Chapter 86

OPHELIA “This is the talented young witch I spoke of.” Enora’s voice drifts into the room, and I lift my head from my textbook to see her walking through the open doorway, followed by another woman with flaming-red hair that seems to glow under the strand of lights strung around the room. The latter may be the most striking creature I’ve ever seen. But who is she, and what is she doing here? “Cadence Callander. Members of her family have attended our school for generations,” Enora adds, gesturing to my friend sitting on the bed opposite me. Cadence jumps up from the bed and greets her guests. The woman with the red hair gives me a light smile in greeting before she introduces herself to Cadence as an old friend of Enora’s, but she doesn’t reveal her name. I go back to my book—or at least pretend to. My innate curiosity won’t allow me to not listen while they discuss Cadence’s family and her dreams of becoming a professor at Montridge herself one day. They go on chatting openly like I’m