I did a little research while Daisy whisked me over to Façade. The exclusive guest list included a sprinkling of agents and only a very select number of Level Threes. In fact, subs had never been invited to a restructuring event. There was a thread going on in the chat room, filled with speculation about why we were invited. The theories ranged from promotions to a new agency branch, but no one seemed to know for sure. The big mystery was the open discussion forum. They hadn’t held such a meeting in decades. And I was barely a Level Three. Was this all Meredith’s doing, or did Genevieve want me there for another reason?

Daisy dropped me off smack in the crowded dining area of Dorshire Hall. Nearly every one of the dozens of onlookers had multicolored hair, a sign that they were agents or council members. Or another department, I guess. I didn’t know which employees were granted Hair-Dye Rights. There were more men then I’d ever seen here as well—some council members I recognized from my trial with the Court of Royal Appeals, but others were undoubtedly agents who worked for Specter.

In the sea of rainbow dos, I spotted Reed’s dark hair and tall frame. He looked dazed as he peered up at the gallery of Façade historical portraits sloping up the vaulted ceiling. I’m sure I looked the same way when I saw those paintings the first time Genevieve shared some of Façade’s history with me. But looking at the pictures now, I couldn’t help but be cynical. Which one of those employees invented sub-sanitation? Who decided that subs shouldn’t be friends? Why was magic only accessible to royals?

Reed spotted me and gave a quick nod. Now would actually be a perfect time for us to finish our talk—it was not like anyone would pay attention to our conversation with so much going on.

But before I could make my way over to Reed, Meredith sidled up to me and threw an arm over my shoulder. I swayed a little, catching myself on my crutches. Her face looked scary. She was smiling—like, grinning—and she had these lines…laugh lines? Wow. This was Meredith. Happy. “Darling! You’re here. Almost in one piece.”

“Accident in Kamigano.”

“Yes, do stop and see Ferdinand about that before you go. He has a special first-aid kit that should help. And be more careful!”

I shifted my weight. “This saved me a sub spotting, if you must know.”

“Oh, let’s not talk about that now.” Meredith dropped her arm and stood up on her tippy toes, taking in the growing mass of people. “Can you believe you got an invite?”

“No, I can’t. Is this your doing?”

“I suggested you, yes, but Genevieve said she already had you in mind. She specifically said she wanted you to see me advance. Isn’t she lovely?”

“Lovely.” Something told me Genevieve wanted me here for other reasons. Maybe to keep her eye on me, or to remind me how powerful Façade was. She was a nice person, yes, and I was glad she was the head of Façade. But you don’t get where she is without being a little conniving, too. “But I’m still not exactly sure what this invite is for.”

Meredith lowered her voice. “Well, the first part is my promotion, of course, although no one else knows that’s happening. And the open discussion forum, well, I probably shouldn’t tell you too much, but they’re introducing a program where appointed Level Three subs will have a direct voice during select council meetings.”

“A voice? Like, we can give our opinions?” If this was true, then I didn’t need to worry about recruiting Reed anymore, or using my new special spy skills here at Façade. I didn’t need to worry about anything. If we had a voice in the agency, we could discuss sub sanitization and magic stealing. Write a petition! And maybe brainstorm ways to better prepare subs for jobs and how to fully realize their MP. Oh, maybe they could start a sort of mentor program, so girls aren’t just thrown into jobs. Or job shadowing, like take-your-sub-hopeful-to-work day.

I shook my head. There were so many questions to ask, I couldn’t even settle on one thing. “I can’t even…This is just…”

“I know. You’re a lucky girl, Desi.” Her smile faltered, and her voice took on its usual businesslike nature. “Now, when we’re in this meeting, please wait until it is your turn to talk. You’re still my client, and thus a reflection of me, and with my new promotion I would really appreciate it—”

“—If I didn’t mess this up. I got it.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Yoo-hoo! Meredith!” Lilith pushed through the throngs of people, her lavender hair bouncing along with the rest of her. “Oh, and Desi. Lovely wardrobe choice, especially your T-shirt. on a roll? So very…down home.”

“Lilith, I’m so glad you’re here,” Meredith said.

“Yes, well, I must say I’m surprised to see you two showed. Did you come to mingle until the invited guests entered? I can let you know how the meeting goes, if you like. All this administrative business might bore you, of course, but—”

“Don’t worry about us.” Meredith’s grin was back at full throttle. “Desi and I received our invitations ages ago.”

Lilith’s eyes bugged out. “Surely you don’t mean you’re attending the council meeting.”

“Oh, we’re doing more than attending. Meredith is about to—” Meredith grabbed my arm to shut me up. I guess she wanted Lilith to learn the news when everyone else did.

A loud boom filled the hall, and we all turned around. The doors to the conference room opened. Genevieve stood in the doorway, dressed in a slim black skirt and bright red blouse, her rainbow-colored hair arranged in a neat coif. She gave a slight nod, and a handful of people followed her into the room. That’s power. No words needed—one nod.

“Well, this should be quick,” Lilith said. “I have it on good authority that Genevieve isn’t retiring, and so there won’t be anyone moving up to council head. No changes, no promotions. This meeting is just to dispel rumors.”

“If that’s what you want to believe,” I said. Meredith elbowed me again. Why was she being so quiet? She should rub her promotion right in Lilith’s face.

Lilith scowled. “You two are just…so…common.”

“I guess we’ll find out what’s happening together.” Meredith wiggled her fingers at Lilith. “Ta-ta, darling.”

Lilith shot us one more cutting look and charged for the doors. I gave Meredith’s hand a quick squeeze. “Save me a seat. I’ll be there in a second. Good luck.”

“One thing I’ve learned in this business, it’s not about luck.” She squared her shoulders and marched through the doorway.

Only a small percentage of the congregation actually walked into the conference room. Reed waited for me at the entrance. “Hey, what happened to your ankle?”

“Had a run-in with a bridge, and the bridge won. Have you been at Façade the whole time?”

“Yeah, Sergei finally gave me the grand tour. Can you believe this place?” Reed’s eyes shone. “It’s the perfect opportunity to visit Façade. Specter has a conference center, but Dorshire Hall is the stuff of legend. My parents are going to be blown away. They weren’t even invited to this meeting. Do you know how elite this is?”

“Yeah, yeah. The royal treatment,” I said, then added under my breath, “once again.”

Of course he didn’t mention the big news I’d dumped on him. He was under the spell of Façade’s beauty. And what did that all matter now? We were about to meet with the council to discuss the framework of the agency. Anything that was wrong before could be fixed with a mature, diplomatic discussion.

The doors to the conference room were closing. “We better hurry,” I said. “I want some time to think about what I’m going to say to the council.”

Reed’s forehead wrinkled. “But nothing about what you said to me earlier, right?”

I paused. “What if I did?”

“I just mean…this is our first meeting. You might not want to, you know, get too involved.”

Sometimes, Reed’s cuteness made me forget his annoying quirks. Like his know-it-all-ness. Too involved? I was already sinking in magical quicksand. This meeting was the stick that would pull me out. “You can be really clueless, you know that, Reed?”

“I am not the one who’s acting clueless.”

“What are you saying?”

“Nothing, just…I’m trying to look out for you. I’m sure you believe what you said, but I’m saying this because I really care—”

“Desi! Over here!” Meredith waved at us from across the vast room. Sergei was next to her, his arm casually draped around her chair. I hurried over to them, Reed on my heels. How could Reed be so bossy one minute and say that he cared the next? What a mix of emotions. I would just have to show him that I was right about Façade when I addressed the council—and the fifty other people in the room.

It was a long march across the conference room to Meredith. You could fit the population of a small country around the table alone.

Within a minute, the room went quiet, like someone had gradually turned down the volume on a radio dial. Genevieve rose from her seat. She nodded at the silver-haired man on her left, who stood and nodded to the next person, and the next, until the twelve council members formed a silent wall in front of the large congregation.

“Everyone may be seated.” Genevieve smiled. “I would officially like to call this meeting to order.”