the kingdom.”

“She will simply be validating the truth of Lou’s answers, not stealing her thoughts. No intrusion, no violation of any laws.”

The young woman smiled but her eyes were cold, with just a hint of anticipation. Like a cat staring at a mouse, wondering what other tricks the prey would try in a bid to escape before it’s inevitable end.

“I refuse.”

They broke their staring contest as both turned to Umphrieltalia with surprise.

“You…are refusing to aide an agent of the crown in her duties?” Orphelia asked slowly. Almost incredulously.

Umphrieltalia nodded.

“You do realize that this will not help your chances of becoming head interrogator. The position does not simply require mastery of the mental affinity. It comes with the expectation of loyalty.”

The dorm mother slowly opened her eyes, revealing her strangely inverted gaze. Milky white eyes, made more vivid from the black surrounding them, stared at Orphelia with an intensity that would make one call into question her lack of sight.

“You may be an agent of the crown but that does not mean that you are working for the crown in this moment. Your mission was to protect the members of your team. One of them has been murdered under suspicious circumstances. It is reasonable to doubt your judgment. When I receive a royal decree to question Lourianne Tome, I will do so.”

“Ha!” Alyssa felt an unseemly amount of joy seeing the young woman put in her place, though it didn’t last very long. Orphelia recovered far too quickly, her shock turning into blank contemplation as she stared at the dorm mother. “We’re done here. I’m sure you have to contact whoever you work for.”

“Indeed.” Orphelia stood, gave them a shallow curtesy that might have been more mockery than manners, and left the room.

“Not even a day before this shit has started. Good on you for turning her down. Brat is far too cocky.” Alyssa turned to the dorm mother. “Not that I believe that bull about doubting her judgment for a second. Why did you really reject an agent of the crown and jeopardize your future?”

“I have not jeopardized my future,” Umphrieltalia said simply. “Isn’t it time for the next interview? Lourianne and Alana seem to be the only ones present for the incident and we can save time inviting them both in.”

“Sure, why the hell not? We have what we need to know.” More importantly, she just wanted today over with so she could go home, close the shades, get drunk, and pretend she wasn’t involved in this shitstorm.