Page 86 of A Mastery of Monsters

“You can sit with us if you want,” Corey says to them.

They sit down, almost rushing to the seats.

Corey adds, “This isn’t me forgiving you.”

The two of them nod, and Corey’s shoulders relax. She introduces all of us to her parents properly.

“Good form with your kick in that last test,” her dad says to me.

My face heats. “Uh, yeah, I had a good teacher.”

Corey beams.

The doors at the side of the stage open and James, Adam, Carrigan, and the professors walk onto it. Our professors approach the podium.

Perez taps the mic and asks for attention, and eventually the chatter dies down.

“We are honored to learn with you.” The crowd gives the usual response.

“We would like to make an announcement regarding the Bachelor candidacy. As you know, our former colleague Bernie Mathers was found to be traitorous. Due to suspicions of him being aided by Masters on the panel, which was confirmed in the investigation, it was dissolved, and a new one was created from those who attended the tests and were found to have not been involved in Mr. Mathers’s crimes. ”

“So they found other Masters helping Bernie?” I whisper to Margot. “Do they know who they were working for?”

“It was just like Bernie. They got their instructions anonymously. All of them were being blackmailed. None of them knew who else was involved.”

My first instinct is to say that the person behind this is James.

He’s a Doctorate candidate and therefore has the power to coordinate this.

Plus, most of the people involved were Traditionalists.

But at the same time… why would he blackmail his own faction into doing his dirty work?

Aren’t they loyal to him? If I were him, I would have picked Progressives so that if they got caught, it would make Adam look bad.

Perez continues, “The new panel has reevaluated the results of the tests and made their own point allotments. As such, the final scores have been affected and recalculated. The new rankings of the top five who will enter the initiation are as follows….”

I want to hold my breath and not let go until he says all the names, but instead, I’m breathing too fast. Five candidates.

That means a disqualification must have been reversed.

It could be me, but it could also be anyone who was eliminated on a technicality early on.

With a missing spot, they wouldn’t even need a lot of points to make it.

“In fifth place with nineteen points, Hudson Barlowe. In fourth place with twenty-six points, Bryce Clark. In third place with twenty-seven points, Caden Mosser. In second place with thirty-seven points, Violet Sharma. And in first place with forty-four points…” He pauses for dramatic effect, and I imagine throttling him. “August Black.”

The building erupts into cheers. People actually stand and clap. Properly this time. Not the weak half-assed ones I got at my nomination.

I’m looking at Virgil, and he’s looking at me. “You did it,” he says, a soft smile on his face.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I say, still struggling to believe this is really happening.

Perez and Chen move to the side, and James, Adam, and Carrigan approach the podium.

James comes forward first. “We’re pleased to welcome you to the first ever vote for Doctorate and are excited to share the results. You have seen each of us over the course of this year, and we’ve had a chance to share with you our vision of the future of the Learners’ Society.”

He steps back and lets Adam have the mic. “It was our father’s will that our people be given this chance to select their leader for themselves. We are confident that whoever is chosen will lead us with the wisdom, care, and dedication given by the Doctorates who came before.”

Adam gestures to Carrigan. The man sighs and approaches the podium. “I have nothing to say.”

Everyone but me at the table cringes.

James doesn’t even attempt to hide his fury, and Adam sighs. Their brother steps back from the mic with his arms crossed over his chest.

Adam returns to the podium. “The results are on their way. It should only be a few more minutes. We thank you for your patience.”

Carrigan, apparently done with the whole thing, leaves the stage and ends up in a conversation with Henry, of all people.

I haven’t forgotten what he said about the psychology professor.

Henry is definitely not his favorite person.

I’m surprised that he’s even giving him the time of day.

And more curious is why Henry wants to talk to him at all.

While people chat among themselves, I notice Jules slip into the room. And he’s not alone. Natalie is beside him, wearing a long shawl over a loose black dress.

I wave Jules over, which means both he and Natalie settle at our table.

Corey’s parents squirm in their seats. Isaac keeps looking at Margot as if to check that this is okay.

And Margot herself stares down Natalie. I get that we’re kind of the outcast table, but I imagine having Natalie sit with us is a whole other thing.

Corey and Virgil both don’t know what to make of this development and sit stiffly.

I feel a little weird about it too, but I want to know why she and Jules are walking around together.

Jules says, “August, this is Natalie Soer.”

She smiles. “We’ve met.”

Jules’s brow rises. “Oh. Okay.”

“You can call me Nat if you like. Jules does.”

I will not be doing that. Why are they so familiar with each other?

What does Jules even know about her? I can’t help but think of what Bernie said about the puppet master.

Natalie is well-known as the leader of a faction that shouldn’t exist, doesn’t have the benefit of being the Doctorate’s son, and still avoids any consequences for it.

She’s not an amateur. She led a rebellion and came out alive on the other side.

A rebellion that had the means to steal highly protected serum.

“Nat has agreed to partner with me,” Jules says.

My jaw drops. Someone at the table stifles a gasp.

Natalie laughs. “What a fun reaction.”

“What does that even mean?” I look between the two of them.

“We’ll be bonded.” Natalie adjusts her shawl. “They’ve scheduled it for the same night as your initiation, actually.” She flashes a smile. “Assuming you still go through with it.” Several heads swivel to Natalie when she utters that last sentence.

“That’s what I want to talk about.” Jules leans in. “You don’t have to do it for me now. You can drop out.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Why don’t we talk in private?” He gets up from the table and ushers me into a corner.

I follow, scraping the chair back and not bothering to push it in.

Once we’re alone, he narrows his eyes. He’s making his “stern” face.

“Forfeit the candidacy and get as far away from these people and this monster bullshit as possible.”

“And you get to decide that for me? Weren’t you telling me not to live for other people just a few days ago?”

“Exactly! Now you don’t have to throw away your life trying to save me.”

I shake my head. “I can’t leave Virgil. Not now, when I’m finally able to help him.”

“A boy you met this year?! He’s not worth it. These people are dangerous.”

I reel back from him. “You don’t know anything about him.”

“You could die! Is he worth dying for? Is he worth your life?”

“He’s worth trying to save. And I have no plans to die.

Thanks for your vote of confidence.” My brother stares at me like this is the first time he’s ever met me, and I’ve started off the introduction by slapping him across the face.

“You wanted me to live for myself. This is what I want to do. Are you going to be like Mom and Dad? Disappointed in me because I didn’t do what you wanted? ”

Jules deflates, his shoulders hunching. “Did you ever think that I just don’t want to lose you too?”

“You won’t.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“Then believe in me.”

Jules’s eyes shine. “I always believe in you. You know that.”

Adam taps on the mic and gestures to a Black woman holding a white envelope. “Mina is going to read the results.”

Me and Jules look at the stage as she steps up to the podium and opens the envelope.

She smiles into the crowd. “The seventh Doctorate is Adam Shaw.”

Everyone is cheering and screaming and hugging each other.

I’m watching the stage, where Adam is beaming, and find myself distracted by Carrigan, whose lips twist into a scowl before he turns away to hide it. James wears his disappointment plainly, but the brother who supposedly never wanted this has to hide his.

Maybe Natalie isn’t the only person I should be suspicious of.