Silence followed Elend’s announcement, and Akari could have sworn she heard a cricket chirping somewhere in the yard.

Finally, she broke the silence with a nervous laugh. “That’s a joke, right?”

Elend smiled at her, but it wasn’t his usual humorous smile. This one was more sympathetic, as if he knew exactly how much she didn’t want this job. Akari glanced at her teammates, but their expressions ranged from shock to confusion. Kalden and Relia were no exception, but she didn’t blame them. They knew her better than anyone, after all. Akari was driven, but she sucked at dealing with people.

She glanced back at Elend and crossed her arms. “Kalden should be the captain. He’s way better at this sort of thing.” Besides, Kalden actually wanted to lead this team. He’d told her as much already.

And once again, no one tried to contradict her. Honestly, that stung. She wasn’t that bad with people, was she?

Elend gave a slow nod. “To paraphrase Relia from a few minutes ago—I’m not looking for the best captain. I’m looking for the right one.”

“Seriously? Akari raised an eyebrow. “Have you met me?”

He held up a finger. “As your teacher, I’m more concerned with who has the most to learn from this, and how the entire team can benefit. But I’m glad you see the value in your teammates. A wise captain knows when to heed the counsel of others.”

Talek, why her? Akari didn’t want to lead anyone, not even in a team game. She just wanted to become stronger. Strong enough to return to the Archipelago and save the people they’d left behind. This didn’t help her achieve her goals. If anything, it would only get in the way.

A part of her expected Zukan or Arturo to speak up again, the way they had with the previous announcement. But Elend had apparently earned some of their trust when he broke down Zukan’s combat approach. Besides, it wasn’t like either of them wanted the job.

Eventually, Elend split them into pairs and sent them toward the backyard’s various dojos. Zukan and Elise headed one way, while Arturo and Relia went the other. Glim spit herself into three identical copies, ready to train them in the ways Elend had described earlier.

That left her and Kalden by the pool, but Akari didn’t budge from her spot. Neither did Elend, for that matter.

“I think I’ll go warm up,” Kalden said as he started off toward the third dojo.

Once he was gone, Akari crossed her arms and stared at Elend. “What’s this really about?” she asked him. “No jokes or bullshit this time.”

Elend kept his face blank. “I told you the truth, lass. Don’t accuse me of joking because you don’t like the answer.”

“You think I’d make a good captain?”

A sliver of his smile returned. “When did I say that?”

She paused and mentally ran through his previous words. “Why do I need to learn how to lead? That’s Kalden’s thing.”

“Aye,” he said. “You see yourself as the heroine of the story, don’t you? The one with the most impressive skills. The one who trains all day and lets other people make the tough choices.”

Akari shrugged, seeing no point in denying it. So what if she deferred to Kalden sometimes? He was better with strategy and people. He’d proven that when he’d convinced Zukan and Arturo to join them. Not to mention how his entire aspect revolved around this sort of thing.

“Except in the heat of battle,” Elend said. “Then you tend to break rank and follow your instincts.” She opened her mouth, but he held up a finger. “Don’t deny it, lass. I watched all your exams.”

She ran a hand through her hair, glancing between Elend and the three dojos across the snow-covered yard. “You told Zukan he’s supposed to be the tank. Then you told me to focus on utility. Relia’s the healer, and Arturo builds equipment. So why don’t these rules apply to Kalden?”

“They do,” Elend said. “I fully expect Kalden to take charge of your team’s strategies. And I expect you two to work closely the entire time.”

Her hands practically shook with frustration. “Then why not make him the captain?”

“Because tactics and strategy aren’t the same thing,” Elend said. “Kalden’s a good planner, but he’s less creative when things don’t go his way. He’s also better at following orders than you.”

Damnit. She knew that would come back to bite her somehow.

Elend gave her a patient smile. “Do you trust me, lass?”

Her shoulders sagged. “How many times are you gonna play that card?”

“For as long as I’m your teacher,” he said without a hint of shame. “Aye, it’s annoying now, but I won’t be around forever. Someday, you’ll be on your own, out there in that cruel world. Then you’ll look back on this moment with fond memories.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are we gonna do the whole dead mentor trope?”

“Oh no.” His smile widened. “I fully intend to live forever.”

Way to tempt fate. Next, he would come out of retirement for “one last mission.” Never mind the fact that he hadn’t retired yet.

“Trust goes both ways,” Akari said. “Can’t you trust me with your plans?” Elend seemed to consider that, so she pressed on. “Wouldn’t I learn this lesson better if I knew what it was?”

“If only it were that easy,” he said with a small chuckle. “Trust me, lass, I’ve been teaching Mana Arts for longer than you’ve been alive. You can’t give students the correct answers and expect them to understand. They have to make mistakes and learn the hard way.”

He shook his head as if there were nothing to be done about that. “Remember that talk we had a few weeks ago? About turning you and Kalden into Aeons?”

Akari perked up. He hadn’t explicitly mentioned Aeons before, but he’d made it clear he wanted them to become Artisans by the end of the school year. The two advancements were a packaged deal, so it wasn’t hard to connect those dots.

Then again . . . why hadn’t Elend been more direct before? Why had he waited until now, after she’d pressed the matter?

The truth hit her like a Missile to the face. “Something’s wrong with the plan.”

“This won’t be like Relia’s path,” Elend said. “She has the right bloodline, and she can make her own soul. But in your case, we’ll need help with the ritual. Specifically, we need Lady Solidor. She’s the best Ethersmith on this planet, and the only one who can help you and Kalden.”

Akari had tried to research the Solidors, but there wasn’t much out there. Rather, there was too much, and it was impossible to separate the rumors from the facts. But Relia had confirmed a few things. The Solidors had ascended from a different planet at the same time as Relia’s grandmother. And while they weren’t Mana Artists, their powers could rival the Mystics of this world.

“And powerful people rarely do things for free,” Elend went on. “The Solidors left their homeworld several decades ago, and they need a Spacetime Artist to help them return.”

“Return?” Akari blinked. “Can they do that?” If that were possible, then why hadn’t the Angels returned to this world? And how had the Solidors gotten here in the first place?

“They seem to think so,” Elend said. “There are pathways between the worlds, built by ancient Space Artists.”

This much she already knew from her studies. Teleportation seemed to happen instantly, but that wasn’t true on the scale of light years. You couldn’t just build a portal from one planet to another; you needed a pocket world to act as a bridge, and these worlds could be hundreds of miles long.

She’d always thought ascension was something different, beyond ordinary space and time. Apparently, even the immortals used these pathways.

“Someone barred the path to the Solidor’s homeworld,” Elend said. “And opening it won’t be easy.”

Akari opened her mouth to protest, but Elend held up a hand. “They’re looking at the big picture here. You’ll need to be a Mystic to pull this off.”

“Great,” Akari said. “I mean . . . this is good, right?” Sure, there were long-term consequences here, but no one advanced this quickly without help. This was how the game worked. People like her had little to offer, so they had to deal in long-term favors.

“Aye, that’s the idea.” Elend’s tone was far more somber. “I’ve been working toward this for the past year, but they’re not convinced you’re the best candidate.

“What?” Akari made a show of looking over her shoulder. “Are there more Spacetime Artists lined up behind me?”

Elend didn’t even crack a smile, and her own shoulders sagged even deeper. “They have someone else in mind?”

“Several people,” he confirmed.

And with that, the pieces finally clicked into place. Akari wasn’t good enough to impress the Solidors. Yes, she’d discovered an aspect, but being first didn’t matter if someone else made a better version later on. It might not happen this year, or even this decade, but it would happen.

Suddenly, her other accomplishments didn’t seem half as impressive as they had before. The Solidors were the best their world had to offer. They wouldn’t care that her team had won the qualifying rounds, or that they went to a fancy school. People did that every year.

She had to be the absolute best. The best in this school, the best on her team.

“What about Kalden?” she asked after a short pause.

“Kalden’s part of the deal,” Elend said. “But Kalden can’t help them get home. You’re the one they want.”

“What do I have to do?” she asked.

“I need you to take this role seriously. Show it the same attention you show your training.”

“But what’s the goal? Besides winning the interschool games, I mean.”

He shook his head. “You said I didn’t trust you before. On the contrary, I’m trusting you to succeed with limited information. Lena and her patrons think you’re going to fail, but I remember a girl who jumped off a boat, risking her own freedom to save her friend from the Martials. Not because it brought her more power, or because it moved her closer to some long-term goal. She helped him because she could. Because she knew, in her heart, that it was right.”

Akari considered that as she watched the water ripple on the pool’s surface. Team captains often spent more time in the spotlight than the rest of their team. Akari didn’t care about the spotlight, but maybe the Solidors did. Fame was an important part of power, and she couldn’t change that.

Elend was giving her a chance to shine in more ways than just her aspect. That was why he’d made her the captain, and that was why he’d brought Elise Moonfire on this team. They might not like her, but she was the strongest teammate they would find.

Meanwhile, here Akari was, pouting and complaining like a little girl. She took a few deep breaths and let a plan take shape in her mind. She might not be good enough yet, but she would be. Last semester had been a chaotic mess, and she’d barely had time to explore her aspect. But this semester would be different. This time, she would enter the school battlegrounds with enough tricks to dazzle everyone. Even the Solidors.

“I think I understand.” She pressed her fist to her palm and bowed low at the waist. “Thank you.”