“Nothing in the rules states that students cannot sign up for the games later on,” Clover argued.
“He’s right,” someone in the crowd said—a professor, from the looks of her.
“Dean de Vruyes…”
“He is right,” the dean repeated with a note of finality. “We will allow the addition of the Eclipse-born student.”
The moderator looked between the dean of Aldryn and Clover and Baz. Finally, he scribbled a name on his list and cleared his throat. “Very well. Cornelius Clover, House New Moon, Healer, will be paired with Baz Brysden, House Eclipse… Pray tell, what is your alignment?”
“Timespinner,” Baz said, thankful his voice did not crack.
The moderator’s eyes widened. Whispers rose in the crowd, a ripple of awe and fear that made Baz want to disappear.
But he’d made his bed and now he had to lie in it. Perhaps he should have been more scared about using his power here, given how badly Eclipse-born were still seen in this time, but for some reason, this just lit more of a fire inside him. A desire to prove to the world that Eclipse-born were good—that those like Wulfrid who feared them only set them back.
Baz caught Clover’s eye. At the very least, this was an opportunity to get close to him, see what Clover knew about the Hourglass.
But he had to wonder: Why had Clover picked him of all people?
He wanted to take it all back when he noticed Karunang students whispering among themselves, and their dean watching Baz like he was trying very hard to place him. Because of course, none of them had seen him before. Of course, they would all know he was a fraud.
His racing thoughts were interrupted as Dean de Vruyes took to the podium to address the assembled students. She had that same air of quiet authority that Dean Fulton had.
“Students from Aldryn and beyond, I’d like to officially welcome you to Aldryn College’s Bicentennial celebrations,” the dean said. “This year’s much anticipated games will revolve around knowledge, the very foundation of our school. You may know of Aldryn’s famed library beneath the college, which houses our world’s most ancient and precious texts. The Vault of Knowledge contains books older than all our colleges, scrolls that predate our magic, tomes in languages that no scholar has any memory of. These precious gems of knowledge are kept safe behind intricate wards. Very few people ever get to set foot in the Vault, other than Aldryn professors and a selection of acclaimed scholars from around the world.” The dean smiled. “But now is your chance to gain access to such exclusive knowledge.”
Murmurs ran through the crowd, silenced again by the dean’s raised hand as she continued: “The wards that guard the Vault have been there since the founding of the college. Whoever succeeds in breaking through them will be given lifetime access to the Vault. Such is the premise of the Bicentennial’s games.”
Excitement only grew at that. Baz looked at Kai with a quizzical expression. “The college is condoning its studentsbreaking in tothe Vault? That’s just… so wrong.”
Kai’s smile was wicked; he was clearly pleased with such rule-breaking behavior. “This is going to be fun.” He smirked at Baz’s shocked face. “For me.”
Baz was a rule-follower through and through. But if the school was allowing this…
The dean once again managed to get the students’ attention. “You will have a month to successfully break through the wards. The first step of the games will be a scavenger hunt across Aldryn’sfour libraries, where you will seek information that will prove invaluable in getting past the wards. This scavenger hunt will be held in a few days. You have until then to find a partner. Whether or not you remain with said partner after this first step will be up to you. You can choose to merge teams or even to go solo. But as you saw here today, collaboration is often key.”
The dean swept a somber gaze over the assembly hall. “Now, I must warn you, the wards around the Vault are not to be taken lightly. Breaking through them is not as easy as getting an Unraveler to undo them like a locksmith picks a lock. The wards are tricky and complicated and designed to keep the most ambitious and cunning of magical thieves out. There is but one way to break through them, and this is what you will have to figure out. A single misstepwillget you harmed or, worse, killed.”
The words fell so heavy on the assembly, you could have heard a pin drop in the resulting silence. “I urge you to think twice about your participation in these games. Knowledge and power are worthy ventures, but they can make or break a person, and these games are serious business. You must ask yourselves what you are willing to risk for knowledge. Tread lightly.”
“I guess we know why they cancel the games after this year,” Kai muttered.
Deadly wards. This was what Baz had foolishly agreed to participate in.
But if the Vault held such knowledge, maybe there was something in there about time travel. Something that could help them solve all their problems once and for all.
33KAI
KAI WAS IN THAT SAMEnightmare again.
Printing press, Dovermere, sleepscape. Machinery and stone and swirling stars.
Again he noted the absence of the crowned umbra, and he knew it had left for good.
Again the scene dissolved around him, and he was called to a different sort of darkness, a nightmare not his own. He saw the same two people, one sobbing over a body in a pool of blood, the other hanging back at the edge of the scene.
Except this time, they were no strangers. This time, Kai knew the bespectacled Fear Eater who watched the other was Thames, and in the other boy, he recognized the fine features of Cornelius Clover.
And this time, Kai saw the face of the body he was cradling.
