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"That wasn't nothing."

"It's just..." I shake my head. "Apparently everyone has decided I'm incapable of feeding myself." I stop myself from laughing again.

"Evidence supports it."

"Goodbye, Corvell."

"Eat." I walk away before he can see me smile.

I make it halfway through Magical History before something happens. Not magic. Not a manifestation. Nothing dramatic. Professor Neris is discussing trade agreements after the Silent War. I'm taking notes. Or trying to. Then she mentions a date. The Year 417.

My hand stops. I don't know why. Something about the number. Something I've read. A letter. A report. One of the hundreds we copied. I stare at the page. 417. The wardkeeper. The symbol. The manifestations. Something...I flip to the back of my notebook. Pages of copied Archive notes. Dates. Names. Fragments. My pulse quickens. There. A report from 417. Then another. 416. 417. 418. All around the same period. I start scanning faster. Professor Neris's lecture fades into the background. The broken circle. Manifestations behaving incorrectly. Magic responding where it shouldn't. The wards hesitating. Not failing. Hesitating. My stomach turns. No. That's coincidence. It has to be. "Eirea?" I look up. The entire class is staring at me. Professor Neris stands at the front. "You appear to have discovered something more interesting than postwar commerce." A few students laugh.

I close my notebook. "Sorry."

Her eyes linger on me. Too perceptive. "See me after class." Wonderful.

When the final bell rings I wait. Students leave. Professor Neris closes the classroom door.

"What happened?" I hesitate. Professor Vayne's warning. No professors. No one.

"I remembered something from the Archive." That's safe.

Her expression changes immediately. "What?"

I open my notebook. Show her the dates. Her eyes scan them. Once. Twice. Then she sits. Professor Neris never sits during conversations. My pulse accelerates. "What?"

She doesn't answer. Instead she pulls my notebook closer. "These reports." She starts.

"Yes."

"They were all written within eighteen months of one another." She continued.

"I noticed." I frown. "And?"

"And manifestations were behaving strangely." She answers. "Wards were fluctuating. Symbols appeared." She adds.

"Yes." I swallow. "What happened in 417?"

Professor Neris looks at me. For the first time since I've known her she seems unsure whether to answer. Finally—"Nothing."

I frown. "Nothing?"

"According to official history." My stomach sinks. That's not an answer. We both know it. She closes my notebook. "Go to your next class." She says. "Professor—" I start.

"Go." She interputs me.

"But—" I try again.

"Eirea." Her voice softens. "Please." That stops me.

I gather my things and leave.

That evening I find Rhyven exactly where I expect him. Command room. Maps everywhere. Dax and Soren have already left. Maelis is halfway through the door when she sees me. "He's pleasant tonight."

From inside: "I can hear you."

She shrugs. "I know." She smiles at me. "Good luck."