Rosalind closed her eyes, suppressing the bile rising in her throat. “I know. He looked scared at one point. It threw me off.”

Josiah’s dark eyes flashed. “Do I need to show you the pictures of the cheerleading team the demons ripped apart two months ago? Since the supernatural world has gone public, they don’t care about discretion anymore. They’re murdering indiscriminately.”

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.” Shit. She needed to keep her attitude in check if she wanted to keep her job.

“It’s not just about vindicating human deaths. I want you to be safe. The Brotherhood isn’t going to lose you on my watch. You’re our strongest novice, and it’s my job to guide you. Your physical training is fine. You need mental training.”

Our strongest novice. He still thought that? “If you give me another chance, I won’t hesitate next time.”

“I want to hear about the shadow mage. Why was he there?”

Why was he there? “He was terrifying. Insanely powerful.” Just thinking about his cold voice chilled her blood. “It was almost like he’d come to give me a message. He said he knew what I was. He said the Brotherhood will know soon, too.” She shivered, thinking of the powerful thrill of his aura. “What do you think he meant?”

“I have no idea.”

“He mentioned my ring. Something about how it keeps me sane.”

“He obviously wanted to throw you off guard. And he did. Don’t tell anyone about it until we know more. That’s the sort of thing that leads to rumors.” Josiah ran a hand over his buzz cut. “Tell me what he looked like.”

“Beautiful, really. Smooth skin. Pale eyes. Brown hair. Tattoos—I saw a crescent moon.”

“Magic deforms human bodies. He’s obviously glamoured himself.”

“Ah.”

“Why didn’t you spray him with dust? It would have seared the magic off him.”

She shook her head. This was the truth she really didn’t want to admit, but she owed Josiah an explanation. “With the demon, I saw fear in his eyes. And he seemed human. But with the shadow mage… I was afraid. I thought if he sensed I might hurt him, he’d murder me with his mind. His aura was immensely powerful. And when he first showed up, I was certain he was there for vengeance.”

“Vengeance for what?”

A wave of guilt washed over her. “I mean, because of what we did in the interrogation room. His eyes looked so much like the inc—”

“You did nothing wrong in that interrogation room,” Josiah cut her off. “The Brotherhood need us to act quickly. The mages have infested half of New England now, and something terrible is coming. Worse than the Boston Slaughter. If we show them weakness, they win. It’s that simple.”

A sigh slid from her. “Something is definitely coming. And I want to be on the side of the Brotherhood when it comes. It wasn’t just the shadow mage on our campus tonight. There was a sea mage, too.”