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Chapter 35: The Tournament Of Guilds
I didn't sleep much that night either. Not for lack of trying — Vance had practically ordered all of us to rest — but every time I closed my eyes, I kept replaying the look on Zudrik's and Vance's faces when they'd called Lucifero back into that office. Pointed. Deliberate. Aimed somewhere past him, straight at Mazikeen, even while they were speaking to someone else entirely.Nobody had said anything about it since. Lucifero hadn't come down for breakfast. Mazikeen had barely spoken two words all morning, picking at her food as if it owed her an apology."You're staring," Baron said, nudging my shoulder as we crossed the courtyard."I'm thinking.""That's what staring looks like on you."I didn't answer that. Ahead of us, the whole academy seemed to be funneling toward the Great Hall — more people than I'd ever seen gathered in one place since the morning I'd nearly torn the building apart summoning the homunculus.Students in every color of robe the four guilds wore, teachers lining
Chapter 34: The Unease After
MAZIKEEN'S POVWe reached Torrent just as the last of the daylight was pulled under the covers of twilight. The Fifth Moon Collegium was already brimming with teachers and students, and the courtyard dissolved into applause the moment we rode in.A few girls squealed when Lucifero dismounted — one smooth motion, effortless, the kind of grace only royalty got bred into their stride from birth. He walked like exactly what he was.Baron came down behind him, waving off a cluster of juniors trying to crowd him with questions. I dismounted last, peeling my gloves off to free my fingers.Zeldryl was waiting at the entrance. Flat face, cold eyes, jaw clenched tight enough to ache."Sulking in the evening sun?" I tried, already knowing it wouldn't land.He grabbed my arm and hauled me up the stairs, away from the crowd, his fingers digging in hard enough to leave marks. I wrenched free the second we cleared the noise."What is wrong with you?" I rubbed the spot, already seeing the shape of hi
Chapter 33: An Unsatisfied Mind
My eyes were heavy and sagging by morning. Dark circles formed at the base of each one, my face looked rough when I stared at my reflection as I washed by the river bank. My head ached, a soft thump at the base of my skull. The dream I had last night was too vivid, too detailed. I could still see Mazikeen's severed head in my hands whenever I shut my eyes, I could feel the warmth of her blood. “Symon…” Baron called from the camp. He was done strapping his baggage to the horse. Today was the end of my guild mission, but I was dissatisfied with the outcome. Ulf met me half way back to camp. He held out a map. “What's this?” I asked as I grabbed the thick yellowed paper. “Your way to find me, should you ever need my help” He said “But I pray you don't.” A moment of silence passed before I inquired what he was going to do. “Try to solve this mystery, and warn the villages on the border to be on a lookout for creatures with glass eyes.” I averted my gaze with him. Then his next wo
Chapter 32: The Weight of it All
The beep of the heart monitor went on and on, drowning out everything else. Even when my mother pressed her face against mine, soaking it with tears, I couldn't make out her voice at all. Tiffany held my hand—hers warm and soft, a feeling I'd somehow forgotten since I last touched anything at all."Hang in there for me." Her words finally came through clearly.Then —"Symon. Symon." Baron's voice echoed, as if it were traveling up from the bottom of a well."Symon!"A sharp, tearing static sound, as paper being ripped too fast, and I was standing in front of a tree again, my back turned to Mazikeen.A hot blade of pain drove straight through my skull. I dropped to one knee, clutching my head, and the pressure of my own hands only made it worse. I heard everyone say my name at once. Ace knelt beside me, asking if I was okay. My eyes were red, wet with tears I hadn't noticed falling. I got up and walked out of the woods, back toward the horses.Full dark had swallowed the village by the
Chapter 31: A Village That Vanished
"Did anyone catch a wink of sleep last night? Because I didn't." Ace glanced over her shoulder at the rest of us, pausing to shake sand out of her boot."I slept just fine." Mazikeen passed her without slowing, continuing down the path."That doesn't surprise me at all." Ace called after her, then turned to me. "Is it just me, or have you been sulking without your robe?"I didn't answer that. I just closed the distance between us. "Do you trust this guy?""Ulf?""Yeah." I nodded."Do I trust a man with a giant familiar, living alone on a mountain, who claims he sees things? No. That doesn't mean he's lying, though." She pulled her boot back on."How can you tell?""I can't. But what does he gain from lying about this?" She held my gaze a moment longer before falling into step down the mountain.I stood there a beat before trailing after her.The sun came up hot that morning, and Ulf decided we should head out early to reach the village before dark. We came down the mountain, collected
Chapter 30: The White Rabbit
For a full minute I couldn't move. My arms had locked in place, my eyes fixed on the serpent as it hauled its upper body onto a boulder and rose, taller than the trees around it. Its eyes burned red, and I could feel its breath rumble the pebbles beneath my feet. In one hard motion, I lunged backward, shielding Amelia with my body. She recovered fast, dropping into a battle stance, and the man drew a small knife from his waist in response. "I think you two have wandered too far. Baslik hasn't eaten in days." His voice carried that low, playful edge of a threat. "We were just gathering firewood," I said, eyes still locked on the serpent, watching for the slightest twitch. "Not here. Not on my land." He leveled the knife at me, and the serpent's massive body slid down off the boulder, flattening grass beneath its weight as it closed in. I stepped back, putting myself fully between it and Amelia. "Get the others," I ordered. "No." She said it firmly. "I'm not leaving you to face t
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