The Royal Academy guards barely had time to even think of barring Anton's way. They raised their metal gauntlets but they had already passed before they could utter a word. Verona loudly cursed her dress. While it looked beautiful it greatly limited her range of movement, doubly so for Mezot as she was nowhere near as fit as Verona. Cetina ran behind, just to make sure that no one lagged and gently push Mezot. Cetina looked like she was ready to carry Mezot if Anton gave the word.

"Where will Axia be?" Anton asked. "What classes does she have now?"

Mezot had spoken little, barely able to contain her worry as they fled the Imperial Palace. Thankfully the adrenaline, fear or a mixture of both, loosened her tongue.

"She-She." Mezot gripped at her chest, trying to pull the tight fabric away. "She should be in Basic Attunement. Where they learn how to use and maintain their Charm."

"Building?"

Mezot pointed to one of the nearby smaller buildings. They moved as fast as they could, Anton didn't care they were drawing attention, some whistles and calls were thrown to the women but Verona rebuked them with her middle finger.

Anton pushed a group of young students aside and entered the building. Many students milled about in the narrow corridors, all throwing him an odd look before murmuring to one another.

"Where?" Anton found two older students talking just beyond the entrance. "Excuse me! I know I'm a bother but we're in a serious rush. Where are the younger students learning Basic Attunement?"

The young man looked at him with scorn.

"Peasant rabble-"

Anton grabbed his neck and crushed down as hard as he could. "I don't have time for you or you pompous fucking attitude! I was trying to be polite..." Anton managed a breath. His skin on his face was hot from anger. "If you don't want me to crush the life out of you you'll tell me what I want to know! Right now!"

"Second floor." His friend whimpered. "Room B."

"See how easy that is?!" Anton relinquished his hold and pushed him towards the wall. The young man sputtered and slinked away with the help of his friend.

Verona and Cetina shared a glance but said nothing, Mezot was too scared for her daughter's safety to do much else than worry.

Anton rushed up the stairs, Cetina just behind while Verona and Mezot followed as quickly as they could. Anton began to slow but Verona shouted for him to keep moving. They reached the second floor just as a stream of young students exited the second room along the corridor. He recognized them from Axia's class. The students at the front stopped, unsure of what to make of Anton and Cetina, both panting lightly from the run and climb.

"Is Axia here?" Anton asked. He didn't care what any of them thought, nor was he going to wait for them to pass in the hopes that she was there.

"She..." A young boy, perhaps a year older than Axia, spoke first. "A teacher called her away."

Anton felt his blood drain. It wasn't his child but they had brought this upon them.

"Who?" Anton held the boy's shoulders. "When? Where was she going?"

The boy was hesitant to respond. Verona and Mezot arrived at the top of the stairs. Many of the students whispered, some even gawking at the sight, especially Verona's now damp thin material.

"Where!" Anton shouted.

The boy jumped but he pointed to Mezot. "It was Drusus. He said that, since you're now a Lecturer, that she was eligible...or allowed, to get funding from the Academy. She seemed really excited."

"Mentioned something about helping her mother." Another student chimed in.

A murmur of agreement travelled over the students. Neither were as unpopular as they thought but that thought barely registered in Anton's mind.

They know a bit about her, that she's worried about their financial situation.

Anton knelt down, taking a breath to calm himself down. "Where did they go? It's very important."

Mezot hesitantly approached. She desperately searched through the sea of heads for a blonde bob but to no avail.

"I think they said that it was the old demonstration building." The young boy frowned as he held his chin. "But if it's from the Academy itself than why..."

"They wouldn't." Anton stood up and patted the boy's shoulders. "Thank you. You might have just saved your classmates life."

For a moment he didn't quite understand. It clicked the next, now he understood, at least partially.

"What's going on out there?" An older teacher stepped out, frowning at the students. "Why haven't you gone yet?"

All eyes fell on Anton. Together he and Cetina were blocking their way out.

"Drusus." Anton gently pushed his way through the students. "Where is he?"

"He was here before." The teacher frowned. A wizened old hand rubbed his hip. "Is there a problem?"

"Does the Academy give students of lecturer’s special...Money? Or privileges?"

"No." The teacher frowned at Mezot. "We try not to give any advantage to a student just because of their parents or a relation to a teacher or lecturer here. Mezot, you know that."

"I-"

Anton cut Mezot off. "So what did he tell you when he took Axia?"

"That there was a family issue, with...her mother...” The elderly teacher scrunched his eyes. “What is happening exactly?"

"Where did he go?" Anton asked.

"I saw them heading to the old demonstration building." The teacher pointed into his classroom. "I have a window..."

"Is there anything nearby that's also abandoned?" Anton held his shoulder. "Somewhere noise wouldn't be an issue?"

"You really think that?" Cetina whispered.

Anton glumly nodded.

"I...I'm not sure. I mostly work on the other side of the Academy. This is the furthest I come."

"There..." An older boy spoke up. "There is an old supply building. We used to go there to...Umm. Smoke?"

"You're too young for that. But...” The teacher sighed. “I don't think I'll report that."

"Which one is it?" Anton briskly walked to the window. The boy pointed to a small building, its windows broken and covered in panels of wood. "That one?"

"Yeah. There's an entrance to the side that still works. Not that I'd know anything like that."

"We'll check both." Anton caught Cetina entering the classroom and ushered her out. "Hopefully she's still alive."

---[]---

The demonstration building was completely empty, it was nothing more than a giant auditorium completely vacant of anything and anyone. There were no hidden rooms so Anton moved them towards the old supply building. Anton wished they had Kal, she had far more keen senses but she did not have a magical sense of smell. Anton briefly wondered if a Canine Beast-kin could but quickly dismissed the thought.

"Do you think she's safe?" Mezot whimpered. "She might be in my room. I think I should-"

Anton shook his head, only bringing Mezot more distress. "There wouldn't have been two different stories if she was."

Mezot was only a few breaths from a complete breakdown. Verona held her hand, Mezot gripped it with all her strength.

Cetina took the lead as they neared the far edge of the building. A hand was thrust into his face, a simple wordless instruction ordering him to wait.

“Are they there?”

“Something’s going on,” Cetina whispered. “And it doesn’t look like kids trying to smoke or to have sex.”

None of the young students had even suggested that but it was a possibility.

Anton peeked around Cetina’s waist. The supply building was indeed old and in desperate need of repair. However, on the far side lay an open door, just like the young boy said there was. However he hadn’t mentioned that the handle was broken, nor a piece of torn cloth fluttering in the breeze.

“That looks like it’s from the clothes she normally wears.” Anton held out his hand for Verona. “We’re going to be in tight quarters. So it’s mainly going to be up to you and Cetina.”

“Not really worried about what the others say right now, are we?” Verona glowed red and took a fresh vial’s worth of blood. “They might need to have a talk about who the mages really owe their allegiance to after this.”

They scurried across the open area, as fast they could when Cetina raised her hand again. Voices came from inside. None of it sounded good.

“Verona. Make sure that Mezot doesn’t scream or try to charge in there.”

“Shouldn’t that be your job?” Verona glowed red, coiling the blood around her hand. “I’m already going to be doing most of the fighting.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Anton took Mezot’s hand, she offered almost no resistance, and manoeuvred her close against the old wooden wall. Her backside scrapped against it and dirtied the beautiful yellow cloth. No one cared beyond a cursory glance.

“Four people,” Cetina whispered. She held the sword tight and flat against the wall. If someone looked out they wouldn’t see a glint of clean steel.

“Bitch got me good.” A gruff voice echoed down a hallway. “Look at that. Nearly bit my finger off.”

“Ha. I told you to break her hands.” The second voice belonged to a woman. “Then you wouldn’t be moping about a few scratches. Shit, she actually got down to the bone. She’s not bad.”

“They are pretty deep.” The third was an older man but still soft. “I’d see someone about that.”

“Like who?” The first spoke up again. “It’ll...It’ll be easier to just let it heal.”

“Are you honestly going to pretend that a lion caused them?” The third asked.

Anton tapped Verona’s side. “Try to keep them alive. When they near the door, do what you do best.”

Verona smiled wickedly and readied her blood shards.

“Shut the fucking door.” The woman said. “Don’t...Hang on.”

Anton realised they were casting shadows. He tapped Verona’s side and the shards flew through the open door. A few muffled screams followed and everything fell silent. Cetina peered around and waved them forward. Anton continued to hold Mezot’s hand as they entered the building.

The four thugs, Anton was all but certain that’s what they were, floated in the air, suspended by Verona’s blood shards. Of the four, two were already dead, the older man and a muscular woman, their bodies torn to ribbons and only remaining in one piece thanks to Verona's blood. The other two weren't doing much better: the woman, younger than her voice eluded to, was missing both of her arms and a leg, her intestines poured out of her stomach. The man, who would pass for a gangster in this world, wasn't in a better condition. He too had lost both of his arms but his legs were in one piece. His manhood, however, lay in a pool of blood on the floor.

Before Anton could ask how they were still conscious and not screaming their lungs out Verona demonstrated her handiwork. Her blood, in a liquid form, covered their mouths but left their noses exposed. Their wounds too were covered in a crystallized form Verona's blood.

"Horrific." Anton mused. His hand began to shake violently. Mezot whimpered and scrunched her eyes tight.

"Cetina? Can you take Mezot? I'm going to need both hands for this."

It wasn't strictly true but Mezot didn't need to see this. It would only fill her head with terrible visions of her daughter. Mezot didn't want to be separated from Anton, she whimpered and shook her head, but Cetina was much stronger. The moment she was free her hands gripped onto the edges of Cetina's armour.

"Bring me one that you think can still talk," Anton said. "I don't want to waste mana healing them."

Verona brought the man closer. His eyes had contracted to pinpricks and he was on the verge of passing out. The blood crystals that covered his stumps pulsed slowly, growing ever so slightly larger each time. Slivers of white, of bone, slowly came to the surface.

"If you want her to stop chewing away at what little remains you're going to answer..." Anton clicked his tongue. "There's a much quicker way."

He held the man's bloodied head and chanted a truth prayer.

"Where is Axia?"

Verona moved away just enough blood so he could open his mouth.

"Top floor." Tears flew down his face, his voice little more than a pathetic whimper. "In the last room."

He tried to scream but Verona plugged his mouth shut. Anton shook his head.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you. Now, how many more of you are there?"

"Twelve." The man's body began to shake. "Please. Stop!"

"I bet many of your victims have said the exact same thing," Anton mumbled. "You seem like this isn't your first time kidnapping someone."

He tried to answer but Verona did not remove the blood. It didn't matter either way.

"Explain where they are in the building.”

“Two in the corridor above us. Six in the corridor on the top floor and the last four in the room with the target.”

“Her name is Axia,” Anton grumbled. “And she is innocent in all of this...Oh. I almost forgot. Do you work for Tullas Mad-Eye?”

“Yes.” The thug began to cry.

“Do you know what he looks like? Where he is?”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing else I need to know. Verona?”

The blood liquefied and poured down his throat. The knowledge that his death was immense came as a huge relief, he almost welcomed it after what Verona had done to his body. Verona let the shredded body collapse to the floor.

“What about her?”

“Bring her with us.” Anton walked gently along the floor. “We can use her as a meat shield if things go bad. Or just throw her at them.”

“A portable supply of blood sounds fine.” Verona smiled warmly at the terrified thug. “But Anton’s blood is so much better than yours.”

Verona ground the thugs face against the wall. She tried to scream as the wood rubbed her skin raw, splinters puncturing her exposed flesh. “I can do a lot worse if you scream. And Anton a hundred times worse. Maybe he’ll sell you to Seocuria?” Verona chuckled. “If he’s feeling generous.”

“What is happening?” Mezot whimpered to Cetina. “They...They seemed like such nice people.”

Cetina stroked her back. “They are. But...But they don’t like bad people. Bad people, like those that kidnapped your daughter.”

Mezot tried her best to stiffen her resolve but the pools of blood were something that she could not ignore.

Anton gently walked up the stairs. He waved Verona right behind, she bent the surviving thug into a ball, somehow she was still alive and still trying to scream into the blood, and ascended the stairs. She pushed the bloody ball up and around to the next level. She timed it so the ball would emerge at the same time she could peer over. Anton heard a footstep from the level above, probably someone stepping back in utter shock at what they saw, just before crystal shards broke away and flew through the air. Two thumps followed. Verona waved them up, both of the thugs were dead.

“They’re down.” Verona sniggered.

They skirted around the dead bodies and reached the next flight of stairs. Verona repeated the same trick, this time the bodies didn’t make a sound. Anton almost spluttered when he saw what Verona had done. None were alive. Their faces no longer existed, not limb remained attached to the body and those had been ripped to ribbons. The bloody torsos floated, suspended by shards of blood that burst out like a sea urchin.

“Did you have to go all out?” Anton asked.

Verona, her red eyes glowing bright, could only smile. “I don’t like the idea of kidnapping a kid.”

She pushed the bodies away from the door at the far end of the corridor. Thankfully Mezot was becoming accustomed to the sight of mutilated corpses.

Slowly they approached the last door. Anton leant close and heard muffled voices from within.

“Where is this city?!” A man shouted from within. “Is this where Cassius is keeping the records?”

“I don’t know.” Axia coughed. “I don’t know what’s there.”

“So how did you get there? Do we need to get the hammer again?”

Anton tapped Verona. “She’s in there.”

Verona broke away several shards, liquefied them and sent them under the door.

"How will you know which is Axia?" Anton whispered.

"I can’t," Verona grumbled. "I have to see."

She leant down and found a small crack along the door frame. As she smiled a thug let out a scream, then the others, then everything fell silent.

"All dead." Verona stood up, brushing away the dirt on her dress. She pulled him down and whispered into his ear. "One had Axia by the throat with a knife. I tried to keep one alive but they immediately tried to kill her."

"Cetina? Keep Mezot here."

Cetina gave a curt nod and tightened her hold on Mezot. Mezot kept her eyes scrunched tight, trying her best not to see what Verona had done.

Anton pushed on the door, it refused to budge but Verona's blood leaked through and opened the simple lock. Just as outside it was a bloodbath. The thugs, two were women, were in better shape than those outside but were well and truly dead. Axia sat on the far side, bound to a chair. She had been beaten very harshly, bleeding lips and black eyes, but thankfully still had her clothes on.

"Hey! Are you still with us?" Anton stepped around the bodies to her. He wasn't about to ask an asinine 'Are you okay?'. She was very clearly not okay.

A wad of blood dribbled from her mouth. "Anton? Who were those people? Why were they asking about all of you?"

"They...We'll explain later. But for now, we need to get you out of here."

"Are they all dead?" Axia gripped tight on the chair.

"All but one." Verona entered the room, wincing at the state of Axia. "But we'll get you out of here and all healed up first."

Axia looked at Anton, her eyes were still swelling from the beating she had endured. Anton cut the straps binding her. She tried to stand but Anton held her back. He chanted a healing prayer and the wounds faded away.

"That..." Axia rubbed her hands. "Thank you." She leapt into Anton, almost knocking him over. "Thank you! I thought I was going to die!"

The tears began to flow, mixing with the blood and onto her clothes.

Anton quickly hugged her tight before forcing her back. "You’re safe now. But…I want to just take you out of here, but your mother is just outside. She's basically a wreck worrying about you. Now...I know this sounds shitty but can you not tell her I healed you? She...She's not in a good state herself."

Axia nodded and ran from the room. Mezot squealed Axia's name over and over. Anton heard a light thump against the wall as Cetina stood in the doorway.

"They're fine." Cetina smiled.

"They probably thought they would never see each other again." Anton looked to the decapitated bodies. "Can you make sure they don't leave? And no one else comes in? I'm sure the..." Anton chuckled. "Most of the powerful Mages are still in the Imperial Palace. How convenient."

Cetina quickly left, leaving Anton and Verona alone with the corpses.

"What records were they talking about?" Anton asked aloud. He moved from body to body, searching for anything of value or significance but these thugs were not complete amateurs. They wore nothing that could identify them, apart from the tattoo on the front of the wrists.

"What does she have to say about this?" Anton nodded to the floating woman. "We really didn't have time to ask her."

Verona smiled. "Let's have a chat then."

The floating sphere of blood and person stopped a few feet from Anton. She was still alive, somehow, and now looking at Anton with fury in her eyes.

"Glare at me all you want, it's not going to bring your arms or legs back."

The woman struggled, Verona hardened the blood and proved to her that resistance was essentially worthless. Anton reached for her head, the woman tried to back away in a futile attempt but Verona pushed her forward. She screamed as Anton chanted a truth prayer.

Verona liquefied the blood around her mouth.

"Why does Tullas want us dead?"

"You interfered with his gang." The woman struggled against his magic but that form of struggle was pointless too. "And caused him to lose many bases, people and money."

"But Cassius has been doing that as well, yet he isn't dead. Did we nearly stumble upon something he doesn't want anyone to know?"

The woman remained silent. The defiant and almost proud look told him that she knew nothing, the truth prayer could only compel her to speak what she knew to be true after all.

"Next question then. What records does Cassius hold that you're willing to do this to a young girl? How can you stomach that?"

The woman smiled like a deranged lunatic. "My mother raped me when I was a child, then she sold me off-"

Verona wrapped the blood around her mouth. She continued to try and speak even with the blood filling her mouth.

"Did she just break your magic?" Verona asked.

"No." Anton sighed. "She has to answer the last question is ask. That's all. But, what happened to you is no excuse for what you inflict on others."

She rolled her eyes as Anton asked the question again.

"Cassius has records of the Imperial family that haven't been changed or altered. Tullas can't find where they are so he wants anything and everything that might be useful."

"And you think some Mages that have recently helped him, yet aren’t in his employ is a good way to start?"

"We would accomplish both at once."

"I don't know how exactly this plan was supposed to work, possibly have us threaten Cassius for the records for Mezot and Axia's safe return. I don't blame Axia for telling you about our home, she probably thought it was what they were after."

The woman frowned.

"Right. You weren't there. What does Tullas want with the records?"

"I don't know!"

"What do you think he wants with them?"

"Something to do with his lineage. He might be related to Cassius or one of the royals and wants to take advantage of that."

"Explains why he hasn't tried to kill Cassius." Anton murmured. Verona raised a brow, an odd look considering her glowing red eyes. "He needs him to find these records, and no one else has them. Maybe he's not as powerful as people think? It shouldn't have been too hard to capture Cassius on the way to the capital. No idea how large a force he travelled with though...And it doesn't sound like it's personal either."

Anton focused his attention back to the woman. "How many more of you are there in the capital?"

"Over eight hundred." The woman smiled. "Many of them skilled killers, far better than any of us. You and your friends are dead once they discover we've failed."

"Better make that as long as possible." Anton mused.

Verona crushed her skull. Her ruined body gave up all pretensions of struggle and fell completely limp. Verona dropped the body at the far end of the room and relinquished her control. The blood coating her body instantaneously liquefied, spreading across the floor and seeping through tiny cracks. Anton didn't want to think what the rooms below looked like.

"A bastard prince?" Anton asked aloud. "That would make things so much more confusing."

"Maybe he wouldn't look like Prince Proculus." Verona shuddered. "If it was some random woman he might not be all..." Verona waved over her face. "That."

“Time to go.”

Anton walked back into the corridor. Mezot and Axia still held each other tight, Mezot whispering something as she rocked back and forth while stroking her daughter’s head. While it was heartening to see Mezot show genuine emotion, without the need to be reminded, Anton was very uneasy.

Even to a simpleton, it’s clear that we’ve involved them in something terrible. Though their lives might have been rough before they weren’t being targeted by an empire wide gang of bandits for the crime of associating us. If they decide to just run it’ll have been a lot of time wasted...Did I actually just think that?

Mezot turned her red, puffy eyes to Anton. “I...I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to Axia.”

“I’m afraid that we’re not safe just yet.” Anton began. “Not in the Academy and certainly not in Boreana.”

“Did someone escape?”

“No. There are almost eight hundred more of these people outside the Academy walls.”

Mezot’s face drained of colour, Axia was not far behind.

“Not to mention the teacher that lured you away.” Anton quickly checked the corpses. “Where did he go?”

“I didn’t think it was right coming this far.” Axia winced, her lip trembling as she locked eyes with her mother. “They told me you’d be getting more money and that I’d...I’m so stupid, aren’t I?”

“No.” Anton cut her thoughts off. “These disgusting people…They preyed on you, using your concern for your mother to lure you away. Blame them, not yourself.”

“Well, all these people emerged out of nowhere and he just stepped to the side. I couldn’t do anything before they had me tied up.” Axia raised her hands and clicked her tongue. The binding marks had been cleared away by the healing prayer. “One of those people took him to one side and that was the last I saw of him. The other person came back...He was resting his hand on a dagger.”

“He won’t be a problem then.” Anton almost smiled. “They could hardly keep him alive, barely even a tool, especially once word spread that he essentially kidnapped you.”

“Nasty stuff,” Verona added softly.

“There’s a few people gathering near the old demonstration building,” Cetina said. “Looks like those guards from the gate.”

“This...This might be tricky to properly explain.”

“I’m sure they’re going to freak when they see what I’ve done.” Verona laughed. “Don’t know what other kinds of magic can do this.”

---[]---

“You expect me to believe that?” The Academy guard asked.

Anton wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed that the apparent commander was the same man they had met when first trying to enter the Academy. Twenty guards, their weapons and shields lightly shimmering with a magical glow, had gathered by the time they exited the building. Behind those were several Mages, none of the same calibre of Mezot or the Head Master or his sycophants.

“You can ask Axia or Mezot.” Anton motioned Mezot to step forward.

Mezot had been thoroughly reluctant to relinquish her daughter and, even now, continued to hold her tight. It did not do their story any good by having Mezot look like a nervous, shell-shocked survivor.

“Mother is a Master now.” Axia stepped beside Anton. “So you have to listen to her.”

“If she speaks.” The guard said softly.

Mezot glanced at Anton. When he gave her a nod she rubbed the front of her dress, nothing had been said about their attire but several eyes had wandered and languished in certain places, and explained what had happened. She left out the involvement of Tullas Mad-Eye, Anton hoped she was being tactful. The guards listened in silence until she was finished.

“One of our mages detected some strange magic.” The guard pointed to a tall tower near the entrance to the Academy. “Guess that was you then?”

Verona huffed and folded her arms. “I’d preferred to have any other type of magic, but it has its uses.”

“We also found the body of Drusus...A single stab wound to the neck.” The guard sighed. “But that part seems to check out with your story.”

“Are we free to leave?” Anton asked. “It has been a long day.”

“You can. But don’t leave the Academy grounds until I say so. The investigations will continue. Food and lodging will be provided, don’t think that we are that frugal.”

“But there are more of these bastards coming.” Verona objected. “I mean, they got into the Academy once, so who’s to say they won’t do it again?”

The guard grimly nodded. “Those are the rules. I don’t have any say in them, I just enforce them. Even if they are a little stupid.”

The guard looked to the setting sun. "Of course, I'll need to inform the Principal, and it'll be his duty to inform me to order you stay. If you're outside of the Academy when that happens then there's really nothing we can do."

"I-I understand," Anton said softly. "We shall act accordingly."

The guard gave a curt nod and signalled for the others to disperse. A few moved to the building, to stop anyone from interfering with the scene of multiple murders, leaving them standing alone.

"Was there a reason he said it like that?" Mezot asked.

Anton hoped she was pretending but it was probably a genuine question.

"He...If you both stay here, more of them will come. And they'll send more and better people." Anton sighed softly. "And you can't spend the rest of your life cowering in fear."

"So what are you suggesting?" Axia asked. "If you can't stop them from coming..."

"You come to Atros." Anton made sure the guards were out of hearing range. "It is impossible for them to reach you there. Now..." Anton clapped his hands. "This also means that you must leave the Royal Academy. Likely forever."

Mezot tensed, her daughter winced as her fingers dug into her flesh. "But-But I've only just become a Master. After so long..." Mezot's eyes narrowed on Anton. "This wouldn't have happened-"

Axia jabbed her mother with her elbow. "You wouldn't be a Master if it weren't for them. You'd probably have been thrown out by now. Both of us on the street."

Mezot hung her head low.

Anton gently held Mezot’s shoulder. "I won't deny that it's true. But this is the situation we are dealt with. I won't force you to make a choice-"

"Do we really have one?" Axia asked dryly.

"Not really. But it is still yours to make."

"I think we should go." Axia looked at the Academy's structures with scorn. "I never liked the people here. Besides, the people in Atros are really nice. And they listened to your whole lecture."

"They did." Mezot smiled. "We'll come with you."

"Excellent." Anton ushered them to a brisk pace towards their home. "But before we leave we're going to need to gather some supplies. Since we won’t be coming back for a long time we’re going to run out of resources very quickly. I don't want you two to leave the Academy or even your room-"

"What do you want?" Mezot cut Anton off.

"You're a Master. So that means your words carry some weight."

Mezot rubbed her rear. The yellow dress only accentuated her curves.

"Not like that. But if you were to ask for a copy of every Principle Magic book the Academy has I'm sure they'll do it."

"You," Axia stifled a laugh. "You want to rob the Royal Academy?"

"Seems fair after all the crap they put you two through, doesn't it? You've more than paid your dues."

Axia's smile began to mimic Verona's. "When you put it that way..."

Verona snapped her fingers. "What about Kal's dress? It's still sitting in that shop."

"A lost investment." Anton smiled. "Though I would have loved to see her in it I'm not risking anyone's life for a piece of fabric."

"Not so much a surprise ruined but one that never happened." Verona huffed, folding her arms underneath her chest and pushing up. "And after I spent all that time making sure it would fit. Such a shame. But at least we’re heading home again.”