Page 28 of A Mastery of Monsters

I stand in front of the door to Henry’s office and attempt to compose myself.

My first meeting with the guy went terribly, but he did follow through in getting me my nomination.

I understand the importance and the necessity of his involvement.

He’s part of how I can help Jules. The last thing I want to do on Monday during what should be my break between morning classes is be forced to attend his office hours.

But Margot was cc’d on the email he sent, so she’ll know if I skip it.

I have no choice but to suffer through whatever he wants from me.

If I’m lucky, I’ll still have time to take a nap before monster affinity in the afternoon.

Margot’s new training program has kept me exhausted all week. I just want to sleep.

I knock on the office door and wait.

When the door swings open, I stumble back, seeing the woman who appears there.

She’s Black and looks to be in her thirties, Bailey’s age, with umber locs that hang to her mid-back and warm golden skin.

“Come in. He’s on his way from a lecture.

I think it ran long.” I’m starting to wonder if him always arriving after his guests is a power move.

I enter Henry’s office and sit in the same chair I sat in before, in front of his desk.

The woman chooses to lean against one of the bookcases.

“I’m Laira, by the way, Henry’s partner.

” I glance at her ring finger, and she laughs. “Not that sort of partner.”

Right. Obviously. Monster partner. “I’m August.”

“I know.” Her smile grows wider. “The wild card.”

I shrug. “Right place, right time, I guess.”

Laira’s lip twitches. “I’m not a big believer in coincidences. Most things are by design. It just might take a while to discover that fact.”

What does that mean? I don’t know whose plan I would be a part of.

Henry doesn’t want me here. Not even Virgil did in the beginning.

“So… I guess you and Henry have been partners for a long time?” I’m not one for small talk, but I’m curious about who would pair up with the grumpy professor.

From what I’ve gleaned, most candidates compete in their first year.

Is she family or a childhood friend or something?

“Not as long as you’re imagining.” She looks around the room before pointing to a photo.

It’s on a bookshelf alongside an assortment of frames, featuring a younger Henry and another boy.

“That was Henry’s first partner. Lewis. He passed away, unfortunately.

Very aggressive genetic illness of some sort. ”

“I thought monsters had, like, I dunno, super health or something.”

“We aren’t invulnerable. We just tend to be much harder to kill.”

“When did you and Henry partner up, then?”

“A few years after he lost Lewis. I was in the candidacy. But my partner was cut in the second test. I was devastated, obviously. Waiting around to be sent to the Pen. You usually have a bit of time until the signs of turning get severe. Henry approached me. Saved me, really. That’s something Henry excels at. Saving people.”

I don’t like the guy, but I can’t disagree. He saved Margot. And he saved Virgil, and me because it was necessary for helping Virgil.

But I didn’t realize that Masters could carry on without a partner for a while if they lost them. I thought they’d have to pair up right away. “You went through the initiation with Henry?”

“Fuck no.” She laughs. “Thankfully, senior Masters don’t have to do the whole initiation thing to bond. I was lucky. Most Masters who’ve lost their partners pick a monster from the Pen.”

“Really?”

She nods. “They can readily observe the forms and potential abilities of those monsters. People don’t like to say it out loud, but every Master wants a strong monster.

Legacy families especially often take their pick from the Pen if they’re senior.

After all, the serum can be given at any time, even if the person is already in monster form.

And it’s controlled. The Doctorate restrains the monster. It’s an easier process, honestly.”

“That’s the vibe I’m getting.” It must be nice. And it’s one of the few things that’s more a benefit to the monster than the Master. To be senior, the Master would have still had to go through the full competition process. But they could pick a monster who’d never been in it.

“If it makes you feel any better, we still had to compete in the Monster’s Ball, so I didn’t escape all the challenges.”

“And if you hadn’t passed…?”

Laira shrugs. “To the Pen with me, and Henry would choose again. Of course, he never wanted to lose face like that, so he was very dedicated to our training. That’s the benefit of the candidacy.

You take the time to learn to be partners and grow together.

You get stronger pairings that way. When you pull a random monster out of the Pen, you make a gamble.

And if you lose at the Ball three times, you’re done, even if you do it with different monsters.

That’s how you get Bachelors who never become Masters. ”

“Well, they don’t get the title, but at least they’re already partnered.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t understand. The society doesn’t reward failure. Bachelors who never become Masters lose their partners.”

The door to the office opens, and Henry bustles in with a leather briefcase.

I’m still wrapping my mind around what Laira said.

What is the point in being that brutal? Just to make sure they have strong monsters for an apocalypse that may or may not come?

The Bachelor doesn’t get rewarded, but the monster is the one who suffers.

Maybe that’s one of the things that will change if Adam wins.

Not that it matters to me. I’ll be gone as soon as I find Jules.

It’s not like it’ll be relevant. I hunch in the chair.

Henry says, “Apologies for the lateness.”

“It’s fine,” I reply.

“I was glad to meet our newest shit disturber.” Laira winks at me. “I like the ones who aren’t afraid to rile him up.”

Henry scowls. “Of course you do.” He comes around to the other side of the desk and opens his briefcase, taking out the same notebook from before. Laira maintains her position. “How was your first week of classes?”

“Uh… good.” I wasn’t expecting him to ask about something that mundane. “It’s mostly memorization, so I figure I’ll be fine.”

He stares at the notebook page. “I noticed you have an eclectic taste in courses. Introduction to Psychology is a given, but your electives…”

“They’re classes that I think will be personally relevant to my growth at Queen’s.” As in, they are courses I know I will pass with little effort.

“Like astronomy? Do you actually care about that class?”

I press a hand to my chest. “Of course I do. I’m a Libra rising.”

Laira snorts and disguises it, poorly, as a cough.

“That’s astrol—you know what? Never mind. Do I think you might get more out of other courses, yes, but it’s your choice.” Henry closes his notebook, snapping the elastic closure harder than necessary. “You have your first group training this afternoon. Did Margot brief you on it?”

“Yeah, though she said Professor Chen is new and so it’s harder to know what she’ll do.”

“Yes, we’ll encounter that difficulty with Perez as well.

He’s more easygoing, her less so, but you never know.

Still, it’s best to be vigilant. I hope you’ll consider coming to me with any challenges that cannot be handled by Margot.

I do, in some cases, have the power to be helpful.

We share a goal when it comes to Virgil. Your success is important to me.”

All I can do is stare at him.

Is this the same guy I talked to a few weeks ago?

Laira bursts into giggles behind us.

“Something funny?” Henry says with a frown, looking at her and then at me.

I say, “I, uh, I just, our first meeting didn’t go that well. I know you didn’t want Virgil to pick me. I guess I thought you would be more resistant and not so… helpful.”

Henry leans back in his chair. “My concern is, and has always been, Virgil’s well-being.

That was the only thing that I wanted to make sure we were on the same page about.

His parents were dear friends of mine, and no matter how they became in the end, I’m invested in bringing up their child right.

I want to see him live the life they would have wanted for him.

It’s in all our best interests to work—”

There’s a knock at the door.

Laira and Henry exchange a glance. She goes and opens it.

In the doorway is Adam Shaw. He’s dressed casually in a long-sleeved emerald sweatshirt and pair of tan chinos. It’s weird because I’ve only ever seen him on a stage, but this is the man who nominated me.

Henry stands and gives me a sharp look, jerking his chin up. I scramble to my feet.

“No need for that,” Adam says. Without a microphone, the soft tone of his voice is more obvious. He comes over to me with his hand outstretched. “So nice to meet you, August.”

I shake his hand. It’s as soft as his voice. Mostly I’m glad that I don’t have to do anything awkward like kiss it. The Doctorate is highly revered, but there apparently haven’t ever been Doctorate candidates before. I’m not sure what the protocol is.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Henry says. “I’m briefing August on some things in regard to the candidacy.”

“I know,” Adam says with a smile. “I ran into Margot, who said as much, and I thought it would be a great time to introduce myself.” His eyes slide to me again. “Welcome to the Learners’ Society. And I suppose to Queen’s as well. Did your family move you in last week?”

“No, my dad is busy working at St. Lawrence and my mom has been missing for a bit. Corey helped me get settled. Uh, Corey Yang?”