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"I was trying to be polite."

"I wasn't."

"I noticed."

When we reach her room, one of her roommates is pulling on a green cloak in front of the mirror. She smiles when she sees us. "Still studying?"

Nyra nods. "We have Dominion notes to finish."

Her roommate makes a dramatic face. "I refuse to believe either of you actually enjoys studying this much."

We don't." Nyra replies. "We just enjoy not failing."

"Fair."

She reaches for the doorknob. "The Place?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Very."

Her roommate looks toward me. "What about you?"

I smile. "My legs still haven't forgiven Corvell."

She laughs. "I've heard Sky Wing's becoming impossible."

I exchange a quick glance with Nyra. "Something like that."

"Well..." She swings the door open. "Don't stay awake all night."

The door closes behind her. Silence settles over the room. Real silence. Not the rare kind found in libraries. The comfortable kind that only appears when you're alone with someone who doesn't expect you to fill every second with conversation.

Nyra immediately kneels beside her bed. "I have priorities." She pulls out a wooden box. Notebooks. Tea. Honey. Dried berries. Three kinds of biscuits.

I blink. "You've been preparing this."

"I always prepare." She places everything neatly across the blanket she has already spread across the floor. "I also borrowed extra cushions."

"Borrowed?"

"Permanently."

I laugh. "You steal tea and cushions?"

"I prefer 'creative redistribution.'"

By the time the kettle begins steaming, books are scattered around us. Dominion theory. Magical Structures. Dragon body language. Ward construction. Half our notes overlap. The other half are impossible to read. I flip through one of Nyra's notebooks. "Your handwriting is beautiful."

She glances up. "Years of botanical catalogues."

"I look like I fought my quill."

She snorts. "You usually do."

An hour passes almost without noticing. We quiz each other. Correct mistakes. Argue over whether Professor Aldren intentionally writes impossible exam questions or simply enjoys watching students panic. She pours fresh tea into both mugs. The candle between us burns lower.