Nest of The Viper

Risa and Neave had both protested, but he knew that they’d see sense in him going on his own in the end.

Time and time again Risa had told him about how frosty the relationship between the Mage Temple and the Assassin’s Guild was. She’d never given him a reason for the breakdown between the two rival organisations, but considering the Assassins also had no real contact with the Academy he imagined it was likely some matter of principle.

Either way, Risa had almost died once on their trip already and he didn’t particularly want to risk it happening again, and Neave was far too much of a wild cannon to trust going into a place that taught heavily armed killers.

Besides, there was a chance she would be so enamoured with the idea of danger and risk that she’d end up joining them or learning something, and he didn’t want that.

The climb up the mountain face was arduous and long.

There was a clear path, but it was covered in ice and snow, two things that Alexei had never had to deal wi