Chapter 108: Peace Talks

Chapter 108: Peace Talks

Sebastien

Month 2, Day 6, Saturday 4:15 p.m.

After a late lunch, Sebastien saw Brinn and Waverly off to the supervised casting rooms, while she stopped by the dorms to pick up some overdue library books. She checked in on the Aberrant string she’d bottled, which was as inert as ever within its sealed vial. She returned it to its hiding spot with care. After all her plans about being prepared for the worst, she had viewed her decision to keep a piece of an Aberrant more critically. It had been an impulsive decision, and though she wasn’t sure exactly how things might go wrong despite the precautions she’d taken, that didn’t mean it was a safe choice.

Still, she couldn’t bear to destroy it or give it to the Red Guard. She was irrationally covetous of it. Having it within her possession, under her control, so obviously dead and helpless against her... She would not give it up. Even if she was being foolish, her mental and emotional health also had worth, and this was helping her.

Sebastien drew open her curtains to leave, then froze.

Ana was sitting at the small desk in the cubicle across from her, leaning over an essay. It had been a short visit home, apparently.

Sebastien stared at the other girl’s turned back, then took a deep breath and strode forward. She stopped in front of the door to Ana’s cubicle. “Can we speak in private?”Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Ana didn’t smile, but nodded. “Lead the way.”

Sebastien hesitated, trying to think of a place where they wouldn’t be overheard. There would be no open private rooms in the library on a weekend afternoon, and the grounds were scattered with students despite the cold. In the end, she settled on the classroom that Damien’s little study group used to practice in the morning. When they arrived, she closed the door gently, steeling herself to speak.

Before she could, Ana said, “I have another offer for you. Your guardian, Lord Dryden, recently attempted to get a sub-commission from my father. He was denied.”

Sebastien blinked, taken aback.

Ana continued, standing stiffly beside the large table at the center of the room. “If you’ll help with my uncles, I will use my influence to change that decision.”

Sebastien tilted her head to the side. “Is that something you can actually do?”

Sebastien chuckled, adjusting the strap of her satchel over her shoulder with one arm and offering the other elbow to Ana. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. And she would. “Are you pulling the rest of your friends into this, too?”

“Damien, but not the others.”

“Why not?”

“It’s illegal, underhanded, and they’re not suited for it like you and Damien. Brinn is too kind and anxious. He would do it, if I asked him and explained why it was necessary, but he’s terrible at lying, and the whole thing would leave him a nervous wreck. Waverly wouldn’t be interested. She doesn’t get excited about anything but witchcraft. Alec... Well, Uncle Malcolm is his father. He probably hates the man enough to go against him, but...” Ana grimaced.

“He’s too volatile and loud-mouthed to trust with anything delicate,” Sebastien completed.

Ana shrugged one shoulder, sighing. “Maybe. He’s grown up some over the last couple of years. Alec might know some of his father’s secrets, which could be invaluable. And we might be able to use another pair of hands. But this is about Nat’s safety. It’s not worth the risk. If I were him, I wouldn’t agree to help depose my own father, no matter how much I hated the man. Not unless I could be sure of severing our relationship and securing my own standing and freedom.”

Sebastien hummed. “And Rhett?”

“He could probably be persuaded, if we found a task that played to his strengths. If we need an attractive woman distracted and seduced, or someone defeated in a duel, we could call on him. But he’s not interested in these kinds of political games or intrigue. He might think less of me, if he knew.”

Sebastien thought perhaps Ana was being paranoid, but the other girl knew Rhett better than she, and had a better sense for how people worked, with all their foibles and inconsistencies. “So just us three. Has Damien already agreed to help?”

“I haven’t spoken to him yet. I wanted your agreement, first. Damien is reliable in his way—he’d jump to help me with anything I really needed—but sometimes he doesn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation. I don’t want the plan to be jeopardized because he’s having a little too much fun with the whole thing.”

Sebastien completely understood, though she didn’t say so aloud. “We can start planning on Monday, then, after classes.”

That gave Sebastien plenty of time to talk to Oliver first. She had brewing to do, according to her tightly-scheduled plan, but this new opportunity might make her finance problems less pressing. ‘Perhaps it would be best to prepare before seeing Oliver. Just like with Liza, a little haggling could make a huge difference. And I don’t like the idea that I allow myself to be taken advantage of in negotiations. If I make ten extra gold due to preparing, I’ve exceeded what I could accomplish laboring over a cauldron for the rest of the day.’

She and Ana split up when they reached the library, Ana going to study with a group of random female friends and Sebastien searching through the stacks alone. She wasn’t sure that everything with the other girl was truly settled, but since they had both apologized, perhaps all that was needed now was time. Sebastien felt like she didn’t really understand Ana—like she had seen only a couple facets of something larger and darker. In a way, it made her more comfortable. Or, if not more comfortable, exactly, it felt more familiar.