Students crowded around the cafeteria in groups of all sizes. Aiming for the pre-made meals, Hiro and Keshiema worked their way to the far wall. "So, Hiro, what have you been doing all these years?" Keshiema took two bottles of water and a freshly made salad from a refrigerator.

  "Since I left and up until recently, I've been traveling through the districts, looking for new recruits." Hiro took a water bottle from Keshiema, putting his hand up as she gestured to the salad wall. "We have to visit each settlement every five years to make sure they are still holding their ground. While we are there, we look for promising demons and Hell-Children to fill our ranks."

  "Hm. 'We' being the Hunters, right? They only glossed over that in my Intro to Battle Tactics class." Looking around, Keshiema found an empty booth and sat down.

  Hiro cracked the water bottle but set it on the table without taking a drink. "What was your minor? I left before they picked that."

  Peeling the lid off her salad, she scarfed down a few bites before answering him. "Field Medic."

  "I thought you were majoring as a Field Medic, what changed?"

  "I aced Close Combat and Stealth Tactics." She spoke between bites. "At least I'll never be without a use," she shrugged.

  "With your unique combination of skills, have you considered a path towards leadership?" Hiro pondered a bit more seriously.

  "Yeah, I'm sure all of our comrades are just dying to follow the orders of a young half-blood orphan. They've all shown great support for me so far." Finished with her meal, she pointed to the exit, and they headed for the Great Temple. As they passed the library, Keshiema remembered the odd demon she had met earlier. Dásos intrigued her, sparked her curiosity. She wanted to ask Hiro about him, but something told her not to.

  A rush of protectiveness washed over Hio. Even though she was an adult, he still desired to keep her safe. "I know you were having trouble with Tommy and Azazel before I left, did that not get resolved when he graduated?"

  "Tommy still visits campus occasionally. And Azazel tried to kill me earlier today!" She clenched her fists, wishing she could beat some sense into the satyress.

  His ears went back, and he growled, "Stars, Kesh, does any of the faculty know?"

  "Of course they know!" she shouted. "Half of them encourage it! but at least most of them will be going home for a few weeks." she sighed. "Then i won't have to see her or Marthim for a while."

  "Marthim?" Hiro raised an eyebrow, "Did something happen after I left?"

  "The ball didn't exactly go as planned... He disappeared right before we were supposed to be announced. Vetis said he'd seen him heading into the courtyard." She paused, trying to hold onto her colors, but still shifted to black. "I found him and Azazel all over each other. He even bit her!" She turned red as she screamed. "He led me on for weeks! Said so many things that I wanted to hear!"

  "I'm sorry, kid, thats rough." He patted her back, reminding her to breathe.

  "I shouldn't have trusted him. But it could have been worse. We never even kissed...but it still hurt." With a heavy sigh, Keshiema calmed herself. She laughed suddenly, remembering her current situation. "Those problems seem so small, when i stop and think about it." Overwhelmed by the destiny set before her, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. She needed to find a way to avoid being murdered by the demon king. Tobias and Mia crossed her mind. "The academy has been hell, but at least i got out of the orphanage."

  "Saving the other children would have kept you going past your limit. In the end, everyone was better off - at least you're alive."

  "They were awful people." She shuddered at the thought of May and Chu. "I'm glad you took care of them."

  "Killing isn't something I enjoy. But that woman definitely deserved it." Part of him wished he had killed the man, too. He would have if he had known the extent of the abuse sooner.

  As they entered the Great Temple, Samael's presence weighed down on her. The other elders seemed to be absent. His dark aura filled the room, dulling her senses. "My prince!" Keshiema put her fist over her heart. His presence in the hall caught her by surprise, sending her heart racing into a panic.

  A low, disapproving grumble escaped Samael before he spoke. "Hiro, I relieve you of your duty, you may retire for the evening."

  "Yes, your highness." Hiro bowed low and quickly retreated. Uncomfortable being alone with the deadliest demon on campus, Keshiema unconsciously shifted her stance to more easily reach her weapons. In the back of her mind, she knew if he wanted her dead, no one could save her, and her swords would be next to useless. The thought made her more than a little uncomfortable.

  Sensing her unease, Samael shook his head. "I have already given you my word that I will not hurt you. Come forward."

  When she hesitated, he growled. She felt the low rumble deep in her bones. Obeying, she slowly approached the stone dais that held the thrones. Once closer, she saw Eurynome standing behind Samael. 'Is Samael so powerful that his presence can completely mask Eurynome's? And he still can't face the king himself?'

  "As you know, Uvall had a vision this evening, pertaining to you." He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. She held her breath and her heart pounded in her ears. "I feel it is necessary to tell you what he saw but I fear how you may react." The suspense was unnerving. Her stomach jumped to her throat. "He has seen more concerning your fated confrontation with Adramelech. We had not realized this, but it seems Hell-Children all over the city have been disappearing." She was not surprised this had gone unnoticed. "The king's prophet, Botis, has had dreams of a half-demon that might kill him and take the throne. Uvall has already seen you rising against Adramelech but Botis is not as powerful, so it seems his visions are less detailed."

  Her anger streaked her hair and dotted her eyes. "Take the throne?! I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the training I've so far been provided," she took a deep breath, trying to ground herself, "but I did not sign up for this. I am not a ruler. I'm not even a leader. I'm a soldier, I follow the directions given to me, and that's it. I'm not fit to take Adramelech’s place."

  "You may not feel that way now, but give it time. This is your destiny, Keshiema.” He brushed off her concerns. "The future is fluid, there is much even a prophet as experienced as Uvall cannot see. However, you will either rise up to defeat the king and take his place, or you will fall by his hand."

  "What about Alex? Isn't the royal heir? And wasn't your father King Balam? Couldn't you have taken over when he was killed? Hell! King Paimon had a son too, didn't he?!"

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  "Those courts dissolved the moment Paimon and my father were killed. If there was a chance anyone would have been able to inherit their thrones, Adramelech would not have kept them alive."

  "You said the future isn't set. I'm all for training to defend myself, but I will be no one's queen."

  "Perhaps you need time to think about this and let this sink in. I will leave you with your thoughts." Samael rose and walked away, lending no ear to a debate.

  Keshiema looked to Eurynome. "Am I really supposed to just accept this? I'm not even given a choice about my own future?"

  He made his way down to her level, his movements as precise and deliberate as a predator's. Like Samael, Eurynome could kill her with no more than a touch. Unlike Samael, he did not frighten her. "Keshiema, I must ask that you forgive Samael." He held out his hand as he stood on the last step. She took it, and he guided her to switch places with him. He wanted her to know he did not look down on her. The sentiment was not lost. "In our experience, fate is not something we can avoid. There is a small amount of room for free will, but ultimately, things boil down to two possible outcomes. Three if you're lucky."

  "In your experience. That does not mean it's impossible." She refused to give up hope.

  Eurynome raised an eyebrow. "You do know how old we are, do you not?"

  She huffed. "I don't know anything about any of you."

  The words cut through him like a knife. Pain flashed through his pale green eyes. "That is intentional. We have our reasons for the secrets we keep."

  "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry, Eury." His raised eyebrows highlighted her mistake. "Oh Hell, forgive me, my prince, I didn't mean to, it was a slip. Please forgive me if I offended you." She bowed low with her fist over her racing heart.

  "You know," he put his icy hands on her shoulders, straightening her back up, "That nickname was given to me by my father, King Balam. Only he and the other Elders have ever used it. Most fear me too much to become that comfortable around me. I'm delighted to know I don't terrify you, Keshiema."

  "If you'd like...um...you can call me Kesh."

  "Is that what your friends call you?"

  The word struck a chord. She refused to use it since leaving the orphanage. Some of her classmates were closer than others, but she feared rejection if she called any of them true friends. "Some of my classmates." She corrected.

  "You care about everyone around you, and you do everything you can to help others. I have a hard time believing not a single demon on this campus has found you worthy of friendship."

  Tobias and Mia were the first to come to mind, "I had friends but I've lost them." She thought of Cresil. Always looking out for her, teasing her. And Sonneillon; treating her with kindness and acceptance. She felt more like a burden than a friend. "I'm half human. Most see me as a disgrace to their kind." A foggy memory started to form. A large oak tree. The laughter of a young child. The faint silhouette of a winged demon. She winced at the ache behind her eyes. She shook her head, trying to clear the murky vision. Her knees went weak and her head spun.

  "Are you alright?" Eurynome asked, concerned. "Should I call for a medic?"

  "No, I think I just realized how tired I am. I haven't really rested since my training with Ayperos. This conversation got a bit off topic."

  "My apologies, you must be exhausted. Let me walk you to your room."

  "You're the Prince of Death...I don't think anyone lets you do anything." She smiled through the pounding in her skull. She did not want to seem weak.

  "Yeah." For a moment, she could see a bit of sadness in his eyes that his smile and laugh failed to hide completely. They walked down the corridors towards her chamber. "I know Samael was cold with his words, but I hope you understand that we need you."

  "The architecture here is amazing compared to the rest of the city." She intentionally changed the subject. "Was the campus built after the takeover?"

  "Actually, many of the buildings here were taken from some of the most renowned institutions of the Human Era. This Great Temple was a monastery from an area that used to be known as England."

  She thought of her Ancient Civilizations lessons and groaned. "That place? They had worse infighting than we do."

  "Yes, but humans have always fought amongst themselves. When I was a child in Greece's ancient past, the deities loved making mischief. It led to much turmoil, and many wars."

  "Greece? like Mount Olympus?" None of the books in the library had so much as touched on this subject.

  "Yes, one of my mother's ancestors was a mistress to Zeus. But that's enough about me. I wouldn't want to bore you." He was closing himself off again. They stopped in front of her door. "You should rest," he told her, though he wanted, horribly, to close the gap between them. Her enticing aroma wafted through the air. It had been too long since dinner for him to be alone with her.

  She sensed something coming from him, but she was unsure what. She smiled politely, hoping she had not offended him in some way. "Goodnight." She opened the door and stepped inside.

  "Fris altoa, unar daemon." His accent changed, and the Daemon words smoothly slid off his tongue. He slipped into an ancient accent, giving the Daemon words a smooth touch.

  She saluted respectfully before closing the door as he turned away. "What am I doing here?" she asked the empty room. "I should be enjoying my summer, not worrying about my destiny.” She shook her head as she went towards the bathroom. As she trudged through her bedroom the noticed the hanging mirrors by her windows were gone.

  After a couple of hours in an endlessly hot shower, she started to relax. 'Thank you, lucky stars for Impure Crystals.' She remembered the icy cold winter showers at the orphanage. Her thoughts drifted, and her eyes felt heavy. She leaned her head against the cool tiles and closed her weary eyes. The searing water soothed her, and the sound of the shower lulled her to sleep.

  ***

  Year 1007 D.E.

  The weekly stipend of Impure crystals arrived in the early morning. It was the first time in months that Chu and May had not been home to receive them. Keshiema and Tobias knew that taking even one crystal could result in a severe beating if caught. "They'll be gone for three days this time." Tobias told her. "We could give everyone a warm shower. And have a hot meal."

  "We'd deplete two or three crystals easily if we did all of that," an older boy chimed in.

  "We could swap out for a new one after each shower. And if we cook something simple like a large batch of oatmeal, then we won't use up much power at all." Tobias thought out the strategy carefully. "We'll soak the oats in water tonight so they soften up. Then we'll heat them in the morning with the cream and butter that was delivered yesterday. It would go bad before Chu and May return anyway, so they would have expected us to throw it away. Collection day is scheduled before their return as well, so we won't have to worry about them finding the containers."

  "I'll gather everyone and we'll get the shower queue figured out," the older boy conceded. "Kesh, you get the oats prepared. Mia should have the keys to the cellar. Belle stored a few buckets there before she left."

  When everyone was ready, Tobias put the first crystal into the tankless water heater. The crystal hummed softly as the ancient machine drew its power.

  Keshiema came running up from the cellar, out of breath. "I found potatoes!" She showed him two very large tubers. "There aren't many, but we can start a smolder in the fireplace and they'll be ready by the time everyone's done showering!" The children slept soundly that night, unaware of the havoc that was soon to come.

  In the early hours of the morning, Chu came home the following morning. The children had all already eaten their modest bowls of oatmeal. Keshiema was putting away the last bowl when he walked into the kitchen. He went straight to the cold box. When he found the cream and butter missing, he turned to her and screamed, "You thieves!" He picked her up and slammed her against the cabinet. The old shelving cracked apart. Dishes rained down on the countertop and tile floor, splintering on impact. "You think you can take whatever you want just because I'm not here?" He threw her to the ground, on top of the shattered porcelain.

  Hearing the commotion, Tobias entered the kitchen to find Keshiema lying on the floor. The shards of glass stabbed into her skin, causing many small cuts and a few deep gashes. The sight of the blood sent him into fight mode. He took no time to think things through. As Chu was kneeling down to grab Keshiema again, Tobias grabbed a knife and stabbed it into Chu's side. Then, he took Keshiema and ran. Through sheer luck, Chu had not seen who stabbed him.

  Sirens blared outside the house, and a crew of demons came to take Chu away. A single demon stayed behind to watch after the children. He called them in one at a time to ask them what happened. When he saw Keshiema, he did his best to hide his horror, failing miserably. After digging out a few pairs of tweezers, he helped the orphans pick the glass out of Keshiema's skin. Once clear, the cuts instantly healed themselves.

  ***

  Keshiema jolted awake, her body remembering the pain of a thousand shards of glass. Still groggy, she threw on her clothes and went to bed. Finally able to appreciate the absence of the mirrors.