His arms lifted the golden slab high, he let triumph wash over him then, but the slab vanished. One heartbeat it was there, warm and radiant in his hands, the next, nothing. He lowered his arms, confusion flickering across his face, and the world shifted. The volcanic stone, the pillar, the trial, gone. He stood once more in the main chamber of the trial grounds. The three archways loomed before him, dark and silent, their teleportation spells extinguished.

  He barely had time to steady himself before Athena appeared. She staggered slightly when she materialized, disoriented for the briefest instant. Then her eyes locked onto him. Her rapier was still in her grasp. Her body trembled, whether from exhaustion or fury, he could not tell. She stepped forward.

  Cassian’s hand moved calmly to the hilt of his sword. She took another step, and stopped. Not by choice.

  Her muscles twitched violently, as though fighting against invisible restraints. Her eyes darted, furious, confused. She strained, but her body would not obey.

  A voice echoed through the chamber, light and almost amused. “Now, now. Let’s have none of that. No need to disgrace yourselves after such an extraordinary performance.”

  Professor Semperoblitus entered through the far gateway clearly giddy at the way the special quest unfolded. One hand was raised in a loose, claw-like gesture, fingers slightly curled; directed at Athena. She remained frozen in place.

  “Miss Viamnova,” he said cheerfully, “that was impressive magic. You will be a terrifying sorceress one day. Perhaps even a respectable knight.” He tilted his head. “Such talent. You do, however, need to mind your surroundings. Patience will be your greatest ally and power alone won’t be enough sometimes.”

  He drifted past her, still holding her immobile without so much as glancing at his own hand.

  “Cassian, young lad” His eyes gleamed. “I have no words. The foresight. The restraint. The strategic mind. Where did you come up with those things? It was a delight to observe. I very much look forward to having you as my student, then I can push you hard, to show me what you can really do!”

  Without breaking stride, he reached into his sleeve and tossed a small fruit toward Athena. It arced lazily through the air.

  “Oh,” he said lightly, as the fruit neared her rigid form. It would seem he had forgotten that he was restraining Athena. “That would be unfortunate.”

  His pinky twitched. Athena’s arm jerked upward against her will and caught the fruit cleanly.

  “There we are,” he continued. “Eat that. It will restore your Mana. Marvelous little thing. But do not make a habit of it. Too much, too often, and you’ll develop Mana sickness. Trust me, you do not want Mana sickness.”

  His smile never wavered.

  “And,” he added mildly, glancing between them, “when I release you, do refrain from attempting an attack on young Cassian. I have been exceedingly lenient today. Should you disobey, I will personally ensure you consume that fruit and escort you from the grounds myself. Are we understood?”

  He looked the same as ever, his foolish little smile on his face. Yet nothing about him felt idiotic now. He was a bit scary, if Cassian was honest.

  When the professor lowered his hand, the invisible restraint vanished.

  Athena staggered forward half a step as control returned to her limbs. She was breathing hard now, chest rising and falling sharply. Her eyes locked onto Cassian. For a single, dangerous moment, it seemed she might ignore the warning, might accept punishment if it meant landing one blow. Her fingers tightened around her rapier. Then she bit her lip.

  The fury did not disappear. It sharpened. Condensed. She gave Cassian one final look of pure loathing, bright and unmasked, before lifting the fruit and forcing it into her mouth. She chewed once, stiffly, then turned her back on him and walked away without another word.

  “Ah,” Professor Semperoblitus sighed lightly, folding his hands behind his back. “How unfortunate.” He watched her retreat for a moment, almost wistful. “It seems that even within the closest, most loving of families, tensions may bloom. That poor girl; betrayed by her brother.” He shook his head. “I must confess, I was rather peeved myself at Siegfried’s conduct. What could possibly have possessed him? Did he believe that surpassing his previous performance required becoming sole victor? That, to grow, glory must be hoarded?” He clicked his tongue thoughtfully. “Curious logic, if so.”

  Then he brightened, as though the matter had already drifted from importance. “In any case, let us allow her a moment. I am certain she will return to her usual affectionate self soon enough, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Cassian?”

  Cassian looked up.

  The professor was smiling broadly, almost boyishly. The grin reminded him, absurdly, of Todd staring at his Candy Kingdom. There was delight in it. Amusement.

  Cassian settled for a polite, noncommittal nod as an answer.

  “In any case,” Professor Semperoblitus continued lightly, clasping his hands behind his back, “this would normally be the moment your family is allowed inside, and you are given a few minutes alone with them. A well-earned celebration.”

  His eyes softened, just slightly. “However, I am aware that your parents could not attend today. Urgent matters. Be assured, we will inform them at once of your… rather spectacular victory. I imagine they will be exceedingly pleased.”

  Cassian inclined his head, composed as ever, though something in his chest tightened.

  “But,” the professor went on, “their absence does not mean you must stand alone.”

  He turned toward the entrance and raised his voice. “You may come in!”

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  Two figures burst through the doorway. Todd nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste, waving both arms. Sabrina was right behind him, grinning openly.

  “You did it!” Todd shouted.

  “You actually won!” Sabrina cried at the same time.

  They reached him at full speed. Todd launched himself forward, wrapping both arms and one leg around Cassian in a reckless tackle-hug. Cassian staggered back, almost losing his footing, but Sabrina caught his shoulder and steadied him before pulling both boys into a tight embrace.

  “Ah, the love of comrades in arms,” Professor Semperoblitus mused fondly. “A most precious thing.”

  He began to step away. “I shall leave you to your celebration. Do enjoy it.”

  He paused at the threshold and looked back at Cassian, “Mr. Viamnova, when you are finished, there are a few matters that require your attention. Someone else has requested a word with you. Quite insistently, I might add. It is… unorthodox, but we could hardly refuse. I’m sure they wish to congratulate you as well.”

  His smile widened.

  “And after that, you will come to the headmaster’s office. You’ve earned certain privileges that will be granted thanks to your victory.”

  With that, he slipped out of the room, leaving Cassian caught between two laughing friends, a prickle of dread at the thought of the person that had insisted on talking to him.

  He barely had time to process the professor’s words before Todd released him abruptly and threw his hands into the air. “You almost gave me a heart attack! What were you thinking?”

  Cassian blinked at him. “What?”

  “Oh, don’t give me that look. You know exactly what I’m talking about. That wasn’t the plan at all!”

  Sabrina crossed her arms, though there was no real anger in her eyes. “Yes. You surprised me too. You were supposed to use the enhancement trick on Athena, not on Siegfried.”

  “Exactly,” Todd added. “When you slipped behind Siegfried instead of her, I thought, oh no, he sided with the crazy girl.”

  Cassian exhaled slowly. “I understand why you’re confused. The plan changed a little…”

  “A little?!” Todd shouted.

  Sabrina continued, more methodical. “The way you explained it was that you would enhance Athena, let her get used to the extra power, then rip it away and give it to Siegfried instead. She falters; you teleport her out. After that, you explain to Siegfried that you never meant to betray him, that Athena forced your hand. Then the two of you’d work together to finish the quest.”

  “Yes,” Cassian said quietly. “That was the original plan. At the time, I believed it was my best chance to survive.” “But things changed,” Cassian continued. “Before we entered the arena, Athena threw her satchel at me. I looked inside and saw the slab. I did not know what it’d be for yet, but I assumed it would matter. So I replaced it.”

  Both of them froze.

  “When the rules were explained,” he went on, “I realized I already had two of the three tablets required to win.”

  He did not add that he had never truly considered victory before that moment. He had only wanted to make a worthy performance. But once he understood the conditions, another thought had taken root. What performance would be more worthy than victory? And if victory was within reach, was it not disgraceful to refuse it? As Viamnova, was it not his duty to aim for it?

  “All right,” Todd said slowly. “So you saw your chance and grabbed it. Fine. But what was that thing you used to teleport Athena? That charge?”

  “That was the wind charge Sabrina showed us at Emeraldhold,” Cassian replied.

  Sabrina’s brows rose. “When did you practice that?”

  “After you both left. I stayed behind and worked on it.”

  “For how long?” Both asked together.

  “Several hours.”

  Todd stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “You’re insane.”

  Sabrina shook her head. “You push yourself too hard.”

  “I believe I push myself the correct amount,” Cassian answered evenly.

  Silence settled between them until Todd broke it again. “Okay. So, you go into the red gate. The Knight’s trial. And then… you didn’t do any of the trails?”

  This was the difficult part. Cassian could not say that he knew, with near certainty, that he would never clear challenges designed for Siegfried. That he had calculated his own inadequacy and chosen another path.

  Before he could speak, Sabrina did.

  “Well, obviously he didn’t think he could clear them. Those trials were prepared for someone four years older. You saw how Athena struggled. And Cassian has barely studied knight arts. He’s more of a sorcerer. You know that.”

  Cassian looked at her, startled. Only for a moment. He quickly tempered his expression, though he felt warmth rise to his face. Her assessment was accurate. Uncomfortably so. Yet she had framed it without contempt.

  “Yes,” he said at last. “Those were my thoughts. I believed I would fail. My hope was to recover Siegfried’s satchel and avoid completing the trials myself. But Athena noticed it falling and retrieved it. That was… unfortunate.”

  Todd nodded slowly. “So, the plan didn’t go perfectly. But you still improvised like crazy.”

  Sabrina tilted her head. “The last part, then. You let Athena do the trials.”

  Cassian hesitated only briefly. “Yes.”

  He did not enjoy admitting that.

  “You were waiting,” Todd said.

  “Yes.”

  “For what?” Sabrina pressed.

  “For either outcome,” Cassian replied. “If she succeeded, she would open the path for me. If she failed, she would be disqualified, and I could claim the satchels.”

  Todd let out a low whistle. “That’s cold.”

  Cassian lowered his gaze for a second, then lifted it again. “I did what I had to.”

  Todd studied him for a few long seconds, then shrugged. “Fine. I’ll admit it. They were right.”

  Cassian arched a brow. “About what?”

  “About you.” Todd crossed his arms. “I always thought you were just a pretty boy with infinite free time to read thousands of books and get perfect grades, and that’s that. But no. The way you think on your feet, the way you read people and counter them… you’re a genius.”

  It was not the first time he had been called that. For years the word had sounded hollow, like a courtesy extended to the Viamnova name rather than to him. He had almost grown to resent it. A polished lie. A blindfold people wore so they would not have to see how inadequate he felt.

  But this was different.

  Todd had seen him. Watched him. Judged him for what he had actually done.

  Todd grinned. “And the way you took her down at the end? Incredible. Perfect arbiter form. You get my seal of approval.”

  Sabrina snorted. “Oh yes, I’m sure that’s what Cassian worked so hard for.”

  Cassian covered his mouth, but the laughter broke through anyway. “The seal of approval of the Candy King is a great honor. Thank you, Todd.”

  Todd puffed out his chest proudly.

  Sabrina refused to be outdone. “Well, you have my seal of approval too.”

  Todd gasped theatrically. “That is a rare one! The seal of approval of the Mortiferous Markswoman of Luminara Park! She will not miss this time!”

  Sabrina’s face turned red. “I told you to stop calling me that! And stop repeating it! I said it once in the heat of the moment!”

  That only made the boys laugh harder, and soon even she was laughing with them. They left the trial grounds together, shoulders brushing, voices overlapping as they replayed the fight, arguing over details, praising every clever move as if it had been inevitable. For once, the weight inside Cassian’s chest felt lighter.

  For a moment, walking between them, smiling despite himself, he felt like he truly belonged. He felt like a true Viamnova at last.