Lady Filagree descends onto the field in a roar of scarlet flames that causes sweat to break out on my brow, flanked by five other fire casters. She does not look happy, eyes narrowed and lips curled in a fierce scowl. Her red robe is splayed open, revealing dark armor covering her upper chest and lower legs. Her red hair is tied back rather than free-flowing, a strange black helmet atop it.

Combat instructor, indeed.

The ground trembles as they land with force, the redhead stomping forward. Her eyes sweep the crowd before focusing on the prince, but she disregards him quickly. The next victim of her glare is Marcus. Seeing the herald of his judgment, he curls into himself as much as he can, as if his desire to disappear can shield him.

“Grab the boys,” she barks at who I’m guessing are her subordinates? Students? Soldiers? They rush forward, securing both Marcus and the prince, who immediately begins to gripe and is ignored. “I heard there was a fight?”

“Mm,” Kierra says. She looks toward me and Lady Filagree’s gaze follows. “My wife and the prince had a disagreement when he pointed a weapon at us.”

“Lourianne Tome.” Her gaze is not at all friendly as she looks to me. “Most can go their entire time at the Hall without incident, yet this is the second time in as much as a week for you.”

“Neither of which was my fault, I might point out,” I say, feeling a hint of indignation rise. Do you think I enjoy being in these messes? I don’t!

“Hmph. You’re coming along. Anyone else involved in this?”

“Myself, I suppose.”

I glance to Alana who takes several steps backward. Technically, I suppose she isn’t involved since neither she nor Browyn drew their weapons. No need to drag her into it.

Lady Filagree sighs. “Normally, having an instructor as an impartial witness would make this mess a whole lot easier…” She glares at me. Again, not my fault! “For all of our sakes, this better be clean.”

-

It’s a familiar scene as I find myself once again seated in the grandmaster’s office. Kierra is seated beside me, Dunwayne is behind his desk, and Lady Filagree stands off to the side, watching us with clear annoyance. The troublemakers get to stand at the back of the room, under the eyes of the fire casters.

The casual smile and ease from my previous visit are absent from Dunwayne’s face. His stiff features give off an almost physical pressure, making the young men hunch their shoulders and stare at the floor. The amazing thing is he isn’t angry. It’s more grandfatherly disappointment and it makes the two enemies who’ve been giving me so much grief resemble scolded children.

“This is an upsetting circumstance,” Dunwayne said, his voice echoing despite speaking at a normal volume. “Our attendees are expected to leave their titles behind but I must say I find it especially disappointing that our kingdom’s elite, our future leaders…” He pauses dramatically to look at the prince. Samuel looks like he wants to sink into the floor. “Would be involved in something so foolish. Prince Samuel.”

Having been addressed directly, his head reluctantly comes up.

“We are still examining the evidence. If our conclusion is correct, you have plenty of reason to be angry with Mr. Ferraro. However, you are an acolyte of the Hall. Prince or not, the rules still apply and you can expect the proper repercussions.”

Samuel’s mouth opens. For a moment, I think the crazy bastard is about to argue with the Grandmaster of the Hall. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, his good sense prevails and his mouth closes with an audible click.

“Good. Please head back first. Alyssa.”

“You, make sure the prince returns to his quarters safely,” Lady Filagree says, gesturing to one of her minions. Her tone is full of so much propriety it turns over into sarcasm, making it clear the escort is his babysitter. Samuel’s face is sour as the man opens the door and follows him out.

“Now, Mr. Ferraro.”

Marcus flinches as Dunwayne’s attention turns to him.

“A much more serious accusation has been levied against you, young man. As you are still an acolyte of the Hall, this investigation falls under my purview. We will be cooperating with the authorities of Quest to investigate your connection with hunter guilds suspected of selling escort services under false pretenses. Cooperate and this need not be unpleasant.”

Marcus relaxes. Ah, right. They don’t know the extent of his involvement, do they? Yes, the most they have is Marcus sharing communication with one of those shady guilds, maybe some involvement with Maxine’s corrupt cousin.

Hold on, then. Why was Prince Samuel trying to kill him? Bell?

“Coo!” my imp says from her place on my lap.

“Pardon me,” I say. “Hate to interrupt but I would like to know why I was fighting for my life less than an hour ago?”

“Hoh?” Dunwayne turns to me and his stern demeanor softens as the corner of his lips turn up. “I would have expected you to know, Lady Tome. Your startling ability to find trouble aside, Miss Kierra is the one who brought the accounts to us.”

Marcus’ head snaps to me. I ignore him. “Ah, yes. Maxine Guiness is an acquaintance and came barreling into our home in a fluster.” I shrug my shoulders. “She seemed preoccupied with some books with numbers and notations.” I scoff. “I deal with enough of that in casting. What, did things turn deadly after a bender spending the prince’s gold?”

[Master Lou, it would seem Aurelius came by to ask the prince a few initial questions. Once he departed, Marcus figured that the game was up and attempted to kill the prince. He is the inferior combatant and was easily stopped. He attempted to flee and the rest, we know.]

“We suspect him of a crime far more serious but such is a matter for the crown. You should focus on the matter concerning yourself.” Dunwayne is still smiling but his eyes are narrowed. “While you were…” He chuckles. “Defending yourself, unsanctioned violence is still prohibited by the Hall.”

I grimace. I guess what they say is true. Saints are the most unfortunate. Heroes attract tragedy. This is what I get for trying to do a good thing. “Of course.”

“No need to be nervous. Incidents like these are fairly regular and there is a system in place to handle minor infractions. Ally?”

“I think a stint in the Sanctuary will be good for her.” She sneers at me.

“The Sanctuary. Good, good. I know Miss Kierra has been building contacts with our tamers. Excellent. Then, Lady Tome, you’ll be sacrificing your next three Restdays for the good of the Hall. In the future, please keep in mind there is a proper way to handle disputes.”

“Right.” I cut my eyes to Kierra. Deviant, I wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for you. And you have the audacity to smile at me.

“Good. Miss Kierra.” His smile widens. “Ally was just about to liaison with the Quest authorities to bring in a few hunters in for questioning. I don’t suppose you would like to join?”

“I’d be delighted.” Kierra never takes her eyes off me. Her brows raise in question and I fervently shake my head. Stop getting me involved in unnecessary things! “Keep an eye on Max, Lou. We don’t know who is involved in this mess and it would be unfortunate if something happened to an important witness before the Ferraro boy can put on trial.”

“Of course.” Phew. You had me worried.

“If we’re going, we should go,” Lady Filagree says with impatience. She reaches up and pulls down the visor of her helmet, a shiny black material covering her eyes, and stomps toward the door. “I want to grab the rats before they have a chance to scurry into their holes.”

“That is a pain, isn’t it?” Kierra gets to her feet, fingers trailing the back of my neck as she follows the instructor.

Leaving me alone with Dunwayne.

Oh, wow. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m sure there are casters who dream about having a moment alone with the legendary Harvest Hero. I think I might have dreamed of it too. When you imagine a scenario like this, you know exactly what you want to say, a million questions you’d want to ask. But in the moment, with his upturned eyes watching me with a hint of amusement, I can’t think of anything that doesn’t sound monumentally stupid.

“I’ll, ah, go. Got classes,” I murmur, jerkily getting to my feet and clutching Bell tightly.

“Have a good day, Lady Tome.”

“Yes, um, thanks. You too.” I just manage to stop myself from bowing as I hastily escape from the room, ignoring my embarrassed flush as Bell snickers in my mind.