“That’s the idea.” I leant forward, picking up the teacup. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Usually, when a mage is thinking of taking on a new student, the first thing they want to do is talk to the student,” I said. “You wanted to talk to me.”

“Oh, I’d like to talk to your apprentice, too,” Chalice said. “But I thought it would clear the air if I spoke to you first.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You’re deciding whether you trust me enough to teach her. Yes?”

“That’s pretty accurate,” I said. “If you don’t mind, I’m a little curious as to why you approached Luna in the first place.”

“Actually, I’ve been aware of Luna for a while,” Chalice said. “Word got around when you started looking for a teacher. She’s an unusual girl.”

“And how much do you know about her?”

“Her name’s Luna Mancuso and she’s twenty-four years old. She has an Italian father and an English mother, no brothers or sisters, and she was born and went to school in southwest London. She left school at age sixteen and started living away from home shortly afterwards. She became your apprentice at age twenty-two, two and a half years ago, and joined the apprentice program at the same time. She’s at the bottom of her class in magical history and metaphysics, and at the top of her class in duelling. She won the Novice Open in early spring last year, placed third at Greengrove, practices at the Islington gym in her spare time, likes Japanese food, and she’s a Leo.”

I looked at Chalice. “Also,” Chalice continued, “she’s the carrier of a family curse that protects her and harms everyone else. Which makes her an adept, rather than a mage. Which technically means it’s illegal for her to be in the apprentice program.”

“Technically, adepts are defined by being only able to use one spell,” I said. “You just said that her curse protects her and harms others. That’s two effects, not one. Which makes her a mage.”

Chalice smiled. “You sound like a lawyer.”

“I’ve become very familiar with the adept laws in my spare time.”

“Don’t worry,” Chalice said. “That wasn’t a threat. I’m sure that if you had to, you could prove to the Council that Luna’s a mage. Or at least muddle things enough.” Chalice paused. “But you’re still wrong. She isn’t using different spells; she’s using one spell. She’s simply channelling it in different ways.”

“Why are you interested in her, then? If you don’t think she’s a mage—”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So what do you think she is?”

“I think where you get your power from is less important than what you do with it. Have you tried teaching her any other spells? Luck control, blessings, slay machine . . . ?”

“We’ve done some practice.”

“Did you get anywhere?”

I hesitated an instant, deciding how much to give away. “No. Directing the curse, focusing it, yes. But we haven’t managed to change that into anything affecting probability more generally.”