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he led her straight through that too and into an opulent room that was clearly his office for this term. It was much darker in here, and lamps flickered, making the shadows leap. Did he always have to make his office so damned intimidating? Not for the first time she decided Sir Alric was downright manipulative.
    She recognised his usual desk, the lamp, the bookshelves, the antique globe. On a high shelf stood a stunningly carved jade urn that glowed in the dim sunlight from the window. She remembered that from last term, too. She nodded, looking around, as Sir Alric’s secretary withdrew discreetly to an anteroom.
    ‘That was not the usual entrance to this office, may I say,’ he said by way of an opener. ‘As a rule I’d like you to use the corridors.’
    ‘As a rule I will, then.’ Shrugging, she said, ‘Nice. Made yourself at home already, then. Bit different from New York, though, isn’t it?’
    ‘Indeed. I like a change of scene.’ Sir Alric smiled, ignoring her frosty tone. ‘I like changes altogether. There are many in you, Cassie, if I’m not mistaken. You seem happier. Certainly much better than you did last term.’
    ‘Yeah …’ she began.
    ‘You’re adjusting,’ Sir Alric asserted. ‘To your status, that is. And may I say, it suits you.’
    ‘Thanks,’ she muttered.
    ‘So I take it you’ll socialise a little more with the others this term?’ His voice was light but there was no mistaking his seriousness. ‘It’s good for the Few to stick together, and it’s never healthy for rivalries to develop. Unfriendly ones, at least. Enmities, shall we say?’
    ‘Yes. Let’s.’
    Again he ignored her sarcasm. ‘Your spirit is a powerful one, Cassie; you know that.’
    ‘Like she ever lets me forget …’
    ‘And your particular power entails responsibility.’
    ‘Oh great.’ This time she managed to laugh. ‘Now I’m Spider Girl.’
    He smiled with half his thin mouth. ‘I’m not the only one who will be monitoring your progress, Cassie. Please try to keep that in mind. You’re here because I persuaded the Council you could integrate. More importantly, that you could control yourself. You won’t let me down, I’m sure.’ He touched the velvety black petal of an orchid on his desk. ‘You’re like my plants here: dangerously unique. Your interrupted initiation saw to that. I’m extremely careful when I deal with these orchids, Miss Bell, and I intend to take the same care with you and your turbulent spirit. It’s what I promised the Elders, as you will recall.’
    ‘I think I may have some recollection, yes.’
    He lifted an eyebrow and met her gaze directly. ‘And whether my students approve of them or not, I do keep my promises.’
    She couldn’t miss the warning in his expression. Once again, he had the moral high ground. ‘Yeah. OK.’
    ‘Good,’ he said, smiling once more as if they’d just had a perfectly normal student–teacher conversation. He nodded and sat down behind his desk, lifting a folder.
    It was a dismissal. The secretary reappeared and held open the door to the anteroom. No pretty greenhouse route this time. Nodding to him, Cassie took a deep breath and left. She walked slowly through the richly wood-panelled corridors, gathering her thoughts.
    Damn. Darke always knew how to put a damper on a nice day. Finding that her hands were trembling slightly, she clasped them tighter around her books as she made her way back towards the courtyard.
    ‘Hey.’ She felt a light hand on her shoulder. ‘Did you get in trouble already, Cassie Bell?’
    ‘Huh?’
    Ayeesha smiled and jerked her thumb in the vague direction of Sir Alric’s office. ‘Saw you got summoned.’
    Cassie gave her a weak grin. ‘Not really. Just got my card marked, so to speak.’
    ‘Don’t let him bother you. He can be a sod, we all know that, but it’s only because he worries.’
    ‘Oh, he’s a regular sweet old grandpa-figure.’ Cassie rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help