Page 22

"My head hurts," Nyra says.

"Mine too."

"I think Professor Neris disliked me."

"She praised you." I answer.

"That doesn't mean she likes me."

"I don't think liking us is part of her employment." Nyra considers this.

"That's reassuring." She says.

"It shouldn't be."

"No." She unwraps a small pastry. "It still is."

I laugh quietly. The sound feels different here. Earned. We compare schedules. We share multiple classes. Nyra looks uneasy at the last one.

"You don't like combat?" I ask.

"I don't dislike it." She says.

"That sounded diplomatic."

"I'm fae." She says.

"Right." I nod.

"Diplomacy is how we insult people while maintaining alliances."

"I thought that was vampires." I frown.

"No. Vampires threaten people while maintaining alliances."

"Fair."

She smiles. It comes more easily now.

"What about you?" She asks.

"Combat?"

"Yes." She nods.

"I've trained since childhood." I start.

"So you'll be good."The certainty in her voice surprises me.

I think of Professor Neris correcting me. Of the dozens of students who answered questions I could not.

"I was good at home." Nyra understands immediately. "Here is different." I add.

"Yes." She looks toward the Academy towers. "I think that might be the point."

Our final lecture ends late in the afternoon. By the time I return to the central grounds, my satchel feels twice as heavy and my thoughts significantly less organized than when I woke.

Students still move with purpose around me. Some head toward training. Others gather in the library. Upper-years cross the courtyards in dark uniforms marked with rank insignia, carrying reports and weapons instead of first-year texts.