Fingers tucked around his chin, Eric contemplated his options.
Other nobles were targeting him—all because of Adam's ridiculous provocations. At least, that's what he had thought. Now, realising the teenager's origins were far more complex, he saw the absurdity for what it was—a clever design.
"The artifacts come from his house," he declared, the certainty of an enforcer slotting the final piece into place. "Every move he made had one purpose: to use me to drive prices up."
A sharp breath steadied him, though his pulse refused to slow. A Duke's heir banished? A disgraced Duke's heir? A trial set by his family to prove his worth? Or was there more?
The answer eluded him, but one truth glistened as clear as the plundered Stillbloom Pool in the rector's basement. Targeting Adam was a terrible idea.
"Desmond will handle it at college." He interlocked his fingers in front of his face, elbows planted on the table. "If my son humiliates him in fair combat—if he proves stronger than a Duke's heir—no one can blame me for the outcome." His lips curved like a sword. "It's better if we don't push it too far, and my boy befriends him instead."
But how could he convince his troublemaker son? And why would Adam accept his friendship? His face darkened as he pondered until sunrise, when enforcers stormed the streets of the noble district.
Their perfectly polished plate armor reflected dawn's rays in iridescent halos, Leviathan emblem displayed on their chests like their patron goddess. Whenever they entered a cafe, a shop, or a castle, cries and the rattle of chains locked around limbs reverberated through the morning mist.
Attracted by the chaos, Adam lowered his glass of cedar. Eyes narrowed, he observed through the window of his room as enforcers dragged noble men and women like beaten slaves. Clothes torn by spells, eyes dark from gauntlets' impacts, and blood smearing their once haughty faces.
"What madness unfolds this early?" He turned toward Robert, who gazed at the scene with equal stupor.
"I've heard about it," Robert said after a moment, lips twisted. "Your artifacts fueled too much desire. The auction losers are slandering the winners, and the winners are slandering other winners because..." He tilted his head pensively before shaking it. "Who knows what crosses their minds? We should be in the clear anyway, so let's head to college while we still can."
"Are they that hungry, or do they just consider their disputes entertaining?" With a grumble, Adam put his coat on.
Then, he gently woke Quintella up, explaining they would enrol today as he freshened her up with a water bubble and tidied her blonde hair with warm winds.
A few minutes later, they crossed the hotel hallway. Despite the receptionist's warning not to go out for the next three days, they strode quickly through the district's streets.
Enforcers glared at them like haunting ghosts, their fingers flipping through arrest warrants. The rustle of paper echoed each time a unit noticed them, but it was the chains and beaten nobles that twisted Adam's lips into a grimace.
For a moment, he imagined how he would react if armored men stormed his house while he had done nothing illegal. Somehow, the answer didn't take him more than a heartbeat to imagine. Slander or not, he'd fight back, claw his way out before they could chain him, then give whoever dared snitch on him a visit—the last he would ever receive.
The shimmer of the magic symbols carved into every wall of the college pulled him out of his thoughts. Quintella exclaimed at the helixes of multicolored flowers that swirled upward.
Her naive enthusiasm banished his dark thoughts, and with lighter steps, he followed Robert toward the broad-robed mages guarding the gate.
They raised staffs adorned with pulsing gems, but their lips curled in something approaching gentleness. "Not many dare to go out in uncertain times like these," one started, a middle-aged man with eyes as flamboyant as a blazing fire. "What is the purpose of your visit, courageous friends?"
"Enrolment." Robert pointed at Adam, who held Quintella by the hand. "Two youngsters not yet versed in the archipelago's magic."
The fiery-eyed mage nodded. "Age doesn't matter. We welcome anyone who wants to pursue the path of knowledge and mastery. I must say you're coming at the right time." He turned to his colleague, a lady whose burgundy eyes made Adam think of malleable yet dangerous clay. "Please guide them to Matthew."
With a wave of her hand toward Adam and Quintella, the lady turned toward the stone gates.
Adam realised only now that there was no gap. It was a wall engraved like a gate. An illusion, or something else?
The answer came when the lady touched the stones.
With a rumble, they split into rectangular bricks, each shifting inward until the path opened. Gardens and devices came into view, but while Quintella marvelled at everything, Adam nodded eagerly at the lady's creative spell. If he learned something he wouldn't have thought about right at the gate, what more could he learn inside?
His soul trembled, eyes blazing as he followed the lady with uncharacteristic speed.
Inside, rare students walked through the gardens, carrying bags or levitating them with spells.
A slight frown creased Adam's brows, and he asked the lady, "Why are there so few students?"
"Didn't my colleague say you came at the right time?" She pointed at their luggage. "The college never hands out answers. We want our students to figure things out for themselves, so ponder it yourself."
Adam rolled his eyes. Why the mystery when the answer was clear? Those students were likely settling into the college dorms, meaning they came in advance and that the school year hadn't started yet. Not that it mattered—even if wrong, he knew the answer would soon come, as always, after he gathered enough information.
He stepped into a broad hall where numbers hung over counters managed by mages. One placed fresh herbs that carried scents of alchemical materials into glass containers.
Another inspected shining metals and jewels through a monocle like Adam had never seen before. It seemed to move with the mage's thought, metal clicking forward to display microscopic imperfections.
More worked at their desks, and the lady offered a brief explanation. "This is the reward hall. Everything you see is up for grabs." She looked Adam and Quintella up and down, a taunting smirk curving her lips. "If you have what it takes to get them, of course. You'll learn how later, so don't waste your breath."
Then, she led him to counter number five and knocked on it three times. "Time to work, Matthew. Two new students, most likely this year's last."