He sighs, and I imagine him in his room, lying back on his bed too. The thought—and the memory of sleeping there with him—makes something warm curl up in a ball in my belly. “Oh, I believe you, but I’ve never heard of anything like that happening. Dad’s never said anything about it and neither has Sel, and as Kingsmage for this chapter he has access to all the records of Shadowborn Gate crossings, appearances, and attacks. I don’t think even the eighth-ranked Scion was Called back then, so it was peacetime as far as Camlann is concerned. As far as I know, only demon blood can open Gates, so maybe it was an uchel in human form?”

I chew on my cheek, parsing through all that I’ve seen and learned today. “Or a Merlin?”

“They’re bound by Oaths.”

“What about a human holding a vial of demon blood?”

“Where’d you get that idea?”

“Something William said earlier about taking Sel’s bloodwork.”

“Sel’s—” A pause. A sigh. “He told you about Sel?”

I scrunch up my face. “I guessed.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“Because I’m clever.”

“That you are.” Affection and pride bloom in his voice. “Well, Sel’s a cambion, so theoretically even his blood could work. But that’s still casting beyond anything I’ve ever heard of. Dark casting.”

The chanting sounded dark. “The Line of Morgaine?”

“Possibly. And this person just so happened to open this Gate and release partial-corp hellhounds at the time you think your mother was enrolled?”

“I’m positive it’s when she was here. It’s too much of a coincidence. The question is, if the Regents found out about the Gate opening, would they have kept it secret?”

“Partial-corp hounds aren’t visible to Onceborns. The Merlin would have detected the pack and sent the chapter to kill them. No need to involve the Regents.”

“But if the demons consumed enough aether to go full-corp?”

A pause.

“If Onceborns witnessed and were attacked by a corporeal pack, the Regents would do everything in their power to bury it. Work with the Vassals or former Pages in the university’s administration to keep it quiet on campus. Facilitate bribes to any outsiders in the town’s government to keep it off the news. Pay off any Onceborn families if their children were injured or killed. Mesmer them if they had to.”

“What about sending a Merlin to chase down a Onceborn witness?” I ask. “Even if it’s almost three decades later?”

“Without question.” He blows out a long, low stream of air. “I don’t trust the Order to always use the best methods, but the mission is protecting Onceborns, not murdering them.”

“Yes, but maybe the mesmer didn’t take and they found out she was like me.”