Page 41 of Crush
“Aurora,” Headmistress Dupris repeats. “Release her. I demand it as your queen.”
17
Ember
“Now that we’ve had time to calm down, let’s all have a mature chat.” Headmistress Dupris finishes pouring tea into the delicate teacups resting on a small table between Aurora and me in her office. My arms are folded to disguise my trembling as I watch, wishing the steam provided more of a curtain between us.
Settling the flower-printed teapot on the tray, the headmistress moves back around her desk, settling into her wingback chair as she faces us.
When neither Aurora nor I move toward the tea, Dupris frowns. “Drink, you two. It’ll help settle your nerves.”
I can’t disguise my scoff. “Tea isn’t going to fix this, Headmistress. Aurora just tried to—”
“I know what she did.” Dupris settles her eerily steady gaze on Aurora, who fidgets in her seat. She removed her wig at the headmistress’s direction, so now Aurora sits to my right, cross-legged and prim, with a bald head.
The sight should shock me—fifteen minutes earlier, it would have. Then Aurora attempted to rape me with a broomstick, and I no longer give a shit that she was practically scalped.
“There’s THC mixed in with the herbs.” Dupris folds her hands atop the desk. “You’re in shock, Ember. I suggest you settle your system before the adrenaline wears off.”
My mouth almost drops open. Weed?
“A micro dose,” she says for my benefit. “Or don’t imbibe. It’s up to you. I assume trust is an issue for you at the moment.”
No shit.
“You’re the queen of the Virtues,” I say.
While I don’t reach for the tea, Aurora does, her fingers quaking around the thin porcelain handle as she raises it to her lips.
“And you are my latest, if troublesome, subject.” Dupris slides her gaze back to me, as calm as cool waters. “I must say, I was hoping we’d meet as our true selves under better circumstances.”
“You could’ve introduced yourself to me at the Briar’s ball. You say I’m your loyal subject.” I lean forward. “Doesn’t that deserve some sort of protection? Like, I don’t know, giving me a heads-up about ripping the fellowship from under my feet and giving it to … that?” I motion toward Aurora. She’s not a person to me anymore. She’s a feral animal.
“I try not to interfere with the politics involving our younger members. I play in much higher stakes, which is why I leave my princess to delegate the tasks and ensure communication, domination, and superiority.”
The headmistress rattles off the Societies’ challenge trifecta like it actually means something. “And how’s that going?” I ask. “Is sexual assault an approved challenge? Or is it something I should take to the police?”
Dupris’s eyes flare at my last question. She staunches it just as quickly. “The police will not help you with this unfortunate incident. We have enough people on the inside to bury the report if you so choose to make one.”
“Like you’ve buried Savannah?” It comes out before I can think twice. For a second, I regret it until I remember why I’m in Dupris’s office.
“So righteous.” Dupris leans back, steepling her fingers. “I suppose you’ve earned it. But you girls are all the same when you come into the Virtues. Innocent. Impressionable. Full of questions while never questioning just how much your past has skewed your motives and desires.”
She lets the sentence fall between us, heavy with meaning. She’s well aware of where I’ve come from. My history with my parents, with Malcolm.
“How I got here doesn’t mean I deserve Aurora’s unfounded bias,” I say. “Do you really expect me, as a new Virtue, to zip my lips and wait for Aurora’s next chance?”
“That will never occur again.” Dupris’s features harden. “Will it, Aurora?”
Though it disgusts me, I turn to include Aurora in the conversation. She’s been ominously quiet throughout this entire exchange, and to me, it sounds like the ticking before the explosion.
“I’m sorry, but is anyone going to talk about what the fuck happened to my head?” Aurora bursts out. “Thorne did this to me in retaliation to taking control of my Virtue recruit. Ember is mine to allocate tasks to. He has no right to protect her, and he one hundred percent did not have the right to punish me for it.”
“Did Thorne Briar not make it clear that he would be in charge of Ember’s initiation and all tasks henceforth?” Dupris furrows her brows in a way that’s too theatric to be honestly confused.
Aurora shuts her mouth.
“When it comes to our duties, to the Nobles versus the Virtues,” Dupris continues, “you are never to question the decisions of the queen or king. I have it on good authority—from the man himself—that Thorne’s orders came from the king. You are well-versed in the rules, Aurora. The king’s orders usurp yours. It’s written in our chapter’s founding documents.”