Page 131 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

After a pause, Professor Cruz speaks. “Enter.”

I do without hesitation, closing the door behind me.

Though he’s been shut away, the room is in impeccable condition. He sits at his desk with a small pile of books at his side.

“I assume you knew her,” I say. “Professor Luna was her name.”

“I did… and before you add to my list of treacherous activities, I was not the one to kill her. She and I were actually close friends. We knew each other for years.”

I sit. “I’m not judging you for your contract with Strode, sir.”

“You can judge all you’d like.” He sighs. “I am judging myself. I was all along.”

“Then why?”

“Because I was a young, foolish man who wanted to live forever.” His lips twist. “The same as anyone else in the Order. I was a weak dhampir, and I admired immortal vampires. I wanted to be like them.”

“And you found a way to be.”

“I did. But more than that, it was because I wanted to be safe. When I met Strode, I was twenty years old. Demons overran my village—and Strode promised to keep them safe. He kept his promise… for a price.” His face grows grave, his eyes darkening.

“Go on.”

“Decades passed. He began making new demands. One order was for me to relocate—to many other mouths of Hell, and eventually, to Castine. Strode is the reason I worked on campus, but I fell in love with my job. I love teaching, and I became fondof the students as well. The problem became how to keep them safe from the mouth of Hell while sacrificing…” He shakes his head, shutting his eyes.

“And how did you?”

“I didn’t. Doing both was impossible. I failed. You saw that. I did whatever Strode asked. When Margaux was born, he used it as another thing to dangle over my head. He wanted her mortal soul. He always did.”

“Does he have it now?”

“No, no… she still has her soul, but it is no longer mortal. There’s nothing for him to take.”

I frown, staring at the empty spot on the wall behind him. “The painting is gone—the one Tobey told me about.”

“It was Strode’s way of spying on me,” he drawls. “I burnt it.”

I shudder. “Was each of those paintings his?”

“Yes. But that’s not why you’re here. You wanted to speak about your mother. What do you wish to know?”

“Was she…” I shake my head.

I can’t say it. My mother must have been involved, but I cannot imagine her doing what Professor Cruz has done.

“Yes.” He answers the question before I can finish. “She was a part of the Order. She created the protective watches and charmed the paintings—and the watch you have was once hers. May I see it?”

After a pause, I place the watch on the table. “Why does it have my initials?”

“Because she gave it to you. I don’t know exactly how the magic works. We have a new witch who does these things now. The witch charms them to protect a specific person, but she changed hers to protect you. She must have done so near the end.”

Which means she knew the end was coming. Why didn’t she tell me herself?

My brows furrow. “Why? I thought she was trying to stop the rituals.”

“And she was. Your mother cared for the students more than anyone, but… to get out of her contract with your father, she had to enter a new one with Strode. He was the one who taught her about the witch weapon.”

“That was foolish of her.”