By the time Olivia had made her way through the tunnels, up a damp, stone stairway, and out through a cluttered gardener’s shed, her fury had cooled substantially. She was still reeling, if she were being honest, about all that had occurred. It wasn’t just the fact that she’d killed two people, but that something had been changed within her, something central to the kind of person she was.

She couldn’t help but wonder about and fear the effects of the Yovashi book on her. What had changed that she couldn’t detect? Had it only given her knowledge and changed one of her affinities, or had it also altered her mind, her personality?

“No,” she said through clenched teeth as she walked through the gardens back toward the academy building. “No. I would have killed them with or without it. The book only gave me knowledge—understanding of the Yovashi language and this new affinity.” She hoped she was right. The light outside was gray and the air chilly; it seemed she’d spent the entire night trapped in Carlu’s trap. As she stepped out of the garden and crossed the lawn toward the main academy commons, Olivia wasn’t surprised that she didn’t see anyone out and about.

With her breath pluming forth, she hurried over the grass, her boots crunching the thin layer of frost. She didn’t feel the chill—the air felt comfortable to her, and she knew it was because of her First Elemental Archon feat. When she pulled on the brass handle of the double doors leading into the academy, she felt the tingle of Energy, and they clicked open in response to her Copper cohort ring. She rarely had cause to go out this early, but she knew it was normal for the doors to be locked outside regular school hours.

Olivia didn’t know where Oylla-dak’s personal quarters were, but she figured she could just wait for the professor at her office. She walked through silent, dim hallways and up an echoing staircase, and then she made her way through the administrative offices to the back hallway and Oylla’s office door.

The door was open, and a dim light shone from within. Olivia stepped inside, looking immediately to her right where Oylla’s desk sat. There, working under the amber-colored desk lamp, was her mentor, carefully scratching out some missive or another on a piece of parchment with a long, elegant quill.

“Professor.” Olivia’s voice was small, and she realized her emotions were catching up to her again. The relief that flooded through her at the sight of Oylla had caught her by surprise, and it dawned on her that she’d been girding herself for yet another horror, afraid that the murderous duo had done something terrible before they’d come to deal with her.

“Olivia?” Oylla looked up from her work, squinting into the dim light outside the glow of her lamp, her starfield eyes glittering as they found her. “Are you back already? We haven’t made any progress with the murderer.”

“No, Professor.” Olivia stepped closer, taking a seat in front of Oylla’s desk. She sighed heavily and continued, “I never left. Carlu tricked me, led me to a trap.”

“What? That little . . .”

“Wait,” Olivia held up a hand. “Let me continue. He trapped me in a secret tunnel under the flower gardens. He’d been working with the killer—Somhairle.” Oylla tried to interject again, standing up from her chair explosively, but Olivia kept speaking doggedly, “Somhairle was working more closely with the Fae than he let on. He’s an agent of the Winter Court. Anyway, I managed to surprise him, and they’re both dead. He admitted, gloating, to committing all the murders before he died. You can test me for the truth if you want.”

“Can this be true? Ancestors, Olivia! I’d thought you safely away and that Carlu was making himself scarce because of his utter ineptitude. He’d been working with Somhairle all along?”

“Yes, Professor, and all those people died so they could screw with my head. I don’t get it; I really don’t! How can anyone be that cruel? That evil?” Olivia felt her eyes begin to well with tears, and she angrily shook her head, channeling some fire-attuned Energy into her pathways, letting her eyes flare with her elemental nature and reducing the nascent tears to steam.

“Olivia,” Oylla said softly, coming around the desk, her hands out like she was trying to soothe an angry terrier, more than a little worried it would bite her. Olivia knew where this was going, and she didn’t want comforting right then. She didn’t want Oylla’s sympathy or guilt. She didn’t want to listen to placating nonsense about how this shouldn’t have happened to her. Nor did she want to have to explain how she killed the vile men who’d held her captive. Olivia stood up, pushing her chair back and holding out a hand, almost a barrier between herself and the professor.

“I can explain more, but not now. You’ll find a trapdoor in one of the gardener shacks in the back flower garden. It leads down to the tunnel where they held me and where I killed them. I’m sorry, Professor, but I have to go home now.”

“Olivia, you need to take a breath; let’s talk this through,” Oylla said, her tone soothing in a way that grated away Olivia’s patience.

“You have access to the portal. You know how to get ahold of me. I promise I’ll return, but for now, I have to go speak to my friend—Somhairle told me she’d gotten mixed up with this trouble. It has something to do with the Fae.”

Oylla stepped back, regarded her appraisingly, and then said, “All right, Olivia. I believe you, and I appreciate you coming to me with this news. You know how things work around here. There will be an investigation, and Headmaster Jaxin-dak will want to speak to you about what happened. I’ll tell him you needed time to sort yourself out but that you’ll return within the week. Does that sound fair?”

“Yes. Thank you, Professor.” Olivia turned, then, and walked out of the office. She moved like a gray ghost, her tall figure and black crown casting eerie shadows in the dim lighting as she swept through the hallways and outside.

Olivia cut through the very garden where Carlu had deceived her, taking the shortcut that he’d suggested, and though it was only a day ago, it felt like a distant memory, an experience had by someone else. In moments, she came out of the garden onto the manicured lawn with its marble planters outside the Travel Pavilion. She strode through one of the big, open breezeways and then made her way to the portal leading to Morgan’s tower.

The black iron archway was gone, replaced by a bronze one, and Olivia looked around in puzzlement. Had she remembered the location wrong? “No, this is identical, just different metal,” she said softly, reaching out to touch it and activating it with a touch of her Energy.

***Morgan Hall’s Tower Portal #1***

Open Portal Lock Portal Assign Permissions

“Oh? Morgan’s tower now, hmm? Good for you, Morgan,” Olivia said as she selected option one. Almost instantly, magenta, blue and purple bands of Energy sprang to life at the center of the arch, pulsating and spinning like a kaleidoscopic whirlpool. They spread from the center until they filled the gateway, and Olivia knew the portal was ready and open; she simply needed to step through. Still, she hesitated for a moment. Should she check on Adaida first? Was she prepared to face Bronwyn? What kind of bargain had she made—should Olivia bring help? “Quit hiding from your feelings,” she breathed, stepping into the vortex of Energy.

Olivia stepped out of the portal into the familiar, round portal hub in Morgan’s tower. The room was different than she remembered it, though. Much like the archway housing the portal, the parts of the tower wall visible to her in this room were bronze, not dark iron. The lighting seemed brighter, and things seemed lighter overall—more cheery. As the portal snapped shut with an audible swooshing, popping sound, Olivia started walking to the spiral stair that ran up and down from the center of the room.

Once again, Olivia admired the bright bronze metal of the railing and steps, glad the gloomy cast-iron look was gone. She stepped onto the downward flight, thinking of the tower’s entrance hall, and in just a few steps, she arrived, stepping onto the polished hardwoods. Glancing around, she was startled to see a beautiful young woman with long silver hair and stunning, bright, matching eyes watching her from near the foyer. She had pale skin and wore a lovely, silky blue blouse over velvety, tight leggings.

“Those are Issa’s clothes,” Olivia said, smiling.

“Miss Olivia!” the woman said, striding toward her. “It’s wonderful to see you!” The woman spread her arms as though she were going to hug her, and Olivia stepped back, again, taken by surprise. Her voice was lovely, crystal clear, and lilting, and Olivia wanted to like her—almost let her hug her, but she was still on edge, and it felt bizarre for a stranger to be so familiar.

“Do I know you?” she asked, holding up a hand to keep the woman at bay.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Miss Olivia! It’s me! Tiladia! Lady Issa crafted me a new vessel, no, a new body!”

“Tiladia? Really?” Olivia’s mind whirled.

“Yes! Morgan finished clearing the tower and found Vormendion’s inheritance—powerful crafting knowledge that he passed on to Lady Issa.”

“Have I been gone so long? It seems like I only just left, but I sure missed a lot . . .”

“May I hug you now? I love how people feel! Miss Olivia, I went for so long without feeling!” Tiladia stepped closer, and Olivia hesitantly lowered her arm.

“Sure, Tiladia,” she’d barely said the words when the young-looking dragon-spirit-woman wrapped her in a warm, soft embrace, nuzzling her head into her chest. Olivia didn’t realize how badly she needed the affection and still didn’t want to admit it, but she squeezed her back, and it felt very good. “That’s nice. Thank you.”

“Morgan and Lady Issa are in a council meeting. Did you hear about the airship? Were you coming to help?”

“What?” Olivia extricated herself from Tiladia’s embrace, pushing her back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but before you explain, can you tell me: have you seen Bronwyn?”

“Lady Bronwyn hasn’t been back since you left. She went north, that much we know, on some business with the Urghat.”

“Damn it! I have to find her, Tiladia!”

“Morgan can help with that,” Tiladia said, frowning and narrowing her eyes in concern. She must have felt Olivia’s despair.

“Oh! You’re right! He can sense her location. You said he’s in the council chambers?”

“That’s right! Should I tell you what’s been happening, though?” Tiladia reached a hand out to gently take Olivia’s arm above the elbow as she tried to walk past her. “A lot has occurred.”

Olivia hesitated, then nodded. “I guess so. I don’t suppose I should barge into the middle of a meeting and demand Morgan help me, anyway. How long has the meeting been going on?”

“Well, Morgan returned with the captured airship a few hours ago, and he and Lady Issa went to the council building around forty minutes ago . . .”

“Captured airship? I thought you were talking about the, um, Skybreaker!”

“Oh, I am! They kidnapped hundreds of citizens, and then Morgan chased them down! He banished their crew and forced some of the others to fly the ship back to First Landing. That sorceress with black hair and green eyes helped him, or so he said. I don’t trust her,” Tiladia said, saying the last in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning close.

Olivia couldn’t believe the person in front of her wasn’t a naturally born human—everything about her seemed so real, from her touch to her breath to the moisture in her eyes. “Tiladia, I’m feeling overwhelmed. I thought a lot had happened with me, but you keep adding more and more crazy on top of crazy. Let’s start from the beginning . . .”