The heist, as Dyani had taken to calling it, started without too much of a hitch. The only unknown factor was Noemi's father. The man had pulled through and reserved for his daughter to be picked up the next afternoon. Dyani had gone to the Headmistress and informed the woman that Professor Bertani would escort her. Britt remained far away from the group to avoid drawing too much attention to something happening. Although not to the point that his avoidance would be the reason for catching attention.

  Dyani was in full conversation with the group that had returned. She was practically drooling as Noemi delivered the pizza to her. Britt had stopped to grab his dinner and thanked them before going to the teacher's table. Dyani watched as Professor Bertani and some of the others poked fun at him for the toppings on his pizza. He took it all in stride and was shooting back his quips. Dyani felt a sliver of jealousy at the ease and acceptance of the other teachers being able to flirt without consequence. Britt's eyes roamed over the hall. He was taking a bite when his eyes caught her. There was a flash of surprise before his brow crinkled. Dyani knew her emotions would easily be deciphered if they knew what to look for. Britt was one of those people. Dyani looked away from the table.

  The night moved fast for Dyani and she was not looking forward to explaining the situation to Noemi, though she figured that the group knew at least some of her issues with the Headmistress. When they settled into the room, Mari prepared for sleep while Noemi crawled onto the bed beside Dyani.

  "Tell me what's going on?" Her voice was concerned and Dyani couldn't blame her for it. "I know there's a lot more going on that I am aware of. I'd be stupid not to realize that. While I am fine with not knowing things since I trust you, my father is not the same. I'll need to tell him something."

  Dyani shifted nervously and wished she knew how to erect the privacy wards that Britt favored. She wouldn't put it past the Headmistress to place a listening device or magic in the room. It might be a tad paranoid of her, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Seeing the expression, Noemi fiddled with her foci with a face of concentration. Dyani marveled at the beautiful ruby ring. It was delicate but the craftsmanship was nothing to scoff at. The gem was held in place with silver filigree. A wave of magic washed over them, and Dyani smiled at the familiar feeling of a blanket draping over her shoulders. For a moment, Dyani wondered if the others felt the magic like this. If so, she couldn't blame them for wanting to use magic for most things.

  "Spill," Noemi grinned and settled down. Dyani had to hold back a laugh as it reminded her of the times when she was in high school and held a sleepover. The gossip tossed back and forth like campfire stories.

  With a melancholic smile, Dyani explained as much as she felt comfortable. The warning from Kavan and Britt held steadfast in her mind. She could trust Noemi, but this was more than her. It was a long few hours of talking about the situation. From explaining when she first woke in the world to the devastating news about the Headmistress ensuring her family believed her to be dead. Noemi was quiet through the whole thing, her face set in a severe expression. Her excitement is long gone and replaced with deep concern.

  There was a long silence. Dyani was stuck in her thoughts while giving Noemi the space to process the slew of information dumped on her. A heaviness in the air made Dyani shift occasionally, but otherwise, she fiddled with her PMA.

  "Dyani?" Noemi's voice was timid.

  "Hm?" She looked up to see the girl twisting her foci around her finger—a nervous tick.

  "I have a question if you're willing to answer." She held up her hands with a look of panic, "It's fine if you are not comfortable with answering! I will totally understand if you don't want to speak about it."

  Dyani shrugged, "What do you want to know?"

  "I have been thinking since that incident in the Marketplace with Kira."

  Dyani's brows furrowed and she tried to follow the girl's thinking. If anything, the nervousness was worse and Noemi bit her lip. Dyani pondered what could have caused the usually affable girl to be nervous.

  "You spoke about how you did not need a focus. That it was in your blood."

  Dyani raised an eyebrow, her voice laced with confusion, "That's all you want to know about?"

  Noemi nodded her head and looked anywhere but the older woman. With her head tilted to the side, Dyani asked a question in return.

  "What do you want to know? I am lost on why you are so nervous about asking. You could have asked a long time ago."

  Noemi's mouth popped open in shock, "That's rude! I would never."

  A single eyebrow rose.

  "What I mean is that I would never be so bold to ask you about it without us knowing each other closely."

  "Oh! Is this one of those taboo subjects? I know that Britt taught me some about foci but once we figured out that I couldn't use normal ones, we decided against it. Otherwise, I haven't learned much about them.

  "I see. Well, it's considered taboo, like insulting someone about theirs. Much like what you insinuated with Kira."

  "Ah, I see." That was a new thing. She knew that the insult to Kira was taboo and very out of line, but she had not known that talking of one's foci, in general, was an unspoken thing. "Well, I can try to explain?"

  Noemi nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  "Britt explained this a bit to me. From what the Healers and the others have concluded, my magic comes from the botched ritual. Some of the best runic and magic specialists were called in when I started showing signs of uncontrolled magic. You see, I wasn't left without a scratch from the ritual like they have made me appear to be. Other than the silver strand."

  "What? I thought they had healed you of anything remnant from it."

  Dyani sighed, "No. They just covered it up. I don't know how to take them down or how to replace them."

  "How? There's not much that magic cannot heal except for certain things. I would have thought that you were injured but not to the point of being unable to be healed."

  "I was the main sacrifice," she whispered. It hurt to talk about. The nightmares were still fresh even though she hid them as best as she could.

  "What happened? They said it was a ritual, but nothing was said. I didn't want to ask for fear of triggering memories. You don't have to say anything if you are not comfortable."

  There was a bit of silence as Dyani stared down at her hands. There was a moment where she wanted to spill everything but something held her back. It was cautious of her, especially since Noemi and the others had been nothing but welcoming, but there was this niggling notion that told her to hold off.

  "I wasn't told what it was. I know I was the main body used for the ritual. Most of the blood came from me, between the carving of the runes to bloodletting.”

  The white face was enough to let her know that Noemi had not expected it to be as violent. Dyani couldn’t blame the girl; most had gone their entire lives without hearing about the sacrificial rituals. What Dyani omitted was the very purpose behind the ritual. It was suspected that even she was not supposed to know that but Britt had told her in confidence.

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  “You don’t have to say anything else. I’m sorry if I brought up the memories.”

  Dyani shook her head, “Actually, it is better if I talk about it. It helps me understand it easier and accept that it happened.”

  “If you say so,” Noemi said.

  Snorting, the older woman laid back on her bed. It had been a long enough day as it was. Now, they had to figure out the whole scheme to pull off getting her to the college. At least Noemi was on her side.

  Dyani took deep breaths to calm the raging turmoil in her stomach. At least each time the Dysc was used, her reaction was better. There was a gentle hand on her back and a concerned expression on the man’s face.

  “Are you all right?”

  She waved him off, “This is very mild. Better than the time I passed out.”

  That did not calm him but instead seemed to alarm the man. Dyani stood up and blew out a breath to ground herself. Smiling at him, she looked around the area. However, Dyani wanted to shake the magic that cloaked her body. It itched and she did not like the crawling feeling. It helped her, though, as she looked very much like Noemi.

  “Will you be able to go where you need to from here?”

  “Yes, I appreciate it. I hope that I can repay the favor.”

  He gave a dismissive wave, “Don’t bother. Noemi filled me in some about needing help. I’m glad that I was available. I just want to confirm that I will meet with you here to return to the Marketplace in about five hours?”

  She nodded, “You have my PMA address, right?”

  “I’ll send you a message so that you can have mine. Contact me if you are going to be late.”

  “I will. Thank you again.”

  They parted ways. Noemi’s father was handsome with salt and peppered hair, stocky build, and elegant clothing. He was out of her taste range but she could appreciate his good looks. He stepped onto the Dysc that was freed for use and disappeared. Dyani rolled her shoulders and stepped onto the Dysc again. This would be the first time that she used the device twice in a row. Bracing herself, Dyani typed in the coordinates that Britt had given her.

  With a swirl of magic, Dyani disappeared. For a brief moment, she felt suspended in the air. That was when she felt the magic within her body rebel. Dyani couldn’t move as her magic tried to lash out. What seemed like a long few minutes was only a few seconds when she reappeared. The moment her feet touched down, the magic lashed out and Dyani collapsed. A curse was heard and there were cries of shock as her magic crashed through the crowd.

  "Just breathe. Ground yourself."

  Dyani's vision swirled and her stomach rebelled, thankfully on the opposite side of where Britt was crouched. A damp cloth was passed in front of her face and she thanked the person. Underneath her, Dyani could see that the Dysc was shut down and another was being used as the primary transport. Her vision blurred and the world spun around her as Britt tried to help her stand. Another set of hands grabbed under her arms when she collapsed. Britt and the other guided her to an open table, where she sat in one of the empty chairs. The cool cloth was placed on the back of her head and she put her head between her knees. The words between Britt and the others gathered were a jumble of sounds and Dyani groaned.

  "Deep breath in and out. That's it."

  That's all she could do for the next little while. Dyani had been worried that she would be late, but they had worried about her reaction and set an extra hour into their travel time. It was a blessing that they had the foresight to do so. A glass was set in front of her and Dyani could have cried in relief at the smell of the ginger ale. This was a place that knew the remedies that worked. She didn't care that there were many potions to do the same thing. Ginger ale would always be her go-to.

  After some time, Dyani could focus on where she had arrived. The crowd dispersed and only Britt remained at the table. Another was keeping a close eye on them, who Dyani assumed was the person who provided the drink and a cloth. Around her were various types of people. In fact, it shocked her to see that some of them were not exactly human. Wings and tails were prominent. On the occasion, she could see a half-humanoid such as a Saytr casually stroll through the room. Britt's distinct chuckles caught her attention.

  "I was waiting for you to come to your senses. How are you feeling?"

  "Like I just went through a magical version of a dryer. Wrung out and nauseous."

  The empty glass was set on the wooden table and her eyes caught the gaze of the other man taking care of a bar full of people. Beings? Dyani could not help herself as she stared at the various races and species she never thought existed.

  "It's a bit rude to stare."

  Dyani jerked out of her thoughts to meet the gaze of the very man who had caught her attention in the first place. She flushed and ducked her head.

  "You have to excuse her, this is her first time meeting those outside of the human race."

  There was a grunt and Britt sighed before waving in her direction. Dyani eyed them from the corner of her eye while fiddling with the now-warm cloth.

  "She's the nonmagical that got dragged into our world, right?"

  There was a slight lull in the conversation around them and Britt straightened in his chair. Shoulders were slightly tense as he surveyed the potential threats.

  "Correct," his voice was sharp.

  Dyani's head whipped up to stare at Britt in shock. She had not heard him speak with that sort of tone. The magic around him had become tangible to her senses and she wanted to reach out to comfort him. His green gaze shifted to her for a split second and she could see that his magic calmed but sharpened when someone shifted. The room stilled as his magic shimmered around him. Dyani wanted to move closer to where he was but did not want to draw more attention than necessary.

  Hands were raised and the man that had spoken backed up a bit.

  "Calm, Britt. There is no threat to either of you here. I can speak for the room when I say that we all know better than to touch a Goddess Blessed."

  Britt's magic smoothed out but there was an underlying sharpness, much like a dagger that had been turned so that it was the flat of the blade. Even though everyone knew that the blade could turn at a moment's notice. There were whispers and the attention turned towards Dyani. She shrunk back at the different stares and calculating gazes.

  "Come, Dyani. We have a schedule to keep. I apologize that we caused a bit of upset when first arriving."

  The room returned to normal with a wave of the man's hand. Some eyes remained on them but the chatter had picked up again. Britt shook hands with the man and he placed a hand on her lower back. Guiding her from the building, Dyani felt the confusion settle over her.

  "You did very well."

  Dyani's mind could not comprehend the dynamic that had just gone down, and she stated as such. Britt's laughter was light and much different from when he was around others.

  "I have much to teach you about different races and magical being cultures. I planned on teaching you once we got to the point that your studies for Dalition was closer to complete. I need to change that up. I swear, I've never changed someone's schedule as much as I have to with you."

  They stopped in the middle of a park and Dyani was still disoriented. At least, she thought she was since none of that made sense to her. The look on her face must have given it away and Britt stepped closer. The next thing she knew was his arms encircling her.

  "There's so much that you have to learn. Rushing through your education so quickly was not a good idea. You have so many gaps and I worry over that."

  Dyani rested her forehead on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, her magic settled and the disorientation from earlier finally dispersed. Dyani pulled away and took in a breath of fresh air. It had been some time since she stepped into nature like this. It was a beautiful feeling to be surrounded by nature of some kind, even if it was a primary park. Britt's body language had also expressed that he felt the same as her. His face took on a more ethereal look. A blush covered her cheeks when she got caught looking at him. Britt smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

  "We need to head to your campus or we'll be late."

  Dyani cleared her throat and nodded. It was a moment before the situation caught up to her.

  "Are we traveling that way again?"

  Britt smirked, "Since you seem to be able to handle that method, I figured it would be the fastest."

  Dyani sucked in a breath and bit her lip before nodding. It made sense, even though she was embarrassed. Britt pulled her into a comfortable embrace and placed his forehead against hers. The wind whipped around and the leaves rustled in the trees above them. Dyani closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of the school.

  There was a beautiful spot next to one of the buildings. It was a walk from the one she needed to go to but the trees had a good bit of cover for them to appear in. The image of the hulking trees, the gnarled roots weaving through the ground, and the gentle wind dancing was enough for Britt to latch onto. His magic slid into her mind, and she felt him caress the memory gently. Dyani gasped as his magic mingled with hers.

  There was a shift, as if they had stepped to the side and Dyani felt the temperature rise a few degrees. Her eyes fluttered open to meet the piercing green. His magic rushed through her body after being released from her mind. Britt stepped closer and his arms tightened. Dyani let out a light moan at the warm energy coursing through her. In return, her magic darted around him and Dyani could feel it testing its limits. While his magic was like lying in a mossy forest grove under a warm sky, Dyani’s felt like the cool silky sheets gliding over the skin. The man shivered and Dyani couldn't help but sigh in relief when they broke away from each other. It was like a fire had spread through her body at the touch of his magic.

  Britt cleared his throat, "We're here."

  "No shit," Dyani couldn't help the retort.