Our suite in the Sylvarus tower looked exactly the same as last time—if you ignored the fact that it had been thoroughly cleaned and reset like a luxury hotel room. The couches sat perfectly arranged, cushions fluffed, not a speck of dust anywhere. The tower's magic apparently extended to housekeeping. Did Dara clean it up, or the staff?

  We didn't even have bags to drop this time. Malcolm and I had stored most of our gear for Cass in our respective storage methods. The absence of luggage made the pristine space feel almost surreal.

  "So Lana's still an instructor?" I asked Diana as we spread out across the room. The couches were just as comfortable as I remembered, practically swallowing me as I sank into the plush fabric. Red took over his normal side of the couch across from me like he had it delivered specifically for himself.

  Diana nodded, her sharp eyes scanning each of us. "Transgressions aside, she's still an expert in Spiritual Dynamics. I'm confident she didn't know about Maris and Jenny sabotaging the Guardians at sea."

  "She's still going to need a champion to fight Thea, though?" Malcolm's tone carried an edge I couldn't quite place.

  Diana's laugh was short and vicious. "Lana's going to have a hell of a time finding an Adept willing to stand in front of her sister. Thea can hold her own against Masters—we don't call her the Cataclysm for shits and giggles. So until then, she can work off some of her sentence."

  That seemed to satisfy Malcolm, though I couldn't figure out why he was so invested in Lana's punishment.

  "What about Maris?" I blurted. "And Jenny? Alexander had said the monster lure killed several Guardians."

  Diana grimaced and nodded. "Maris is an Archon and has substantial support from her faction. Losing the Strikers in the endless fight against monsters would be a terrible blow to stability this far outside of the Central Lands. So Alexander claimed his right of Trial by Combat to determine a punishment for her actions against the Guardians, as is the agreed upon method. She's currently in the Greatwood with him trying to mitigate that punishment as best she can. As for Jenny, well..." Diana leaned on the counter. "There's no proof that Maris gave the order to use a monster lure, and even if she did it, Jenny was more than capable of not following through on it. What matters is that she placed it. Loss of that many valuable Guardians would have been enough to start a war in the Empire. Well, let's just say you won't be seeing Jenny any time soon. She was taken by the Oathbound. As a Master Runebinder I imagine she'll be stripped of all her worldly titles and possessions, made to swear the oath, and become a lifelong servant to protecting Ark. Though, likely not before she serves time in manacles."

  I blinked. Even Malcolm and Cass seemed surprised.

  "That's... wow that's a lot. I kind of wish I asked sooner."

  "As for Lana, sure she fucked up. All for the sake of studying you, and after seeing what you're capable of, I almost can't blame her... almost. Instead she'll be on a tight leash with the Monster Hunters and Sylvarus for a while, until someone kicks her ass and her sister can set her straight."

  I shrugged. "Back on Earth this kind of stuff would just get you locked up. In Jenny's case they'd probably just lose the key."

  "They do that in the Empire," Malcolm spoke up. "But out this way, monsters are the primary concern. Someone as powerful as Lana is more useful alive and contributing than being locked up or... dead."

  I shook my head. It made a certain sort of sense, but I didn't have to like it.

  "Now, I'd say it's late, but it really isn't." Diana's tone shifted to something that might have passed for pleasant if you ignored the predatory gleam in her eyes. "Lunch is served for Seekers on the fourth floor about now. Remember that while your tuition is covered by advancement, your food is not. We provide meals to Adepts who study here long-term, so if you don't enjoy paying for food, I'd suggest pushing for Adept as quickly as possible."

  I squinted at her, already sensing bullshit. "Wait. You want us to work in the kitchens and pay for food?"

  "It's done that way to keep everything fair and even for all Seekers." Diana's smile was so sweet it could have rotted teeth. "You do odd jobs and attend classes to earn coins for meals."

  Yeah, she was full of shit.

  The door opened, and Katie walked in, joining our little circle. I could tell word had gotten around about what had happened in the square—her posture was less rigid, and she wasn't shooting me those sharp looks anymore. I still wasn't sure why she'd been upset when I told her to get somewhere safe, but I'd talk to her about it when we had a chance.

  "Ah good, Katie's here." Diana rubbed her hands together. "Please close the door behind you. Now let's have a look at that cake."

  All of us stared hard at Diana. Even Red lifted his head from where he'd been dozing, ears perked with interest.

  "Meals are included for all of us, right?" Cass's smile was pure predator.

  "I'm not a Vildar, Cassandra. You can't bribe me into changing the rules with sweets." Diana's protest sounded weak even to her own ears. "Especially not just a piece of whatever that is."

  My aura picked up something approaching from outside—which was odd, considering the view from our balcony wasn't entirely real. The inside of the tower existed in a spirit realm. We'd discovered during the attack that even Gu Li's massive purple death rays couldn't penetrate the barrier.

  Apparently, that didn't matter to the tiny golden canary streaking toward us.

  The air rippled just outside the balcony as Stanley passed through the barrier, landing on the table with theatrical flair. The phoenix-turned-canary was wearing a tiny tricorn hat and had a small white scarf wrapped around his neck.

  "Holy shit, you guys got here fast,

  "Stanley!" I grinned at the tiny bird's dramatic entrance. "Looking spectacular as usual. Diana here was just telling us we couldn't bribe her with sweets."

  Stanley chirped a bright melody that sounded like laughter.

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  "You absolutely fucking can.

  "Language, Stanley!" Diana shot back, then groaned in defeat. "Fine. You can eat breakfast in the Adept's hall, but I want a massive fucking slice of that, and one of you is making me my own."

  I thought back to the enormous buffet we'd walked past during the tournament and shrugged. Seemed like a fair trade.

  "Good enough for me."

  Diana shook her head, but I caught the hint of a smile. "Cassandra Winters, you are your mother's daughter. I'd appreciate it if you didn't teach my apprentice bad habits."

  Cass and I chuckled as I pulled out the box containing our secret weapon.

  "I'd like to think we're stronger together," I said, shooting a grin at Cass. "Now, would you look at this fucking thing?"

  I unhooked the latches, and the walls fell away, revealing perfection. Six layers of golden biscuit stacked high, each one cushioned with fresh strawberries and billowing whipped cream. The sweet scent of vanilla and berries filled the room instantly.

  Malcolm whistled low. I couldn't help but circle the table, examining the cake from every angle.

  "Fucking hell, Katie. This is perfect." I shook my head. "You managed this in just a few hours?"

  Katie practically glowed under the praise. "Ever since you told me about using cold butter in the dough, I've been experimenting constantly. I'm getting pretty good at the biscuit layers now."

  I pulled a kitchen knife from my soul-space, the blade sliding through the cake. Cass rummaged through the suite's cupboards, producing several plates with the efficiency of someone who'd been here before.

  I carved out what had to be nearly a quarter of the cake—a slice that would have been obscene anywhere else—and piled it onto the first plate. "To the founder of the feast!" I declared, presenting it to Diana with a theatrical bow.

  Diana rolled her eyes, grabbed a fork from a drawer, and took a substantial bite. Her eyes rolled again, but this time they nearly disappeared into the back of her skull as she groaned through the mouthful.

  "Graceful Gods, Katie." Her voice was muffled by cake and cream. "Don't let Doreen try this. She'll level a whole fucking island to get at more of it."

  Katie's grin stretched from ear to ear as I handed her the next plate. Within minutes, we were all sprawled across the couches, attacking what had to be some of the best strawberry shortcake I'd ever tasted. Sure, it was a little dense without proper baking powder to help it rise, but it didn't matter. The sweetness, the cream, the perfect balance of tart berries—it was comfort food at its finest.

  Even Red was on the floor, licking a plate clean, and Stanley was daintily pecking at his own piece. I made a mental note that this was going to be a disaster later, considering the sheer amount of whipped cream my dog was consuming.

  "So," Malcolm said between enthusiastic forkfuls, "are we going to talk about how Ben just shoulder-checked a piece of building the size of the boat we arrived on?"

  Diana shifted on her couch, focused. "Was that the refined mana?"

  "Sort of?" I paused, fork halfway to my mouth. "I haven't really experimented with it much, but it went into my mana burn somehow. Didn't know it could do that—I barely even felt the impact."

  Cass raised her eyebrows. "Gaia's tits, that was Chas-level impressive. If you can do that in the duels, there's no way I can beat you."

  My heart skipped. The fork slipped from my suddenly numb fingers. "Beat me?"

  Cass nodded, and something cold settled in my stomach. "Yeah, the duels are one-on-one."

  Diana swallowed another enormous mouthful while breaking off another piece for Stanley, who chirped with pure delight. "There are nine Confirmed duelists in the duels. Two rounds if you win, four if you lose, with the last match for the Champion spot. You'd best believe the other two teams are pushing hard toward Adept."

  I let out a slow breath, reality hitting me. I might have to fight Runebinders like Malcolm, with his plasma arcs that could slice through steel. My spirit-aspected mana shield could only do so much, and it wasn't absolute.

  "How the hell am I supposed to fight someone like Malcolm?" I gestured toward him, something between panic and amusement in my voice. "Sure, I can throw a punch, but he'd literally cut me in half."

  Diana's laugh was sharp. "You just shoulder-checked a small building into rubble, Ben. But I suppose you haven't had a proper duel yet, have you? Seekers and Adepts duel in a spirit realm, similar to the monster rounds. That way Dara and the Oathbound can protect you from permanent damage. Much easier to manage when we’re looking for it, unlike what happened with Erik."

  I thought back to the devastating lightning Felix and Ferris had unleashed, the way it had scarred the arena and nearly killed Erik in the process. The memory didn't exactly make me feel better about facing down plasma arcs in a confined space.

  "Well shit, I guess I didn't really think about that." I set down my fork, appetite suddenly diminished. "For some reason I thought it would just be fighting, but Jeremy mentioned people pull weapons in duels all the time."

  Cass sighed. "Yep! And since we're training for the Monster Hunters, we need to be in the habit of using weapons on others only after they draw first. It's annoying as hell, especially against Arcanists."

  "Yeah, what's with that?" I asked.

  Malcolm shrugged, still working through his cake. "Monster Hunters are known all over Ark as reliable—the first line of defense against monsters in most populated places. This comes with perks, including access to Spirit Steel weapons. Not normally something you'd want to use against another person unless they don't give you a choice. Unless there's some sort of war, but that doesn't really happen here."

  It happened to me, I didn't say, recalling the orange dagger against my neck when Maris arrived in La-Roc.

  "That sounds wildly inconvenient to transfer over to duels, though. Like a formality?"

  Stanley flew up to perch on my shoulder. “It’s a bunch of bullshit politics is what it is.

  "It helps people trust the Monster Hunters," Diana corrected, placing her empty plate on the side table. "Plus, very few people even want to draw a weapon on one. Orichalcum can slice through steel and mana pathways equally, which makes for a costly mistake either way."

  A pinprick of awareness tickled the edge of my aura—something materialized behind me. I spun, pulling a linen shirt from my soul-space and launching it just as a figure shimmered into existence.

  "Gotcha!" I yelled as the fabric landed squarely on Dara's head the moment she fully appeared.

  She sighed, the sound muffled by linen as she pulled the shirt off her face. Her blue hair was mussed, and she looked thoroughly unimpressed. "That's going to get old."

  "Pot, meet kettle," I said with a grin.

  She glared at me with those unsettling silver eyes. "You don't have to worry about the duels. Especially now, given how many Grand Masters will be here by then." Her expression shifted, scanning the room. "Where's Ted? He'd usually want to get a word in."

  I kept grinning at her. "Hi Dara! Long time no see. Sorry, Ted's a little indisposed right now."

  Dara's face fell, and something vulnerable flickered across her features. I'd never quite understood the dynamic between her and Ted, but there was clearly more there than just infatuation.

  "Not like that," I added quickly. "Winchester isn't in great shape after the whole Gu Li thing. That's actually one reason we're here. I guess the Emperor is calling an auction for Heaven's Tears here in a few weeks?"

  Dara's eyebrow shot up. "Excuse me?"

  "And that's my cue." Diana stood, patting crumbs off her clothes. "We've got some things to plan for, Dara."

  "You fucking think?" Dara's voice carried a dangerous edge, her composure completely abandoned. "I refuse to let that man inside my halls."

  "Relax, he's sending Lucian to host it." Diana's tone was measured, as if she were defusing a bomb. "Probably because Ben here challenged the kid's whole claim to the throne. Oh yeah, I guess that's on the list too."

  Diana held up five fingers and began counting them off. "Three weeks until the tournament duels, with Seekers who have been training for a month while you sat on your thumb." One finger down. "Arryava coming to teach at my Academy." Another finger. "A score of Grand Masters and their Apprentices coming from the Empire to join her in one of the largest political power moves in the last century." Three fingers down now, and her expression grew grimmer. "The first Royally-supplied auction in twenty-five years." Four fingers down.

  She made a face that suggested she was saving the worst for last, putting the last finger down. "And Hollowflame—or something like it—near the Monster Hunter tower in La-Roc."

  Then she raised a finger on her other hand, her smile turning sharp. "Oh, and Ben's officially in line for the throne of the Sunspire Archipelago."

  The silence that followed was so complete I could hear Red's tongue working against his plate from across the room.

  Malcolm held up a finger. "You forgot the Rune Lord inspection, Nana!"