Cassian began to wonder if the ringing in his ears was permanent.

  It had started during the flood of congratulations. His classmates clapped him on the shoulder, shook his hand. An older boy from another class even ruffled his hair. Words reached him, but they were distant and muffled, as though he were hearing them underwater. He did his best to look proud. Happy. Grateful, but not arrogant. He must have succeeded. No one seemed to notice anything was wrong.

  The ringing did not fade when he left the Great Hall. It followed him into his first class of the day, Mysteries of Numbers. It lingered through geography. It was still there in the banquet hall, and in every class that followed. Listening became difficult. Thinking clearly was worse.

  By the time they reached their first practical lesson of the week, Cassian felt like he was barely holding himself together. He made a request he would never have dared under normal circumstances. He asked the instructor if he could use the class time to train alone.

  The teacher, a young woman with spectacles perched low on her nose, hesitated. She studied him for a moment, said something Cassian didn’t quite catch, then nodded and allowed him to leave. He didn’t waste a second. Cassian turned and made his way to the special training grounds. He closed the door behind him, vaulted over the barrier separating the practice lanes, and continued until he reached the far edge of the room, where the crystal walls met an artificial forest line. There, he slid down the wall, knees drawn tight to his chest, his back pressed into the corner.

  And he cried.

  The ringing finally stopped, replaced by the sound of his own sobs. He didn’t know how long he stayed there. Time lost all meaning as fear and sadness washed over him again and again. He buried his face against his legs. He stayed there, hoping he could simply disappear.

  Then a voice cut through it.

  “Cassian?”

  He looked up. Sabrina stood a few steps away, her face tight with concern as she looked down at him. He hadn’t heard her enter. How long had she been there? And that expression… of course. Pity. That made sense. They would all pity him soon enough. Those who weren’t laughing, anyway.

  Who did she think she was?

  One conversation, and suddenly she could follow him anywhere? See him like this? Anger flared, sharp and sudden, fueled by fear and humiliation, all of it turning toward that one nosy girl. Cassian surged to his feet in a single motion. What he might have said, what he might have done, he would never know.

  Because at that moment, he noticed someone else trying to open the door.

  Panic cut through the anger. He quickly pulled out his enchanted handkerchief, the one that removed sweat, dirt, and stains. Surely it could hide the evidence of his tears as well. Only three other students besides himself and Sabrina were allowed access to this place. Jurgen? Priscilla? That other girl… Laney? His mind raced. How would he make sure Sabrina didn’t tell them? And even if she did, how could he make them not believe her? The door opened. It was none of them.

  Athena Viamnova stepped inside.

  “There you are, squirt,” Athena said lightly. “I figured you’d be training. But instead I find you here with a girl. Aren’t you a little young for that, cousin?”

  Sabrina stiffened, caught off guard by the open mockery. “Excuse me, what do you-“

  Athena moved.

  With feline speed, she drew her rapier and pointed it directly at Sabrina’s face. At the same time, she pressed a finger to her own lips.

  “Silence, commoner,” she said calmly. “I mean to have a word with my dear cousin.”

  Before Cassian could react, water gathered beneath Athena’s boots. It pooled, swelled, and surged upward into a narrow wave. The mass carried her forward at great speed, growing wider as it crossed the room. Cassian expected it to crash into them.

  Instead, just before reaching them, the wave collapsed smoothly, the water draining away as if it had never existed. Athena stepped forward, leaving her standing face to face with Cassian.

  “Hello, little Cassian,” she said pleasantly. “I think we should have a strategy meeting about the Special Quest the teachers were kind enough to give us.”

  Cassian looked up at her. She was one of the people he feared most.

  Athena had always treated him as lesser. As unworthy. For years, he had never understood why. That was before he saw how she treated the servants at her manor and realized the truth.

  She saw everyone as lesser.

  Cassian forced himself to meet her gaze. He didn’t want to look afraid. But he didn’t dare look angry and provoke her either. He settled on confusion, mixed with quiet expectation. Athena smirked.

  “Now, knowing who my uncle is,” she said lazily, “you probably think it would be a good idea for you to be the Sorcerer of our little party.”

  She waved a hand dismissively, her golden hair shifting with the motion.

  “No. It’s not.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  She leaned slightly closer.

  “There’s only one person fit for that role. Me.”

  Cassian’s confusion became genuine. He had no interest in being the Sorcerer. He didn’t want to do the quest at all. But Athena had no way of knowing that.

  “And I already know what you’re going to say,” she continued, mimicking him in a deliberately stupid voice. “‘But that’s what I’m best at.’”

  She straightened, smiling to herself.

  “But no matter how good you are, you’re nowhere near as good as me. Understood?” “Perfect.” She said answering her own question. “Now my brother is obviously going to be the Knight,” she went on. “Just look at him. And you…” Her eyes swept Cassian’s thin frame. “You’re all skin and bones, so that leaves you as the Arbiter.”

  Cassian didn’t react.

  “And if you haven’t learned any Arbiter spells yet,” Athena added sweetly, “don’t worry. You can carry our supplies. Hand out potions. Keep morale up.” She turned away. “That should be more than enough for you.”

  Athena turned around and took a few steps, then paused. She glanced back over her shoulder, smiling sweetly.

  “Of course, it wouldn’t be very sporting of me if I didn’t give you a chance to prove yourself. Would it?”

  In one smooth motion, she flicked her rapier. A tentacle of water shot from its tip, wrapping around one of the enchanted wooden training swords. With a sharp twist of her wrist, Athena sent it flying. The sword rocketed straight toward Cassian’s hand. Cassian had seen this before. This exact situation.

  Once, at Rubyhold, he had watched Athena “practice” with one of the servants. She hadn’t used water then. She had explained the rules calmly, almost kindly. But the instant the servant took hold of the sword, she had attacked. The blow had knocked him unconscious immediately. Athena had laughed, mocked him for being unprepared, and called for another servant to take his place. The moment a weapon touched your hand, you became a fair target in her eyes.

  Cassian reacted.

  Just as his mother had taught him, he focused, forcing his mana to surge into his legs. The instant his fingers closed around the wooden sword, he threw himself sideways with all his strength. Where he had been standing moments before, three massive spheres of ice slammed into the stone wall. They exploded on impact, shards scattering across the floor.

  “Very good, little cousin,” Athena said lightly. “You passed the first test.”

  She turned fully toward him and began to advance.

  “Now let’s see how you do with the real thing.”

  Suddenly, a wall of ice formed at Athena’s side.

  It was perfectly smooth and transparent, except for a single cracked circle at face height, the impact point of a spell that had almost struck her. Athena turned her head slowly.

  “Why would you do that,” she asked coldly, “girl?”

  The ice wall melted at once, splashing to the floor as Athena fixed her gaze on Sabrina.

  Sabrina stood with her arm extended, two fingers pointed straight at Athena’s face, she had attack Athena trying to use the element of surprise; but somehow Athena had noticed and raised her defenses.

  “You leave him alone,” Sabrina said.

  Athena smiled.

  “Someone should teach you some manners,” she replied pleasantly. “Did no one ever tell you not to interfere in another family’s affairs?”

  Rings of water shot forward in an instant. They struck Sabrina’s arms, legs, and neck, slamming her against the stone wall. The water froze solid, pinning her in place.

  “Now,” Athena said calmly, “let us begin your lesson.”

  Water gathered again, this time around Sabrina’s face. It swelled rapidly, enclosing her head in a clear, suffocating sphere.

  Cassian screamed. “Let her go! Athena, this is too far!”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Athena said. “I’m just going to make her pass out. That way she’ll learn to show the Viamnovas proper respect.”

  She glanced back at Cassian.

  “You should worry less about others,” she added softly, “and more about yourself.”

  Cassian raised his wooden sword. He knew he couldn’t win. But he would still fight. Athena lifted her rapier—

  Then her expression changed. Alarm filled her eyes.

  Water surged beneath her boots as she twisted sharply to the side.

  A heartbeat later, the wooden door of the training hall exploded inward, torn from its hinges, Athena had barely dodged it. It slammed into the stone wall in front of her, splintering apart on impact.

  At the same instant, the sphere of water around Sabrina’s head split cleanly in two, as if struck by a blade. The water collapsed to the floor.

  Through the ruined doorway stepped Siegfried Viamnova.

  Siegfried walked forward calmly, closing the distance between them. His gaze moved deliberately from Sabrina, to Cassian, to the frozen rings still melting on the floor. His expression remained stern throughout.

  Finally, he spoke.

  “Sister,” he said, “what is the meaning of this?”

  Athena lifted a hand and brushed her hair back from her face, utterly unbothered. “It’s nothing, big brother. I was simply discussing strategy with our little cousin.”

  “Strategy?” Siegfried repeated. “Do you believe we will be torturing students during the Special Quest?”

  Athena shrugged lightly. “Better to be prepared. Don’t you agree?”

  “That’s enough,” Siegfried said flatly. “Leave. Now.”

  Athena giggled.

  “Whatever you say, dear brother.” She turned toward the exit, then paused and looked back at Cassian. “Remember what we talked about,” she said winking.

  Then she left the training grounds, walking as casually as if none of them had been there at all.

  Cassian exhaled shakily, his breath coming fast and uneven. His legs felt weak, his body heavy with exhaustion, though he had barely moved.

  “Thank you, cousin,” he said.

  Siegfried did not respond.

  He looked down at Cassian, his eyes sharp and assessing. “I have a fairly good idea what she was saying to you.”

  “What?” Cassian asked, genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

  “She was trying to convince you to form an alliance against me,” Siegfried said. “By the look of it, you refused. Good.”

  Cassian stared at him. “An alliance against you? Why would anyone-”

  “Don’t play dumb,” Siegfried cut in. “It’s beneath a Viamnova.”

  He continued, his tone measured, almost instructional. “As the Headmaster said, there is more than one way to complete the Special Quest. We can follow the path the faculty expects. Or we can choose another.”

  Cassian felt his stomach sink.

  “One may betray their party,” Siegfried said calmly. “Defeat the others. And, more often than not, uncover a hidden route to completing the quest alone.”

  Cassian’s blood ran cold.

  “That,” Siegfried continued, “is why my sister was here. To convince you to join her against me.”

  He stepped closer.

  “That would be a mistake for you. Even if you managed to defeat me, only one person emerges victorious on that path. And it would not be you.”

  Cassian’s whole body trembled.

  “I wasn’t planning on betraying you,” he said quickly. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “So, you claim,” Siegfried replied. “It appeared that you rejected her. But appearances can be deceiving.” His gaze flicked briefly toward Sabrina. “I did not see her strike you even once. The only person in danger was that girl.”

  “What?” Cassian said, shocked. “How could you think I would ever-”

  “Enough,” Siegfried said coldly. “I have no intention of falling into traps. I will seek victory for myself.” He straightened. “If you do not resist me, Cassian, I will knock you unconscious with a single blow. No one will think less of you for it.”

  Cassian’s breath caught.

  “But if you resist,” Siegfried continued, his voice darkening, “if you choose to side with my sister, I will show no mercy.” He turned away.

  “Goodbye.”

  Siegfried left the training grounds the same way Athena had, his steps calm, unhurried, as if nothing of importance had occurred.