Today was not a good day.

  Then again, Luna couldn’t really remember any day that ever was.

  She thought while watching the scene unfold with faint amusement.

  She was sitting in what appeared to be an office.

  The room was tall and narrow, the ceiling high enough to make her feel small without trying. Shelves climbed the stone walls, packed with old books, ledgers, and sealed folders that smelled faintly of dust and age. Sunlight filtered through a single arched window behind the desk, catching motes in the air and turning them gold.

  Luna’s chair sat alone on the marble floor. Too far from the desk to feel accidental.

  “How did it all come to this, Mr. Lancaster?”

  The man behind the desk dragged a hand through his gray-streaked brown hair. He looked tired. Not old, exactly. Just worn down by people like Mr. Lancaster.

  “And what exactly should it have come to, Headmaster?”

  The other man, apparently Mr. Lancaster, shrugged nonchalantly.

  “Six months without a mission,” the headmaster continued, rising to his feet, “and the moment you finally get one, this happens. Why—”

  He stopped and gestured sharply toward Luna.

  “Why is the mission’s objective sitting right here in my office?”

  The mission’s objective did not flinch.

  She let out a dry laugh. Believe me, this isn’t my idea either.

  A short while earlier, Trey Lancaster had dragged her in and tied her to a chair right in front of the headmaster. She still remembered the look on his face. Bewildered. Offended. Impressed. Possibly all three.

  She had no idea what this “mission” was. All she could do was sit there and listen.

  “As far as I know, I didn’t stray from the mission objectives, sir.” Trey said. A smirk tugged at his lips as he stepped forward and dropped a scroll onto the desk.

  The headmaster snatched it up and read aloud.

  “Investigate and deal with supernatural occurrences in Upperbeak.”

  Ah. Luna leaned back slightly. So that’s what this is all about.

  “They said to deal with it,” Trey replied coolly. “And I did.”

  The headmaster’s face flushed crimson.

  “Are you out of your mind? And where is Mr. Creek? Didn’t he try to stop you?”

  “Actually,” Trey said easily, “this whole thing was his idea, sir.”

  The door slammed open.

  The sound cracked through the room, sharp and sudden. The impact tipped Luna’s chair sideways. The marble rushed up toward her vision.

  She braced.

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  The fall never came.

  The world froze, like an invisible hand gripping and holding it still.

  When she blinked, the headmaster was standing in front of her, one hand extended.

  With a small flick of his wrist, the chair eased back upright, as if gravity had simply been reminded of its place.

  “Whoa,” she breathed.

  She barely had time to wonder how he’d done that before his attention shifted to the doorway.

  “What on earth is going on here? Garrett?”

  The newcomer looked about thirty, wearing what might have been sleepwear beneath his outer robe. His gaze landed on Luna immediately and stayed there.

  “What do you think, Ermin?” The headmaster, Garrett, snapped. “Your student has given me extra work.”

  “Extra work?” Ermin looked between Garrett and Trey. “Trey?”

  “I only did what the mission instructed, Professor.”

  “You didn’t, Lancaster!” Garrett waved the scroll sharply. Ermin took it from him, scanned the contents, then looked up calmly.

  “I don’t see that my student did anything wrong.”

  Garrett stared at him. “Are you still half-asleep? You can’t just let him bring anyone into the academy as he pleases!”

  “Oh, stop shouting,” Ermin said mildly. “You can clearly see the girl has Quanta. What else was Lancaster supposed to do?”

  His voice was firm, confident. His eyes flicked toward Trey for half a second. Trey nodded back, utterly unbothered.

  Ermin sighed. Truthfully, he had no idea what had actually happened. When has this boy even been authorized to leave for another mission? And what’s up with that girl over there?

  “I’m not denying she has Quanta,” Garrett said sharply, “but according to the reports, what happened there was far beyond our responsibilities!”

  Ermin frowned. Beyond responsibilities?

  He flipped through the mission report again.

  Collapsed stone bridge.

  Exploded wall.

  Flash flood.

  He looked up at Luna.

  A bridge collapse is one thing. An explosion, maybe. But a flood? From this girl? What next. Blizzards? Earthquakes? Volcanoes?

  “Garrett,” Ermin said slowly, “this report sounds awfully biased. Half of it reads like natural disasters.”

  He hesitated. Though… collapsing a stone bridge isn’t exactly ordinary. Maybe sending this girl to the authorities isn’t such a bad idea after all.

  He started to understand Garrett’s frustration.

  Before he could reconsider, Trey stepped closer and squeezed Ermin’s shoulder. Firm. Familiar. Certain. He even gave him a confident nod.

  The trust in that gesture hit harder than it should have.

  Damn it, Lancaster. You already decided for me, didn’t you?

  Backing out now would make him look spineless. Worse, it would betray his student. He turned and looked Garrett in the eyes.

  “You of all people know the true purpose of this school,” Ermin said at last, forcing calm into his tone. Sweat prickled at his temple. “If Lancaster and Creek made this call, it wasn’t unreasonable. The situation in Upperbeak was resolved. The mission succeeded. I honestly don’t see the problem.”

  The problem, he thought grimly, was that Trey has just created several more.

  Garrett’s face went crimson again. His gaze lingered on Luna for a full minute before snapping back to Ermin.

  “Why don’t you just take my job and be headmaster yourself?”

  Ermin shot back without pause, “Only if you’re willing to trade places and become Pine Hollow’s housemaster.”

  Garrett looked between the three faces before him, then slammed his palm onto the desk.

  “Fine,” he growled. “I’ll admit the girl as our student.”

  Ermin clapped lightly. “That’s the Garrett I know.”

  “Now take the papers and bring her to Pine Hollow with you.”

  He tossed rolls of documents across the desk. Trey caught them easily.

  Ermin froze, swallowing hard. This sly bastard just dumped a walking disaster into my care. Could Pine Hollow not have one peaceful week?

  Trey untied Luna and pulled her toward the door as Garrett’s furious voice followed them. Neither of them listened.

  The only thing that mattered was his permission.

  As for how she ended up here in the first place—

  That was another story entirely.