"Cedric." Not surprised. Expecting me. She'd probably been expecting me since Mira's eruption — academy gossip moved at the speed of light and Valeria's political intelligence network moved faster.
"Valeria."
"You're here about the fire girl."
"I'm here about you. The fire girl is the reason."
She closed the book. Scarlet eyes finding mine. The mask was on — the Embercrown composure, flawless, load-bearing — but behind it, I could see the calculation happening. The same calculation she'd been running since I told her "I'm not entirely Cedric" on this same bench.
"A commoner with an Infernal core," she said. "Sealed since childhood. Broken open during your unsanctioned training seminar. The gossip network is calling it a 'medical incident.' The intelligent network is calling it what it is."
"Which is?"
"Proof that House Embercrown's bloodline isn't as exclusive as my father would like the world to believe."
