The Houses that represented the Wizard Council rotated on a yearly basis—to keep things unbiased. In fact, our region had so embraced the impartiality design of the council that the Elite—the top wizard in our area who served on the Regional Committee of Magic—wasn’t a member of the council.

The mousy guy with the laptop next read off all of the new wizards who had registered (aka been born) in the region last month, then kicked off the council’s portion of the meeting with a discussion of raising the annual House fees—I swear they drone on and on about this every year—before finally opening the meeting up to the public.

A cheerful woman who wanted a permit to perform water magic in a park next summer as a fundraiser was denied—it was deemed too flashy and potentially disastrous—but a firefighter from Magiford was promised action when he complained that the fire department got daily calls from the public about House Chaya and the burning tree in their front yard. (A tree of fire made up the majority of House Chaya’s coat of arms, and apparently their Adept had decided to bolster House pride with a life-size symbol of their House, but all it succeeded in doing was freak out the poor human neighbors.)

The mousy man with the laptop squinted. “Next, Hazel Medeis has a request regarding an appeal?”

Chapter Five

Hazel

I smiled as I stood up and snagged the stepstool meant for kids with my foot, sliding it up to the podium so I could hop up on it.

“I’m Hazel Medeis, Adept of House Medeis. I inherited House Medeis this summer after the unexpected death of my parents, Rose and Rand Medeis.” I rested my hands on the podium and squeezed the edge at the jab of pain that accompanied the explanation. “I’m in the process of going through my inheritance with my parents’ human lawyers who have officially passed over the House Medeis deed, along with information about my parents’ lockbox at Tutu’s Crypta & Custodia. Due to…circumstances, I need to submit an appeal to Tutu’s to access the lockbox unless I can present a notarized document from the Wizard Council. So I’m requesting the council sign this document that certifies my identity.”

I opened my folder and held out the sheet of paper.

The guy with the laptop—probably a secretary of some level given that he’d been typing everything anyone had said—popped out of his chair and scurried up to me, taking the sheet from me and passing it to the nearest member of this month’s Wizard Council.

An older woman with thick glasses tipped her head back so she could peer at the paper through her bifocals. “Why do you need this appeal? If you’ve inherited the lockbox and have the paperwork to prove it, Tutu’s is legally obligated to pass the lockbox and its contents to you.”

“Yes, however, they also require an official photo ID,” I said. “Due to my current living arrangements, I don’t have access to any IDs or official papers.”

The woman frowned. “Why not?”

“It’s a House inheritance issue,” the Adept of House Tellier said. “Hazel Medeis was the Heir of House Medeis and inherited the House from her parents, even though she lacked the magical power to keep the House running. There’s been a disagreement in who should rightfully be House Medeis’s Adept as a result.”

I stood up straighter—this might be my chance to throw the law at Mason if I could sway the council to my side. “It’s a worry that is no longer founded,” I said.

This made a few of the council members stir, and sent murmurs through the wizards in the audience.

“How can that be?” the House Rothchild Adept asked.

I smiled so big it hurt my lips. “It was discovered my magic had been sealed as a baby, and recently I’ve managed to unseal it. It’s estimated I am almost as powerful as my father was.”

The House Tellier Adept scowled. “That’s impossible.”

“Hardly.” Another Adept—this one from House Gomez, a Michigan House—scratched his chin. “Didn’t you hear? She blew the roof off a portion of the Curia Cloisters when she killed a vampire.”

I was a little surprised he knew about that. While I suspected gossip had spread the news about my magic, the fight had been more common knowledge among vampires than wizards considering the reason for it.

The observation raised such a racket from the audience that the council had to wait for the murmurs to die down before they proceeded.

The House Gomez Adept studied me. “I understand you are the rightful Heir to the lockbox, but due to your sudden change in magic, it is my personal recommendation that you are re-evaluated and that you re-register as a wizard so your proper level is recorded. Tutu’s will accept your registration as another method of identification, which will take care of that problem.”

“Re-registering will take weeks,” I said.

“Your parents died months ago, and it is only now you have a sudden need to access the lockbox?” The House Tellier Adept raised his eyebrows and made a scoffing noise as he looked at the other wizards.

That no-good hack was trying to delay me.

I snuck a glance at Mason. He was sitting a few rows behind me, leaning forward so his hands rested on his knees—his fake smile pasted across his lips.

“She inherited the lockbox, it is rightfully hers,” said a female Adept. The placard in front of her said she was from House Luna, a wizard House from northern Minnesota.

“I don’t think anyone can deny that,” said the House Gomez Adept. “But she needs to prioritize getting re-tested and have her magic scores updated. We have our registration system in place for a reason. Until you re-register, I will vote against signing.”

“As will I.” The House Tellier Adept was quick to jump on a seemingly logical reason to deny me. He was very careful not to look at Mason as he tapped his fingers on the table. “This whole business seems suspicious. How could your magic have been sealed? And why?”

“The Paragon can vouch for me about the seal,” I said—hoping this was true. (If I cooed over Aphrodite enough he’d probably agree.)

“You still need to be examined,” the House Tellier Adept said. “It’s possible you might pose a threat to those around you.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew that wouldn’t buy me points with the other Adepts, so I kept a smile on my face. “And what does that have to do with giving me access to my lockbox?”

“I agree with Adept Medeis.” The House Luna Adept narrowed her eyes at the House Tellier Adept. “So I will vote for signing the form.”

“I’m afraid I must vote against it,” said the Adept of House Rothchild. “I greatly respected your parents, but there must be order.”

It was laughable that Rothchild had said this as they used to be allies. Hot anger knifed through my heart, and I wished I was wearing something with short sleeves.

I stared at Adept Rothchild until he met my gaze. “That explains it. I can see great order to House Rothchild’s most recent actions.”

He dropped my stare and looked down at the table.

The room was quiet until someone in the audience sneezed.

“I can understand your frustration, Adept Medeis,” the House Gomez Adept said. “But it is my understanding that there has only been a handful of sealed wizards in the past century. You are an unusual case—which means you must be extra cautious to comply with the rules so in the future no one can claim you didn’t follow them.”

He had a point, and if that had been the main concern of the subcommittee I would have been annoyed, but understanding. It was clear, however, that Mason’s allies were going to use it as a way to manipulate me.

Almost on cue, a gruff man with a thick beard—the Adept of House Ivanov—shifted in his chair, making it creak. “Given that my House is allied with House Medeis, I will abstain.”

“Really?” I asked in a sunny voice. “I haven’t counted you as an ally since the night Mason chased me out of my own House and you refused to grant me sanctuary.”

The Adept of House Ivanov cleared his throat and looked away. The other Adepts eyed me and exchanged a few hushed whispers.

I should have done better at keeping my mouth shut. Thinly veiled hostility wasn’t going to convince any of the Adepts to help me—they’d already proven they’d rather be passive in the matter and let me flounder than stand by their word and help.

At least it brought another unwanted revelation. I’d already been aware that I was alone in my battle for House Medeis, but today proved that I wasn’t going to win a legal battle. When I tried to take House Medeis back, I’d have to physically fight Mason—and all his allies—for it.

But it did make me wonder…why were they supporting Mason like this? What were they gaining by it? Mason was charismatic, but even he wasn’t charming enough to get so many Houses to let him break tradition and take a House from a direct descendant.

The five remaining Adepts argued in circles for another fifteen minutes. In the end two more sided with Tellier, Rothchild, and Gomez, and three more sided with Adept Luna.

The mousy wizard with the laptop cleared his throat. “Given that Adept Ivanov abstained, the motion fails—four to five.”

My throat squeezed—as if I had swallowed a rock and got it stuck—and tears of frustration prickled my eyes.

“Come back once you have re-registered, Adept Medeis,” Adept Gomez suggested.

I kept my mouth shut—though I took an inordinate amount of time to organize my papers and slip them back in my folder. I stepped off the step stool and pushed it away from the podium before I started to shuffle back to my seat.

The secretary cleared his throat and tapped a few keys on his laptop. “Next, there is a request from—”

“Hazel.”

Killian had spoken my name at a normal level, but it cut off the secretary and brought silence to the room.

I slowly looked up, meeting his gaze.

Killian tilted his head back in an invitation, then pointedly looked at the seat next to him.