Chapter Twenty
They walked back into the kitchen together, the warmth of the space wrapping around Anabelle again, the quiet hum of normalcy that felt almost surreal after everything she’d just heard.
Kat moved easily, like this room grounded her. She picked up her coffee again, leaning against the counter as if settling into a familiar rhythm, and then spoke.
“Okay,” she said, tone shifting gently into something more structured. “Because of all that...everything I told you...I set up a different route for casters.”
Anabelle listened closely.
“Before,” Kat continued, “casters were all lumped together. One list. Names, dates, vague notes. No nuance. No protection. And that led to misunderstandings… accusations… people falling through the cracks.” She shook her head.
“Now things are different. But you have to understand, this isn’t about control.
It’s about safety. For everyone. Especially the casters themselves. ”
Anabelle nodded slowly.
“There are four classifications of casters...different statuses.” Kat crossed to a drawer, pulled it open, and slid out a single sheet of paper. She handed it to Anabelle without ceremony. “It’ll be easier if you read this part yourself.”
Ani looked down. Her eyes widened almost instantly.
Caster Status Categories
Observed Caster (OC): Newly discovered casters with minor instability or under temporary oversight, Education mandatory, monitored until registered.
Registered Caster (RC): Fully informed and trained casters. Civilians that have undergone education, They retains all rights. Free to travel with access. No monitoring, only mandatory periodic health check-ins.
Dangerous Caster (DC): Unstable individuals, uncontrollable. Court-ordered restrictions, Highly monitored.
Hostile Caster (HC) (Rare): Proven malicious intent, No longer treated as civilian, Falls under Zaninsk detainment: Placement and Arrest
“Holy shit balls,” Anabelle breathed.
Kat laughed, full, unrestrained, the sound filling the kitchen. “You sound exactly like I did the first time I wrote that. I knew I’d like you.”
Anabelle looked up at her, incredulity written all over her face.
Kat’s expression softened immediately. “I know it looks daunting. It is daunting. But it’s also necessary.”
She leaned closer, voice quieter now. “Right now, because your abilities just manifested, you fall under Observed Caster. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing.”
Anabelle swallowed.
“If the boys hadn’t found you,” Kat went on, “you would have been automatically classified as Dangerous. And trust me, that’s not somewhere you ever want to be.”
Anabelle’s fingers tightened around the paper.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “But what does that mean exactly?”
Kat didn’t hesitate. “It means that in order for you to be registered, and live your life however you choose, whether that’s in the human world or the supernatural one, you need training. Specifically, you need to enroll in the Caster Program.”
“What?” Anabelle asked, her voice suddenly much smaller.
Kat looks at her and nods “Yes, The Caster Program is set up to teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about the supernatural world, and your abilities.
” A beat then. “It’s not like regular school, it doesn't have a lot of history, most people learn that later on, through personal research....Think of it like a condensed course, just four weeks stuffed with information meant to prepare you for the real world.”
Anabelle just gaped at Kat, an incredulous look on her face.
Kat reached out and took her hand again, grounding and warm.
“I know. It’s a lot. But it has to be done, Ani.
This world is both wonderful and ruthless.
You need to be able to control your abilities, for your own sake.
” Her gaze flicked briefly toward the doorway Emmett had disappeared through.
“And so you can protect your brother with everything you’ve got. ”
At the mention of Emmett, something settled inside Anabelle. Her fear didn’t vanish, but it did sharpen into resolve.
“You’re right,” she said quietly.
Kat smiled, amused. “I usually am.”
Anabelle laughed, harder than she meant to. The sound surprised her, bubbling up from a place that had been clenched tight for days.
Gods, she thought. It’s so nice to finally talk to someone who understands.
She looked back down at the paper, rereading the lines, committing them to memory, when one word snagged her attention.
Her brow furrowed.
“What does Zaninsk mean?”
“Ah…” Kat said softly, hopping up to sit on the counter beside her. She let her legs swing once before stilling. “Zaninsk is… like a prison. A place for the dangerous supernaturals.” She hesitated, then corrected herself. “No. Not like a prison. It is one.”
Anabelle’s stomach tightened.
“It’s usually reserved for the worst of the worst,” Kat continued.
“Most supernaturals who need to be taken into custody are usually placed in other facilities: places meant for containment, rehabilitation. But Zaninsk…” She shuddered, the motion involuntary, like the memory lived in her bones.
“Zaninsk is awful. Truly the worst place I’ve ever stepped foot inside. ”
Kat exhaled slowly. “It’s actually where I met your boys.”
Anabelle’s head snapped up. “First of all...nope. Not my boys, missy. Don’t even.” She pointed a finger half-heartedly. “Second… they were there? What did they do?”
Kat laughed at the first part, quick, light, but it died almost immediately.
“Oh gods, no. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” She shook her head firmly. “They’re good males, Ani. Really good males. They were in service there for years.”
Ani frowned. “Service?” she echoed.
“Keeping the most dangerous of them in line,” Kat said quietly.
She glanced toward the doorway leading to the living room, making sure they weren’t being overheard, then lowered her voice. “I don’t think you understand how awful it really is. Zaninsk is like stepping into hell.”
Her throat bobbed.
“My first visit there…” Kat shook her head, the words catching. “I immediately started crying. From sheer terror.” She let out a shaky breath. “If it hadn’t been for Mareken, I think I would have passed out.”
Ani’s chest tightened.
“As High Queen, it was mandatory that I inspect it, personally,” Kat continued. “The boys... were the ones who met me at the door. The ones who gave me the tour. The ones who had been there the longest.” Her eyes glistened.
“When I left,” she said softly, “the looks they gave me… the understanding written all over their faces…” She swallowed.
“It broke me a little, Ani. I couldn’t sleep for nights after that.
All I could see was them, kind, gentle males, living in that place day in and day out so the rest of the community could sleep safely. ”
She straightened. “So I did what any human would do.”
Ani blinked.
“I got them out.”
“Wait,” Anabelle said slowly. “You got them out?”
Kat nodded. “I did. I had just finished enacting what we now call the Human Protection Agency.”
She spoke with quiet pride now. “Various teams tasked with dealing with threats to human safety or supernatural exposure. Sometimes that means tracking someone and dropping them in Zaninsk for trial. Sometimes…” She sighed. “Sometimes it means eliminating the threat if there’s no other choice.”
Ani’s stomach flipped.
“Any time a supernatural intends to harm humans,” Kat went on, “a team is sent out to stop it. They’re the most important part of the community’s survival. Without them…” She shook her head. “Both worlds would collapse.”
Ani frowned thoughtfully. “So you basically took them from prison guards and made them… police officers?”
Kat laughed outright. “Gods, Ani, it’s so nice to talk to a human.”
She waved a hand. “In a way, yes. But it’s not quite like that. They don’t have a set job, or tasks. They get their cases directly from the Council. It could literally be anything.” She tilted her head. “Actually, they’re more like bounty hunters. But always in the name of protection.”
Her voice softened. “They’re heroes, Ani.
” A beat passed. “I just wanted them to be free,” Kat continued quietly.
“To see the world outside. To travel. To breathe fresh air. I couldn’t pull them out of Zaninsk for something small, even queens don’t have unlimited power.
I couldn’t show favouritism. I had to petition the elders with everything I had. ”
She smiled faintly. “I’m just glad it worked. They deserved it.”
Anabelle sat there, trying to digest everything. The lives they must have lived. The things they must have seen. They were kind, weren’t they?
Yeah, they’d messed up when they first approached her. Probably should have sent someone from that society Kat mentioned. But they hadn’t hurt her. In fact, they’d kept repeating, over and over, that hurting her was the last thing they’d ever do.
Gods. She’d been a bitch to them.
Understandably, at the time...but now? After hearing all of this…
Fuck, she thought. I might need to be nicer. They weren’t monsters. They were good men.
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by the loud shout of a child from the other room.