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He watched the formation for another second.

"That's a removal unit."

His attention returned to me, and something in the certainty of his expression frightened me more than the guns outside.

"The Severing was never his only plan," he said. "He brought them here to take you."

23

Chapter 23

Wren

They did not come for me that night.

I stood in the doorway of the Glasshouse with Kaelen's last rose threaded through the torn laces over my heart and watched torchlight spread across the courtyard. Forty gray coats had gathered beneath the gatehouse arch, perhaps fifty, their dart guns catching the light as the Enforcers arranged themselves into two precise lines.

Kaelen watched them for several seconds before stepping in front of me.

"He's going to order them through."

"But they can't enter the grounds without Oda's permission," I said.

"They can't lawfully enter." His eyes stayed on the gate. "That doesn't mean anything physically stops them."

The bond tightened between us, carrying the restless pressure of his wolf beneath the control of his body.

"He just lost control of the Severing in front of the Council," Kaelen went on. "I walked away from him, and you showed everyone in the Pit what you are. If he decides taking you tonight is worth whatever comes afterward—"

"He won't."

Oda's voice came from behind us.

She crossed the physic garden alone, a small gray figure moving through the frost while the Enforcers remained where they were beneath the arch. Not one of them followed her.

Kaelen turned. "You didn't see his face."

Oda stopped beside us and looked up at him. "I have seen your father angry more times than you have, Mr. Vance. He has never allowed anger to cost him power, and I do not expect him to begin tonight."

"There are fifty armed Enforcers at your gate."

"And there are three Wardens, twelve envoys, and heirs from every great House inside it." Oda folded her hands into the sleeves of her robe. "Ironmoor does not belong to the Chair of the Council. It belongs to the Accord. Every House sends its children here on the understanding that no single Council seat may turn this island into a weapon against the others."

Kaelen glanced back toward the gate. "He controls the Enforcers."

"He commands them through the Accord," Oda said. "Their first oath is to its law, not to Aldric personally. Some of them would obey an unlawful order, certainly, but not all. Not with three Wardens here to witness it."

"What happens if he gives the order anyway?" I asked.

Oda turned her gold eyes toward me.

"The moment an armed force crosses these grounds against the Headmistress's prohibition, this ceases to be a lawful removal and becomes an assault upon every House represented at Ironmoor. I call an emergency Assembly. The other Council seats suspend the Chair pending judgment, and Fenhall is sanctioned. Its accounts, appointments, and authority over the Enforcers are frozen while the Houses determine whether Aldric has attempted to place himself above the Accord."

Kaelen's mouth tightened. "Half of them are afraid of him."

"Yes," Oda said. "They are also afraid of what it would mean if the Chair could march soldiers into the school where their children live whenever he found it convenient. Fear of Aldric keeps them divided now. Fear that he might use the same power against them would give them a common interest very quickly."

"He may still decide Wren is worth it."