Neska swallowed uncomfortably as the woman who’d seemed to carry all the presence in the room broke down into tears.

  What was stranger was how she’d known it was Risha that had been killed, yet not been told her name. She certainly hadn’t been briefed on the details of what had happened over the past week.

  This woman was genuinely breaking down in her arms. Her instinct would be snake cuddles, but…said portion of her body was keeping her upright. And this level of cuddles might crush the poor woman. Maybe she should be breaking down, too?

  It’s only been a week. If that. She tightened her grip just a little, so the headmistress didn’t fall. “Headmistress Resalio, I regret to say it. But Risha is dead. And there are…ss-sensitive matters around it.”

  She was frustrated at her words slurring with that routine hissing sound. But not nearly to the level of having to deliver this soul-wracking news. “I understand she worked here–”

  “She didn’t tell you anything, did she? Or just enough to get you here alive.” Resalio put her body weight back on her own feet and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m so selfish. You lost her, too. I recognized the name, and I thought it was a coincidence. But I know it isn’t.”

  “She…” Neska faltered. How could she possibly explain everything? Hearing it all at once might be too much.

  “Headmistress,” Jurik said in a low tone, breaking from Juni, “My condolences on your loss. Unfortunately, Neska is correct. This is a sensitive matter. You may want to take a little time to..." But the headmistress waved her hand to interrupt.

  “No. No, I’ll be alright. Thank you, Jurik. Miss Feywind, can you lock the door?” Resalio asked calmly. Neska could still feel her limbs trembling. “Please, sit. I need to hear all the details first.”

  The stoic scout nodded and closed the entryway. A faint flash of wards etched across the glass, turning the material opaque, as if someone had touched it with a cool blue frost. The walls also had faint runic lines edged around the perimeter of the room, glowing faintly white. “Do you…need all of us here for this?” Hadley asked after a pregnant pause.

  “You all arrived together. I presume you know who Risha is?”

  “A professor here?” Jurik proposed calmly, after offering Juni and Hadley a seat at a small conference table. “Unfortunately, I don't believe I met her on the visits I made.”

  “Yes.” Resalio eventually parted and sat at the head of the table. “Neska, how much do you remember from…before?”

  “Not much.” She would sit, but she didn't have a backside to sit on. The best she could do was lower her body a little. “Headmistress, she gave me two names. People I could trust. Until at least one is in the room, I prefer to wait.”

  “I can think of only a handful of names that fit that description. Suffice to say, she did work here. Some of her discoveries were immense. Her practical experience as a high-tier Witch is only secondary to those efforts.” Despite the shocking blow and her voice straining, Resalio continued. “Who?”

  “Please name who she would trust first. It's what she would do,” Neska reasoned.

  Resalio cupped her hands together and bowed her head, thinking for a moment. Then her head tilted up when she had her answer. “Professor Lagrein, Varadur biologies. Professor Thamacus, Interface expert. Or Professor Serkin, probably the greatest mind on the nature of souls. Those are the only three I know she would confide in that deeply. And, Professor Melissa Harvine.” A quick look at Juni and Jurik’s silent nods was all she needed.

  “Professor Serkin. And Harvine."

  Resalio licked her lips. “Nevin, please bring him here. Melissa was in Rivilat center today. In the meantime, Serkin will want to hear this, too. I think he's scheduled in a class for caster training, Caprisa building.”

  The head guard’s voice faltered, just for a second. “In the middle of the day?"

  “This is more important. Please tell him that it’s concerning Risha. Nothing else.” Nevin took that as his cue, along with his counterpart Marie, and they left the room, locking it behind them, re-enabling the wards.

  The headmistress sighed softly. “This is not how I expected this to turn out, to be blunt. I thought I’d be cherishing two new students. Neska, if you can help me understand some text, it would be greatly appreciated. I heard you had unusual powers."

  “Tell me something that only Risha would know first,” Neska said calmly. She would ask about what she knew about her, before she likely met an untimely end about a year ago. But Risha had been gone from the Academy for three. This left a gap of two years to fill in the missing pieces.

  Plus, there was the concerning possibility that asking that question of who she was could lead to world-shattering answers she was in no way prepared to hear. Better to wait, first.

  Resalio glanced at a picture frame on her desk and slowly spun it around. Black-painted nails pointed to a row of adult men and women, all wearing clothing similar to the headmistress's, a uniform of flowing fabric, but comfortable to wear.

  Risha stood in the middle, smiling proudly, standing adjacent to a young man. He had more angular features and a tapered chin, wearing a confident smirk while he folded his arms. To her right was a woman wearing a frozen sigh, one arm casually resting on Risha’s shoulder. Neska peered closer, reaching out to touch the photo's frame.

  She looks so…young, here. And smiling, like the world hasn’t started crumbling around her. She felt the cold frame against the thin scales of her fingers. Resalio stood near the right side of the image, looking relatively unaged. “How long ago was this?” Neska asked finally, looking up at the headmistress.

  “Twenty-two years ago. Two years before the Sundering of Arivol. She was a bright young witch. She had a specialty with rituals and finding creative ways to apply effects with the right symbolic elements. Her alchemy skills were also potent, too, and grew better with time. Monster anatomy was acquired...later. Resalio glanced at the others in the room. “Jurik, I don’t believe you met her, did you?”

  “I…” he trailed off, frowning. Then, slowly shook his head. “No, her face isn't familiar. My stays at the academy were brief. I didn’t meet all of the staff. Most of my interactions were with the security force and the delivery of information. Some of it may have ended up in her hands at some point, though.” He did point to the woman next to Risha. “I know her, though. Melissa Harvine. Is she still doing orientations for the Awakened? It has been a few years since I rode through.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “She still is. Though with a few more gray hairs,” she added. Her attempt to smile fell flat in light of the devastating news. Neska knew that what she was about to deliver would be so much worse.

  A few moments passed. A gentle rap at the door got everyone’s attention. The wards faded away as Nevin returned, with a face that looked familiar, the young man who had been next to Risha.

  Except, not. The man before them was older, with grey hair, sunken eyes, and slightly thinner. He wore a similar green uniform. He glanced at the room's occupants, gesturing to Resalio. “This is a full room, Headmistress. Nevin told me there's a word…on…”

  His eyes locked on Neska, and his arms fell slack to his side. He dared to glance at Resalio, and when he saw her somber expression, his composure slipped with a slight shudder down his spine. He knew, even if he didn’t say anything at first. “Headmistress, can you…introduce our visitors?” he asked, curling his fingers under his belt that also matched the colors of his attire.

  “We have new arrivals for our Academy. Recently Awakened. And, there was a report–”

  “From Peolein, right?” he asked as if he knew, gazing at Neska. “Concerning Risha? I had wondered why she had stopped writing letters. She was working on something.”

  “Professor Serkin?” Neska asked calmly.

  “Please, just…call me Victor,” he added, his hands folded behind his back. “Can I guess who you are? I think I know…but…if you’re here, and she’s not…”

  “You may want to sit down for this,” Neska interrupted gently. He didn’t protest or argue; instead, a look of resignation creased his face as Jurik calmly offered him a seat.

  Neska undulated forward a little, bowing her upper body. “I’m Neska. I was Risha’s ward for the past year. She told me before I fully Awakened that I could trust you and Professor Harvine. We were supposed to travel here together after she found a way to unlock my Interface. She'd been trying for nearly a year. Before she did so…Seekers came. They wanted her to make more Awakened. They wanted to use them as a kill farm to make their members stronger."

  “She refused to do so, and was given an ultimatum: help them, or they’d take me. She chose a third option: to Awaken me, and kill the Seekers–some of which were monsters that could mimic a human body and pass for them almost flawlessly.”

  She delivered the words in a monotone voice. She had to, because she could feel the crushing weight of the events, clenching around her heart, making it hard to breathe. But she continued, despite that constricting coil on her soul. “Risha Aksen sacrificed her life to complete the ritual that awakened me. And, I have no idea what her plan was, other than to arrive here.”

  The light had gone out in his face. He was still opening and closing his mouth, as if words kept faltering. He sank into the seat. “I should have never let her go.” He pressed his temples with his hands, his whole upper body slumping over. “She would have been safe here.”

  She heard the faintest sob. Just one. Then, his face froze like stone, and he rose to his feet–a stoicism that even Jurik might be hard-pressed to match. “I…I feared what the outcome might be, with you here, and not her.”

  “I lost my witch to monsters. But not before she said to find you. That you might have answers, because I have none. Nothing but flashes of the past. Nothing but a caring teacher who…”

  Who shielded me from my own past, most likely. That infectious thought had returned at the worst moment. She clasped her hands together tightly. That thought wasn’t winning out today. “She believed I could finish what she started, to stop the Varadur. But I can’t do that, unless I get answers.”

  He gazed up, nodding softly. “Resalio? How much do you know?”

  “I know as much as you. They were attacked on the way, multiple times. I wonder if those were not monster incursions, but search parties, attempting to kill any Awakened,” Resalio answered him. He shifted listlessly and nodded. “As you can see, the circumstances are…unique.”

  “She can’t show up on the roster under her name. She’ll need a different identity. Isolation from her peers–”

  “You expect me to sequester her? I barely know the poor girl, and her friends were put in peril,” Resalio countered. “What do you know that I don’t?”

  “Much.” Serkin shook his head gently. “Of course, Risha would do this. She always had to do it her way, try to solve things on her own.”

  That bitter tone in his voice…that wasn’t the first time he’d likely felt that, regarding Risha. She stood silently as the two academics argued back and forth, with accusations of honesty, while the others looked on in dismay.

  Jurik tried to interject, but they ignored him. Hadley rolled her eyes, arms folded. Juni looked like she had something to say, but couldn’t work up the courage. Ragnir looked distinctly stiff and uncomfortable.

  That man could not relax to save his life. Even before he lost two good men.

  A trusted colleague is dead, their head isn’t on straight. I need to redirect this. Neska slithered forward and slammed her tail down on the ground, with just enough force to get everyone's attention.

  “I don’t know my past. Risha went out of her way not to divulge anything that linked back to my prior life: who I was, both to her and others. I assume you two know?” She asked, her tail flicking back and forth in agitation.

  “Some. But maybe not all,” Serkin said through clenched teeth. “Risha dumped this on you, and I’m sorry she did. This is our problem to sort out–”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “And I can’t protect myself if I can’t learn. About what you, Risha, and the others were working on. Or to protect others. And there’s an incentive for me to train and empower myself. Now I understand why she did what she did.”

  Jurik and Juni peered at her in curiosity. “What do you mean?” the mouse girl asked.

  Now’s the time.

  She willed the collar around her neck into reality, and everyone let out a confused sound. She unclasped it from her neck and showed them the crystal. “I’m sorry, Juni, Jurik, Hadley. I kept this part quiet until I was sure of the situation.”

  “Is that…a Ceruli crystal?” Resalio asked. “What’s on it?”

  “Information. From Risha. I don’t know what is on it.” She willed herself to stay calm and collected, driving the conversation as she needed to. “She said the enchantment protecting it would break when I hit my third Tier. I want to know what is on this as much as you want to know what Risha had planned. I think cooperation is required here.”

  Serkin looked at the crystal, then her, puzzled. His face brightened slightly, less severe. “That would be a very Risha thing to do, wouldn’t it? Making us cooperate in this way.”

  “I want justice for Risha. The Seeker who did this? His name is Marikand. He recovered from fatal wounds as I watched. I doubt he was killed when Risha made her last stand. She did not go quietly, either. She wiped out dozens of Seekers, and a full third of them were those grotesque Mimicoids."

  She wanted to show some anger, anger burning with intensity in the depths of her soul, but still held firm. Calm and collected would win out, even if it took longer. “I need to evolve again to make that happen. I need the academy's talent and training to prepare myself. But I can’t do it while you argue, as if this isn’t my choice. It's always been my choice. It’s a choice for me, and the people I arrived with, who have a stake in this, too.”

  Serkin unclenched his hands and glanced to Resalio for approval. She gave a subtle nod in response. “First, tell us the whole story. Then we will do whatever we have to, to get you prepared.”

  “And me.” Juni jumped up, standing firm. “We’re a package deal. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.” She gave Neska an apologetic gaze, whiskers drooping slightly. “Neska, forgive me if I volunteer before you have the chance to ask me.”

  She didn’t even need to think about it and returned her gaze to the professor and headmistress. “Package deal,” Neska echoed, and felt her snout crease slightly. “We all want the monsters to return to where they came, or stop fighting us. I think Risha might have found a way to make it happen."

  “I don’t want to be treated differently from any other student. In fact, it might be best to be subtle, given that Marikand–the monster hiding as a Seeker–has a high rank within the organization. They’re corrupt from within, and none can be trusted for the moment.” She hoped her reasoning would be sufficient.

  Serkin let out a gruff laugh. “I guess Risha did rub off on you in a good way. Resalio?”

  She took a deep breath before pulling out a device the size of a square dinner plate, drawing a small line on it with her thumbnail. “Well, this might go down as one of my best decisions for the future of the academy, or one of the worst.”

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