of concern.
Cly seized on it. “But what if you can’t protect me? What good are you if you can’t protect me?”
“I’ll be by your side, and they don’t know about my weakness. They’ll think twice before engaging you after yesterday,” Aegis assured her. “We need to publicly brush off yesterday’s… lapse like it was nothing. Show everyone the Redbriars can’t be thrown off balance so easily.”
“Easy for you to say,” Cly sulked. But she sat up in bed, and her voice no longer blared with the same outrage. Aegis was starting to talk her down from her initial panic.
That meant I had to strike now.
“Listen to Aegis,” I goaded. “A Redbriar, scared of school? Scared of getting beaten up? I thought Redbriars were supposed to do all the beating up.”
“Shut up!” Cly turned on me, reddening. I’d gotten her attention, and her hatred. “You have no idea how hard it is, you half-blood bastard! You don’t know what I’ve been through! You don’t know what I’ve had to sacrifice for the sake of my family!”
More than what I’ve had to sacrifice for the sake of your family? I thought silently. More than what Aegis is sacrificing? “I don’t think it’s that hard at all. I should know—I did your homework.”
Cly’s face was screwing up, which made her look like a squashed tomato. But she wasn’t yelling. She was thinking.
Remembering last night.
Remembering foisting all her nasty schoolwork on me.
Remembering making me work and suffer with it.
And I hoped, furiously hoped, that it was giving her petty, weaseling self ideas.
“If you don’t think it’s that hard,” Cly said at last, eyes gleaming with vicious triumph, “then how about you do it.”
My heart sang with triumph of my own, but I feigned confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Go to class in my place! You already look enough like me that you barely need illusions.” That was true; I had grey eyes instead of blue, and light brown hair instead of blonde, but both our faces were distinctly, obviously Redbriar. And no one outside of Redbriar Manor knew about my existence, aside from maybe a few rumors, which weren’t even the most interesting rumors about Priam Redbriar floating around. No one would suspect that Cly had a body double around.
“If you think I have it so easy, then you’ll get to see for yourself,” Cly continued smugly. “Sit all day in boring classes while I stay home!” God, did she think it was a luxury to be shut inside a dorm room with only my prison guard for company? “And even better, you get to deal with the Nightfeld brothers. If you’re so good, then you’ll beat them up and they’ll stop bothering me in the future! That works for me! And if you aren’t… well, too bad, better you than me.”
“Cly,” interjected Aegis, brow furrowed in concern. “You can’t do this. It’s far too risky—”
“I’m doing this,” said Cly, eyes glittering, drunk off the brilliance of her own plan. “You’ll go with her, Aegis, to make sure she doesn’t try anything. Redbriar Manor is only a text away, and she knows it. But if the Nightfeld brothers show up, don’t step in. You won’t have to do anything. Just let her see what she’s in for.”
Energized, she sprang out of bed, hissing illusion spells into my face. I grimaced as a tingle passed over my face and scalp.
“Not bad,” she sneered, examining her handiwork. “It’s a big improvement!”
“I thought you said I already looked like you,” I said blandly.
“The illusions get rid of the human taint,” Cly says, scowling. “Now go pick something not embarrassing to me from my closet.”
I strolled over and looked through a clothing collection that managed to fill even the considerable closet. Cly had clearly gone on a shopping binge of sleek, expensive black clothing before this whole venture, probably in the hopes of projecting that Redfern intimidation, and that suited me just fine. Plenty of pieces were still new and unworn.
I picked out jeans, a top, and a sharp-looking leather jacket to go over it all. Clothes to get down to business in.
Once I’d changed in the bathroom, I allowed myself a flash of a smile in the mirror. I’d gotten my chance.
Sure, Aegis was going to be watching me like a hawk the whole time, but I could at least go out on campus. Meet potential allies. Learn useful advanced magic.
A whole new world of possibilities had opened up in front of me, and I was going to