The Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn

Adept pursed her lips and then spoke up for the first time. “That is for the Adept Council to decide. I need to hear what she has to say and then I will speak with the other Adepts and Queen Lilyana. She’s a stranger and the farther she is from the Queen the better. We will do the best we can to find her family, but Darren is right. She is out of your hands. We need to discuss this and you need not worry anymore.” Her matter of fact tone didn’t leave room for argument.
    My pulse jumped at the implications that I may not stay. I had nowhere else to go and this could be the last time I would ever see Joss or Darren. I started to feel dizzy and I sucked in my breath and held it, looking between the two other people that had been my lifelines since my escape. But I had a feeling that Joss would soon insult Adept Lorna by insisting to stay for the meeting and may ruin his chances for a good start at the Citadel. I wanted what was best for him and I decided right then and there that the best did not include me. Otherwise he would spend more time worrying about me rather than his own studies. What I was about to do to him was cruel, but it needed to be done.
    “I don’t need a mother, Joss, so stop acting like one!” I said in the most offhanded, snotty voice I could. I stood and walked over to the silver-paned window. “Thank you for bringing me to the Citadel and to Adept Lorna.”
    He made a motion as if to interrupt me but I went on. “Your services and friendship are longer needed or desired.” I turned my back on him and gazed out into the courtyard, willing myself to not flinch or turn around. The sound of loud footsteps, followed by a heavy door slamming was indication enough that Joss had left. What surprised me more was to see that Darren had slipped out as well. I about crumpled to the ground in despair.
    “Well done, girl. It seems you do have a bit of a backbone after all.” Adept Lorna walked to her inner office door, opening it for me. “That one has the chance to become great and the potential to become a High Adept if he works hard. You were right to discourage him.”
    She closed the door behind me and I took in the utilitarian gray features of her office with its high, vaulted ceiling surrounded by wide windows and simple white curtains. The floor was simple tiles in muted grays, black, tan and ivory. A black desk set in the middle of her office surrounded by a no-nonsense tan rug. There were no personal touches evident in the room, but it was grand in its simplicity. The walls were bare except for the sconces to bring in more light when needed. A set of stairs at the back of the room led up to another level to Lorna’s private living apartment. Each Adept lived above their offices so they would always be close by in case of emergencies.
    I sat in one of the two uncomfortable, high-backed chairs that faced her desk. She went over to a table and poured me a drink from a decanter before coming and sitting on the edge of her desk and handing it to me. This was when I noticed that she wore gray clothes that were made for a man but tailored for a woman to show off her best features. Comfy and practical, I thought. I could definitely see her riding a horse and not being encumbered with skirts, and I was slightly envious.
    I took a sip and swirled it on my tongue, tasting a sweet cinnamon and honey flavor, which covered an earthier ingredient I couldn’t identify. Taking another sip I tried with great difficulty to adjust myself in the uncomfortable chair. And then I realized, she probably bought these chairs for the sole purpose of intimidating students by making them uncomfortable. I wanted to dislike her just for her choice in furniture.
    Leaning forward, Lorna watched me before placing her hand on her knee and addressing me. “I’ve heard quite the story from Darren Hamden and the ever-exuberant Joss. What I would like to hear now is the story from your own mouth.”
    I started to speak but felt a