A blazing pillar of fire bore down on me like a tidal wave, tongues of white-hot flames dancing within the conflagration. The heat radiating off of it filled the room in an instant and I watched out of the corner of my eye as Cayla scrambled back away from her joyously laughing friend, arm raised to shield her face.

It was an impressive bit of magic, a peak fourth-circle fire spell Briella had found in one of the grimoires her great-grandmother had provided to her along with the potion recipe. It was particularly impressive coming from an unremarkable second-year. Though it had taken her nearly thirty seconds of careful work to form the spell matrix, far too slow to use in actual combat, the fact that she could even cast something like this in the first place spoke to both the power of her bloodline and the dedication she put into her studies.

There were a number of ways I could have countered the attack. Disrupting the casting itself would have been relatively trivial, I had had enough time to weave a number of powerful counterspells or to simply directly interfere with the spell matrix itself as it formed. I could have also used the time to erect a specialized shield, even a decent second-circle spell designed to protect against fire would have probably done the trick if I poured enough of my mana into it.

Had this been an actual fight, I would have absolutely gone with one of those options. However, this was a training exercise. A higher-circle opponent could have cast such a spell without giving me nearly as much time to react and so I was responding as though that was the case.

My mana burst out of me in a carefully controlled torrent, thick cords of mana splitting over and over into fine threads that wove together into a scintillating dome of purple-tinged light. Straining against the limits of my mana control, the dome began to spin rapidly even as more and more threads poured out of my fingers and began to form a second layer directly beneath the first.

A moment later, the fire crashed against the edges of my bubble and everything became very hot and bright. I could feel the scorching air clawing at my skin even through both the environmental ward I’d set up before we’d begun and my circulations. It was rather unpleasant but I knew that without those precautions I would have been cooked in seconds, even if the fire itself couldn’t touch me.

My shield fared magnificently against the attack. I could feel my mana levels plummeting at an alarming rate, but as the wave slowly passed over me, not a single flame could push through my defenses and I had more than enough in mana reserved to outlast it. I stood there surrounded by nothing but roaring flames for several long seconds until the pillar moved past me and I allowed my shield to drop.

I was very satisfied with that trial run. The pure mana shield was something I’d been practicing extensively since that terrifying encounter with a demon earlier in the year and I was glad that work was paying off. Though it drained my mana at a much greater rate than a traditional shield, I had summoned a defense that could stand up to a powerful fourth-circle combat spell in a matter of moments.

Perhaps I could have cast a well practiced first-circle shield in that amount of time, but it would have done nothing against Briella’s spell. I had known it would work, I’d run the calculations and practiced the mana shaping extensively, but seeing it in practice was viscerally satisfying in a way no amount of rote casting in my room could achieve.

“Okay, I think that’s enough for today,” I called out. Behind me, Briella’s spell finally impacted against the wall, fire collapsing into loose embers with a loud whoosh of rushing air as the room’s wards tore the magic animating it apart.

Miranda, who had arrived some time into our session, used a wave of cold air to clear out the lingering heat. The worst of it had dissipated quickly after the spell itself had ended, but the chilling breeze felt pleasantly soothing on my skin.

“Thank you, that was a good call,” I told her briefly, then turned to face my other two slaves. “Good work today everyone. Cayla, you’re clearly been working very hard. Good progress on speeding up your casting, I could see a noticeable improvement during the spars. This week try to add some variety to your repertoire. See if you can find a half-dozen more unconventional choices and learn them. We’ll choose something to focus on next week.”

“Yes master,” she agreed enthusiastically, still smiling from the praise.

I turned to Briella, “You’ve also made a lot of progress this week. Your fire spells are stronger and faster, but you’re clearly hyper focusing and your other work is suffering because of it. You have enough power, focus on technique. I want at least three hours of pure mana manipulation each day, more if you can manage it. Understood?”

“Yes master!”

I finally looked over towards Miranda again. “What I saw looked good,” I told her, “Stay behind, I have further instructions for you. Briella, Cayla, you guys can go. Stay safe, stay vigilant, good work.”

I was about to go over and get some water from my bag when Cayla spoke up. “Um, master?” she asked hesitantly, “I have a matter I’d like to bring to your attention? I think it could be a good opportunity for you to expand your powerbase.”

“Oh?” I asked curiously. I was in something of a hurry, I still needed to give Miranda instructions about taking care of Lea, get cleaned up, change, and then bring dinner over from the cafeteria for Lea, but this sounded interesting. Cayla wouldn’t have said anything if she didn’t truly believe this was a good opportunity, but I didn’t know what she could have come across that Miranda or I hadn’t seen already. Well, I could at least spare a few minutes. “Do tell,” I commanded.”

“While I was out in the city, I ran into an old friend I lost touch with when I came to Avalon,” she began. “We spent some time talking and it seems like she’s been going through some issues with her family. I believe if you could guide her like you did for myself and Briella, it would not take long for her to see the truth of things.”

It took me a moment to realize what exactly she was implying, and when I did I could only marvel at the power of soul bound oaths. “And who is this friend of yours?” I asked curiously.

“Her name is Daphne Warbringer––” my heart skipped a beat, “––and she’s the second daughter and heiress of Lord Maxis Warbringer. They’re one of the great houses of Xethis, her father is the current Lord Commander of the Xethian navy and her uncle is the general in charge of internal defense. Her older sister came to Avalon a year before I did and never returned.” Cayla paused thoughtfully for a moment. “Perhaps you knew her? She would have been in your year.”

“We’ve met,” I agreed sharply.

Cayla clearly noticed that I didn’t want to speak further on that topic and hurriedly continued. “Well, her sister was the heiress and Daphne liked it that way. She’s not very big on responsibility and really loved her sister. I think Adara’s disappearance really upended Daphne’s entire life and she’s been reeling from it ever since. She’s in a very vulnerable position and stands to inherit a lot of power in the next few years. I know the portal is moving soon, but if we move quickly I believe she may make an excellent servant to you, master.”

I watched her shift from foot to foot silently for several long moments. There was definitely more to it than that. “And?”

Cayla looked down at the floor. “...I want her to be happy. I think you could give her that, master. We didn’t see each other very often, but… she was a good friend.”

Wow. That was… not quite what I’d expected. Every time I thought I’d seen the limits of what my rituals had done to the two girls, they found a way to surprise me. This was… cold. Brutally practical, but cold.

“Well, in theory that sounds like a good plan. However, how do you expect us to manage this in the time we have left? You said it yourself, her family is high up in the Xethian military and that means guards, high-quality wards, and people checking up on her. People will be alarmed if she just disappears, if I can get to her in the first place.”

Cayla’s face brightened. “I already considered that!” she said cheerfully. “I asked if she would like to come stay with my family for a few weeks like we used to do when we were younger. We have a small home on the mainland where we often go during the winter and she’s been there with us a few times. She said she’d love to and that she doubted there would be any issues with her going. It should be easy enough for me to bring her here instead and no one will be suspicious that they can’t contact her because she’s out of range of most communication spells.”

Huh, that was actually a pretty good plan. I had the materials to go through the ritual, could offload most of the breaking to Rea and my other girls, and Cayla had a good point about how potentially useful a slave in such a position of power could be, particularly when it finally came time to deal with Seatamer once and for all.

On a more emotional level, the idea of having Adara’s younger sister at my beck and call was… very appealing. I’d never forgotten Adara’s rejection of my offered friendship, and the haughty beauty still haunted my memories. On its own, that would not have been enough to make me act, but all together and with the opportunity simply handed to me on a silver platter…

“Good work, Cayla,” I told the waiting girl. “We’ll have to iron out the details, but you tentatively have my blessing to go through with this. I have a lot to do tonight, but come to my room tomorrow morning and we’ll get everything figured out. Run along now, I need to talk to Miranda.”

“Yes master! Thank you, master!” she bowed deeply, then hurried out of the room.

Miranda, who had been patiently waiting off to one side, stepped forward to take her place. I sighed, brushed my sweaty hair back with one hand, then shifted my mind back to the matter at hand. “Right. Lea. How did things go between you two?”

The moment the vault door slammed shut, the dark-robed priest began to speak. “I come to you brothers and sisters with grave news and a somber heart. One of our brothers, a servant of she who holds the sun in her hands, has gone missing without a trace. He has missed several check-ins, has not responded to his communicator, and no manner of tracking magic has been able to locate him. Brothers and sisters, I fear the worst.”

Arnold sat up sharply, leaning forward towards the priest. “And the keys? Did he have a key?”

The priest shook his head. “Thankfully not. All three are accounted for and well protected.”

Arnold leaned back. “Then that’s an unfortunate loss, but I don’t see why it's… particularly grave? We’ve lost members before. It's a tragedy, but these things happen.”

The priest sighed mournfully, “It is true that we have lost many of our brothers and sisters over the years. Our great mission has taken many years and many have been lost to Miira’s eternal embrace. However this loss is different. Our lost brother was touched by Miira herself… just as I am.”

A wave of understanding passed through the room and Maxis swore loudly. “Miira damn them, that means…”

“Yes, brother Maxis. I have faith in our missing brother, but there is much information that may have been extracted from him despite his strength.”

Arnold clicked his tongue. “We’ll have to push the schedule forward. The equinox is too far away, when is the next suitable date?”

Maxis shuffled rapidly through the papers before him. “Soon, I think. A week and… no, two. Two weeks.” He looked up at the priest, brows furrowed with concern. “Will we be able to acquire it in time?”

“I… believe it will be manageable. Miira willing, we shall find a way through this. She tests even her most faithful servants.”

“Good. My men will be ready. And you, siren,” he asked, turning to the silently watching Loraline, “Will your flock be ready to assist us?”

“It is not quite what we agreed upon,” she began, and Maxis’s frown deepened, “but I believe my queen will find no issue in accommodating your errors. As long as we are duly compensated, you shall have our aid.”

“Then it is agreed,” the priest intoned somberly. “We shall meet again in three days time, I have matters I must attend. For ten-thousand moons––”

“And ten-thousand more,” they all finished together.