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"I know you're all here because you are excited about this new turn of events," Adrian spoke in a theatrical voice, which boomed around the room.

I wasn't so sure if he was right and all these people were here because they were excited. I thought a lot of them would be pissed about a female joining the all boys’ club, and a lot of them were probably here just to watch the freak show that was all things me.

Adrian kept talking.

"I appreciate this show of support, the whole Council does. You will all be allowed to participate and join in the festivities after the ceremony, and we will encourage you all to do so. It will allow you to get to know Ariel better, and you'll get to watch her perform some magic of her own."

I blinked in surprise at this news. News that was about me and should have been shared with me beforehand. Like, say, during the hours I'd been alone in my room before coming down here. I wasn't going to perform anything in front of these people, which is something Adrian probably knew and is probably why he kept it from me in the first place.

Again, he was a serious asshole.

I didn't even bother to hide my glare I leveled on him.

"That will take place out back, everything is all set up for it. At this time, I'm going to ask you to make your way out there. Mingle, eat our food we have set out for you, drink the wine, and enjoy each other's company."

There was grumbling amongst the crowd and even some loud protests. They did not like this and what they knew was coming. They were here for a show and they were getting pissed because they were about to be evicted.

Adrian didn't give a shit about this. Then again, I didn't think Adrian gave a shit about a lot of things outside of himself.

"We, the Council, and myself, would like to keep this tradition private between us. Like you were all told before you decided to travel here. We have never before made this a public spectacle and we won't be starting today. Ariel does not deserve that, and you need to respect our decisions. Normally, as you are all aware, we would not even have a big celebration, but we have decided to do this for all of you since you've shown such great support by being here. Please, I must ask at this time for all of you to exit and wait outside. Enjoy our generosity and leave us to the privacy we require to complete our ceremony. When it's done, we will join you in celebration and we will do it stronger than we've ever been before. This I promise you."

Unhappiness filled the room and I fidgeted nervously, wishing with all my heart and soul that I knew what all this ceremony that kept being talked about entailed, so that maybe I wouldn't feel so much like I'd walked straight to my own death, and what's worse is that I'd signed up for it my own damn self.

I couldn't actually be too upset with Adrian, because he was telling them to leave and that actually worked for me in a really big way. I did not want a room full of people to witness whatever the hell this was.

They were angry and the mood in the room was suffocating with the anger they were all giving off, but they began filling out of the room anyway. Adrian spoke and everybody listened. I wondered how the rest of the Council members felt about Adrian being not only the leader, but the mouthpiece as well. And I wondered if either of those positions were self-appointed.

Could Adrian be fired?

Christ, I hoped so. Wouldn't that solve all of my problems.

Unfortunately, my life was never quite that easy.

Once the room had emptied out of all the onlookers, Adrian turned to the man beside him and ordered, "Go and get the girl. Make sure she's sedated and calm as I earlier instructed her to be."

I refused to allow myself to worry about this.

He turned to me and calmly waved his hand around the circle. "Please light the candles for us, my dear."

I closed my eyes and swept the clutter from my mind. Not completely blank, but close enough to do the job.

My eyes snapped open, and I could see the flame in the back of my mind. Mine, and there for me to play with. All mine.

My hand twitched at my side, and every single candle around the circle burst to life. Flames shot up, way up high, almost all the way to the ceiling before calming down to gentle, calm, flickering torches of light.

The people inside the circle twitched uncomfortably when the flames shot up, and some of them outright flinched. Not Adrian though. He looked around the circle with unmistakable glee as he chuckled delightfully while clapping his hands like a happy child.

"Well done, Ariel," Adrian praised.

I didn't get why he was so impressed by something that came so easily to me. Something he obviously expected me to be able to do. Maybe he was simply putting on a show for either myself or the rest of the Council.

I dipped my chin in acknowledgment. Only because I couldn't afford to be rude to him at the moment.

"I want you to stand in the center of the circle while we chant and wait for our other guest to arrive. Relax your mind and open it up to the rest of us. You'll be able to feel us and even taste the differences in our magic. Of course we'll be standing in a ring of magic that you lit up for us as well. Just relax, child. Open yourself to us."

I wanted to do no such thing. Opening myself up to them would give me cooties.

And what was up with the bathtub?