‘Oh for goodness’ sake,’ Winter hissed. ‘You don’t have to do anything. Just follow me around and occasionally comment or file some paperwork.’

The Ipsissimus looked stern. ‘We invoked the binding because you don’t work well with others, Adeptus Winter. This will be good practice for you for the future.’

‘We all know she doesn’t have the skills to do anything anyway,’ one of the seated Order bigwigs said. He didn’t make the slightest attempt to lower his voice. I glared nastily at him. He didn’t flinch. That’s when I knew I’d fall into line. There was a part of me that was incandescent with rage that they thought I was weak and useless and had no magic of my own. It was only a glowing ember of anger rather than a burning inferno – but it was enough.

‘Fine,’ I snapped. ‘I’ll do it.’

The Ipsissimus nodded as if that was what he’d expected all along. ‘Excellent. Then we are done here. For obvious reasons, we shall do what we can to keep this … mistake quiet.’ He stood up. A heartbeat later, Winter propelled me out of the room as if my presence were contaminating the air and had to be removed.

It took fewer than three steps after the door closed behind us before I began to regret my words. ‘Well, that was stupid,’ I muttered. Right now, a hundred days felt like a life sentence.

‘I’m glad you’ve realised that,’ Winter said. ‘You’re lucky to be given a second chance with the Order. If you do well, you might even be welcomed back as a Neophyte.’

I resisted the temptation to kick him sharply on the shins. ‘That’s not what I meant, Adeptus Exemptus Winter. I meant it was stupid that I caved in.’

‘You’d rather go to jail?’ he enquired.

It didn’t matter what I said; he wouldn’t understand. He obviously believed that the Order was the best thing since non-stick cauldrons. I elected not to answer. Instead I huffed along, my hands in my pockets and my shoulders slouched. ‘I want to go home now,’ I said distinctly.

Winter regarded me for a moment. ‘Fine. I’ll stop off and pick up the basics for you to get started and I’ll take you back. I’m sure your sofa is missing you.’

Sarcasm? ‘The next three months are going to be so much fun, Adeptus Exemptus Winter,’ I responded.

His mouth tightened. ‘You don’t have to keep calling me that.’

I held up my palms. ‘Oh no, you said that’s how I have to address you so that’s what I’ll do. I’d hate to go against Order protocol. Maybe I should add in a curtsey at the end of each sentence. What do you think?’

‘That’s enough,’ he growled.

Good. I was getting under his skin. I was going to make him regret this for every minute of the next hundred days. Him and the rest of the damned Order.

***

I waited outside the Supply Office while Winter went in to get what I supposedly needed to trail after him like a forlorn puppy. A collar and lead, perhaps. Or I’d get lucky and he’d pick up some treats to make sure I sat like a good girl and gave him a paw when he needed it. Whatever. He could carry all that stuff around if he wanted to. I wasn’t going to help. Unfortunately, electing to stay in the corridor wasn’t a good move. I wasn’t left alone to enjoy the temporary peace for long.