My parents arrived for my graduation ceremony. Every time my mother embarked on an embarrassing tale about my childhood, Leif leaned close and whispered, “Bloodrose.”

Graduation day was the first day of the hot season. Fifty graduates dressed in formal robes sweated in the heat as Master Bloodgood congratulated us on our achievement. Yelena sat with the spectators, but disappeared soon after. I hoped to have a chance to talk with her before she left the Citadel.

I met Pazia’s father, Vasko Cloud Mist, at the postgraduation celebration held in the dining room. A tall man with black hair and mustache, he oozed power. Political power. Magical power. Wealthy power. Two of his associates stood behind him at all times.

“Thank you for the messengers, Opal,” he said. “They’ve been a tremendous help with my business.”

“You’re—”

Too impatient for small talk, he asked, “What are your plans for the future?”

“I’m not sure. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with the Sitian Council to discuss my assignment.” Although it sounded impressive, the Council really wanted to assess me before they went on hiatus for the season.

“Before you hear what they have to say, I’d like to offer you a business opportunity with my company,” he said. “Pazia’s coming home to work with me, so you’ll already know a…friend.”

Surprised, I asked, “What type of opportunity?”

“With your glass messengers, of course. I’m offering to support you financially. You’ll have enough funds to set up a glass factory, hire workers and sales staff. All in the beautiful foothills of the Emerald Mountains.” He gestured to the small group of Councilors who had attended the ceremony. “Committees and government red tape has slowed and complicated the process of sending messages. Relay stations. Pah! We’ll do it right. Fast, efficient and fair with you calling all the shots.”

And too good to be true. “What’s the catch? How do you benefit from supporting me?”

“Smart girl. All I want are messengers. I want to be able to come to your workshop and request five messengers without having to fill out a single form. Hell, I’ll even limit my requests so I don’t take all your stock. We’ll draw up an agreement. What do you say?”

His rapid-fire proposal overwhelmed me. I tried to pull my scattered thoughts into a coherent sentence. “I’m flattered you’d like to do business with me. I need to think about your offer first. Can I give you an answer later?”

“Sure, sure. We’ll be here for a few days.” He peered at me for a moment. “Don’t let the Council scare you. You graduated. As long as you’re obeying the laws of Sitia, they don’t have any legal right to dictate what you can or can’t do.”

After a sleepless night of wondering and worrying, I arrived for my appointment with the Council. All eleven Councilors were in attendance with their aides as well as the three Master Magicians and Yelena Zaltana.

I kept Vasko’s advice in my mind, gathering the courage to stand up for myself if needed. And not be scared.

The Council session started out fine. We assembled in the great hall early in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat. The members sat along their U-shaped table, reviewing my recent achievements and discussing the successful magical test I had endured before I left for The Cliffs. Skippy and Leif had made a full report on our adventures with the Stormdancers.

No suspects had been found regarding the assassination attempt. The Council speculated Commander Ambrose might be behind it. He feared magical power and my messengers gave the Sitians an upper hand.

“It’s not the Commander,” Yelena said.

“Why not? It makes the most sense,” Councilor Tama Moon said. She wore a white silk blouse and long skirt. Gressa stood behind her.

“Because the Commander would have assigned the job to Valek and, no offense, Opal, you would be dead by now. He doesn’t fail.”

“Obviously he hired local talent. He is well known in Sitia—surely he couldn’t do the job himself.” Tama flicked her long blond hair away from her face as if dismissing Yelena’s comments.

But Yelena shook her head no. “For Opal, he would.”

So nice to know if the Commander decided I was a threat, Valek would personally kill me. I had met him during the aftermath of the Warper Battle. He had been very grateful for my role in bringing Yelena back from the fire world and had offered his aid should I need it. Anytime, anyplace, he had said.

The assassination attempt concerned the Council more than the fact that Tricky remained at large. Tricky’s attack, they reasoned, was revenge for siphoning his magic. I still couldn’t tell them about his immunity to me. The vision of the Councilors arguing about using my blood to protect themselves from me kept me silent.

“You’re not worried he could be teaching blood magic to others?” I asked.

“No, because all those who know the final stages of the rituals are safely contained in your glass prisons.”

Ahh…collective denial. Wonderful. I studied Zitora. As in the past, she kept quiet during the session. Her closed expression gave no hint of her emotions.

Finally the Council asked me where I wanted to work after graduation. I sensed the question was asked out of sheer politeness and they would tell me what I would do regardless of my desires.

“I’d like to be a part of the Messenger Committee,” I said.

A little ripple of shock traveled through the Councilors. I suppressed a grin.