“So, I put this stone here, in the portal, and Olivia uses the other one to set up the target portal? Does she need to prepare the location somehow?” Morgan was holding two smooth, dark gray stones, both of which looked more like metal than actual stone. One was wedge-shaped, similar to the stone Bronwyn’s patron had given them to open a portal to find Morgan. The other was rectangular and about three times the size. They were both carved with runes and had an identical symbol inlaid with silver that Olivia recognized to mean simply, “1.” She wasn’t sure if she’d learned the symbol in one of her texts or if the System translated it for her.

“That’s right, Morgan. Yes, Olivia will need to choose a location that won’t be disturbed by traffic or construction. The space should be ten by ten feet with a vertical clearance of twelve feet. It’s best to activate the anchor on bedrock or some similarly solid surface out of the elements. It’s imperative that she not place the anchor portal within twenty feet of any other dimensional or spatial-magic structures.”

“So don’t put the anchor stone down on top of the teleport pad at the academy. Got it,” Olivia said, reaching out for the larger stone. Morgan handed it over to her, and she felt the Energy resonating within the heavy, smooth object. “Will the gateway be present all the time, or will I need to activate it?”

“The gateway will be present, but the portal will remain inert until activated. Only people Morgan gives permission to will be able to open it.” Tiladia paused for a moment, collapsing and expanding in a tinkle of chimes and an explosion of mist, then resumed speaking, “That’s not entirely true—someone with enormous power could force it open, but they’d have to be able to overpower the tower itself, which not even Vormendion could have done. He designed this building to withstand entry by beings far more powerful than even he.”

“I gave you permission when you touched it, Olivia,” Morgan said, nodding. “I’ll be sure to give Bronwyn permission too, so she can use the portal whenever she’s around.”

“Thank you, Morgan!” Olivia said. “Is it safe to put this in my ring?”

“I’m sorry, but no, Miss Olivia. This anchor stone is a spatial container in itself—it will expand into a gateway when you activate it.”

“Oh, it’s alright. That’ll incentivize me to set it up quickly—don’t want to carry it all over the place, do I?”

“Do you have a bag you could carry it in?” Morgan asked.

“Yes, don’t worry. I’m going to gather my things and get going. You’ll know when I get this set up, Tiladia?”

“Yes, I will, and this portal will illuminate when the anchor is set, as well.”

“Alright, well, Morgan, I’ll hopefully be seeing you soon. Be careful at that dinner tonight, and make sure Issa comes to watch your back. You know how distracted you are by good food.” Olivia laughed as she pulled Morgan into a hug.

“Right, well, take care of yourself, and, yeah, now you should be able to come back anytime you want, so if things don’t go well, or they’ve, you know, expelled you, come on home, alright?” He squeezed her tightly, and Olivia felt a real sense of fondness for him—they’d grown close during their shared exile.

Not wanting to prolong the goodbye, Olivia turned and stepped onto the magical stairway, thinking about going to the guest quarters. Three steps later, she was on the landing and started walking down the hallway to her rooms. She’d already said her goodbyes to Issa, and Bronwyn was nowhere to be found, so nothing was holding her here other than her lingering guilt about abandoning the council and the community again.

Olivia supposed she felt guilty mainly because she was eager to return to the academy and had niggling fears about the airship and the captain who worked for ap’Gravin. Perhaps she could find some more information about the professor’s father while at the academy, though. As far as the council went, they were handling things quite well, in her opinion. If she lost her seat at the next election because of her absenteeism, that would be fair. She could always campaign and try to regain it sometime down the road when she was ready to spend more time at First Landing.

She looked around her quarters, making sure she hadn’t left anything she wanted to bring with her back to the academy. Most of her belongings, especially the ones she truly valued, were in her storage rings. She’d been talking to Issa about her storage devices and taken her advice, splitting her belongings up between her rings—if she lost one, she wouldn’t lose everything. She walked around the room, scooping clothing and toiletries into her ring, laughing to herself when she realized more than half the discarded garments were Bronwyn’s.

Olivia sat at the edge of her bed and sighed. She really was disappointed that Bronwyn had left so suddenly. “What’s the deal with this Summer Queen bitch, anyway?” She sighed and shook her head. Bronwyn had been so open and happy while they’d been together on Unu and in the dungeon, but she definitely had a leash attached to her neck, and Olivia didn’t like it. That thought always brought with it other, even less pleasant ones—what exactly were Bronwyn and Olivia to each other? They certainly enjoyed each other’s . . . company. They’d professed their fondness for each other, but was it really love? Was there a future in it? Olivia sighed again, heavily.

Thinking about her relationship with Bronwyn brought up another worry—how would she treat Adaida? They’d been growing close, and Olivia was excited to see her, but would she need to keep her at arm’s length now? “Maybe she’s assumed I’m dead or not coming back, and she’s forgotten all about me.” Olivia stood and gathered up Bronwyn’s clothes, folding them and setting them on the bed.

She stood in front of the mirror inside the armoire door, giving herself a good once over. She held a finger to a little cluster of runes at the hem of her robes’ sleeve, concentrated for a moment, and the garment shifted from burgundy to gray. She’d spent some time in the dungeon learning to add the runes to her magical robe, taking it a step further than Oylla had suggested—not only could she make them gray to fit in at the academy, but she could imagine nearly any color and the fabric would shift to match it.

Her hair looked good, as always these days, one of the perks of having an evolved racial status. She smiled to herself, wondering what people would think if she strode back into the school wearing her Crown of Nightmarch. The crown was beautiful but intimidating and certainly sent a signal. “Who wears a crown all the time?” She supposed that if she was adventuring or worried about having to use magic in combat, it would be wise to keep the crown on, but was it really appropriate for school? “Maybe if I were a princess or something.”

Her boots were shiny and clean, as always, and Olivia could find no reason to keep delaying her departure. She’d already spoken to Arthur, giving him copies of the pages from her text on Energy contracts. She’d said goodbye to Morgan, Issa, Maria, and even Ykleedra. Ykleedra! How strange it was to see the little Yovashi nurturing her four little sisters! Morgan had yet to speak to the girl, and she’d begged Olivia to put a good word in for her. “Poor thing,” she shook her head smiling, “if she knew what a softie Morgan was, she wouldn’t be worried.”

Olivia slung a small cloth satchel over her shoulder and slipped Morgan’s teleporter anchor stone into it. It was heavy on her shoulder, but she’d only have to endure it a little while. With a final glance around her room, Olivia took out the teleportation token that Oylla had given her and activated it. With a shimmer and a faint *pop*, she was gone, engulfed by darkness. A heartbeat later, bright sunlight shone in her eyes, and a cold mountain breeze was ruffling her hair.

Surprisingly, Olivia wasn’t alone on the academy’s teleportation platform. A young man wearing a very dapper gray suit was walking down the steps in front of her, and when she arrived, he stopped and turned. Upon seeing Olivia, his red-skinned face brightened, and he lifted a hand to tilt his black bowler-style hat. “Hello! Newly arrived?”

“I am, as are you, I take it?” Olivia stepped forward, enjoying the cool, fresh air. The academy towers, on the other side of the arching bridge, had pennants flapping and snapping in the stiff breeze, and she wondered if a storm was on its way.

“Yes, ma’am! I’m Carlu of Persi Gables—I’ve been dispatched to investigate the murders.”

“Murders?” Olivia hurried down the steps to walk beside Carlu, and they both continued to the bridge.

“Oh, you hadn’t heard?” He held out a hand as though to help her with the steps, but Olivia smiled at him and waved it away.

“No! I hate to hear someone has died, but I dearly hope it wasn’t one of my friends! I’ve been gone a while,” Olivia said, unable to dissemble in her genuine concern.

“I hope not! I’m afraid my summons was a bit light on the details—I only know two students have been murdered in the last week. Hmm, a second-year and a third-year student. I didn’t catch your name, ma’am.”

“Well, I hadn’t offered it yet. I’m Olivia Bennet, and I’m grateful for the information. Selfish though it might seem, I’m relieved—my friends are first-year students.”

“It’s the nature of social creatures, ma’am. We tend to care about those in our circle but have a hard time empathizing with faceless ‘others.’” When they reached the paved walkway to the bridge, Carlu produced a shiny black cane and gently tapped the cobbles with it as they walked along. Olivia thought it was funny, in a way, that he presented such an affected style, but then she reminded herself that she’d never been to Persi Gables. Maybe canes and suits were in fashion there.

“It’s rather alarming that students are being murdered, isn’t it? I’ve only been here part of the year, but I hadn’t heard of anything like this happening.”

“Oh, I would imagine so, though if it were something they could solve in-house, I wonder if anyone would ever hear about it. Forgive me, your, um, presence is making me rather free with my words, and I’m sure the chief inspector would have me on citation duty if he heard me speaking in such a way.”

“My presence?”

“Well, I’ve never been so close to someone with such a striking appearance. May I ask, are you from off-world?”

“I am, though my people have recently settled on Fanwath. I’m sorry, Carlu, if my presence is disturbing you,” Olivia said, favoring him with a smile. She was a good deal taller than the young Shadeni, but she’d reined in her fiery aura. Still, she knew her features were rather remarkable since she’d undergone so many racial advancements, but she’d never thought her mere presence might fluster a stranger.

“Oh, no, no! You aren’t disturbing me, Miss Bennet. Again, my mouth is simply running away from me. My chief has often scolded me for being too friendly with those I interview. Oh, he scolds, but would he admit that my closure rate is higher than his ever was? I think not.”

“I see,” Olivia said, glancing over the bridge into the thick clouds below them, “so this is an interview?”

“Oh dear, that’s not what I meant! You see? My mouth isn’t consulting with my brain! No, I think I should simply say it was a pleasure to meet with you, and I hope we can speak again while I’m here.” They’d reached the tunnel leading under the wall, and Olivia could see the guard leaning against his station, sipping from a steaming mug.

“Well, it’s been nice to meet you too, Carlu. I wish you the very best of luck with your investigation.” Olivia held out a hand for him to shake, but he clasped it with both hands and gently squeezed her fingers. It was unlike any handshake Olivia had ever had, and she wondered if she needed to check out a book on social etiquette from the library to see if she was supposed to curtsey or something. Though she felt awkward, she could feel the sincerity in his warm, gentle touch, so she smiled at the investigator, looking into his bright red-flecked green eyes, and then turned to walk quickly through the tunnel, stretching out her long legs.

The guard didn’t challenge her as she walked by, and she waved at him with a bright smile, her cheeks rosy from the chilly air. “The summer is surely shorter here than back at First Landing,” she muttered, pushing her way through the crowds on the market street and hurriedly making her way toward the main academy building. If a murderer was afoot, she had even more reason to find her cohort and see what she’d missed.