ㅤ
Marcus arrived at the guesthouse while I was explaining that breakfast didn't require an egg every morning.
ㅤ
“You promised,” the girl said.
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“I said I'd see what I could find.”
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“You found Marcus.”
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He stopped in the doorway. “Am I breakfast?”
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“Only if you're carrying eggs.”
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Marcus held up a paper parcel. Inside were two boiled eggs, bread, and enough cheese for three people. The girl hurried over.
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“Uncle Marcus!”
ㅤ
“Morning, little one.” He gave her an egg, then looked at me. “You look terrible.”
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“I slept in a bed this time.”
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“That's not what I asked.”
ㅤ
“It wasn't a question.”
ㅤ
I'd asked him to watch her while I met Halden. He'd arrived early enough for me to eat first, which I appreciated more than I said.
ㅤ
“Are you going to see Mommy?” she asked over breakfast.
ㅤ
“Professor Halden.”
ㅤ
“Is Mommy there?”
ㅤ
“I don't think so.”
ㅤ
She examined my face. “Are you scared?”
ㅤ
Marcus concentrated on cutting the bread.
ㅤ
“No. I just don't know why Halden wants me.”
ㅤ
“Maybe he has good news.”
ㅤ
“Maybe.”
ㅤ
The imperial reception was approaching, and our department had been assigned to its protective formations. Halden might need volunteers, or he might have found a use for my examination technique. Neither possibility justified worrying through breakfast.
ㅤ
I reminded her not to leave the guesthouse without Marcus and picked up Veyr's book.
ㅤ
“Returning that already?” Marcus asked.
ㅤ
“Halden might ask about chapter four.”
ㅤ
“You read it?”
ㅤ
“Twice.”
ㅤ
I left them debating whether Sir Flopsy could have cheese.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Halden's office door stood open. Examination reports covered his desk, and a damaged practice shield leaned against the wall.
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“Adrian. Sit.”
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He finished marking a report and handed me another sheet. An assistantship agreement. I read the payment section twice.
ㅤ
Twelve silver per week.
ㅤ
It wouldn't cover the guesthouse alone, but it would make food and clothes for the girl considerably easier to manage.
ㅤ
“Is the position available?”
ㅤ
“I'm offering it to you. Read the duties before thanking me.”
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I did. Preparing equipment, monitoring mana expenditure, recording individual defensive exercises. The schedule left room for classes, though less for other paid work.
ㅤ
“Is this connected to the reception?”
ㅤ
“Partly. We need additional stations ready before the imperial party arrives. There's also a student who needs help with a particular exercise.”
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“First-years?”
ㅤ
“No. Lady Evelyn von Rosenfeld.”
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I looked up. “The advanced fire mage?”
ㅤ
“Do you know another?”
ㅤ
I looked back at the agreement. Evelyn's name wasn't on it. If I'd signed immediately, I might have learned who I was assisting only when she entered the chamber.
ㅤ
“Wouldn't someone from the advanced division be more suitable?”
ㅤ
“She already has two academy instructors and a private tutor. You're not replacing them. You'll demonstrate your approach, monitor the equipment, and record the results. If you notice something useful, say so.”
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Twelve silver. I couldn't think of another position that would pay me this week.
ㅤ
Halden showed me the exercise notes. Evelyn was trying to maintain a barrier while preparing a separate offensive spell. Channeling her fire magic disrupted the barrier; reinforcing it afterward with more mana worsened the interference.
ㅤ
“Has she tried reducing the fire spell's output?”
ㅤ
“Yes. She wants to complete the exercise without doing that.”
ㅤ
That made sense. Weakening one spell until the other survived didn't solve the original problem.
ㅤ
“Does she know I'm the assistant?”
ㅤ
“She agreed to work with the student I assigned.”
ㅤ
“That's not quite what I asked.”
ㅤ
Halden set down his pencil. “She expects competent measurements and useful observations. Can you provide them?”
ㅤ
“Yes.”
ㅤ
He slid the agreement toward me. I signed.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
I checked station four's containment array, replaced a worn measuring crystal, and adjusted the barrier projector to the level in Halden's notes. Everything worked. I checked it again.
ㅤ
I'd seen Evelyn in the dining hall and across the courtyard, but we'd never spoken. In The Crown Beneath the Ashes, her name accompanied political disputes and destructive battles. Now I was supposed to tell her when she'd used too much mana.
ㅤ
The door opened while I examined the second crystal.
ㅤ
“Professor Halden?”
ㅤ
Evelyn von Rosenfeld stood in the doorway. Silver hair framed her face, and the crimson of her eyes was unmistakable. The girl had inherited that color.
ㅤ
“Halden's in his office, Lady Rosenfeld. I'm Adrian, today's assistant.”
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“From defensive magic?”
ㅤ
“Yes.”
ㅤ
“I expected someone from the advanced division.”
ㅤ
“He wanted someone familiar with low-consumption barriers.”
ㅤ
She considered that and stepped inside. “Very well. What do you need me to do?”
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
The first barrier lasted eleven seconds. Evelyn began gathering mana for a fire spell, and the barrier broke before she could release it. Red fragments dissolved against the containment array.
ㅤ
“Again,” she said.
ㅤ
“One moment. I need the reading.”
ㅤ
“You saw it fail.”
ㅤ
“I also need to know what it cost before failing.”
ㅤ
She waited while I wrote down the result.
ㅤ
The next attempts lasted thirteen and twelve seconds. By the fourth, I was watching the moment the barrier changed shape rather than its total duration.
ㅤ
“Could you hold the fire spell for two seconds longer before releasing it?”
ㅤ
“Why?”
ㅤ
“To see whether the barrier destabilizes during preparation or release.”
ㅤ
“Reset the station.”
ㅤ
The barrier began wavering at nine seconds and broke at fifteen. I compared the readings.
ㅤ
“It starts losing cohesion before you release the fire spell.”
ㅤ
“I know.”
ㅤ
“Then why reinforce it after the distortion begins?”
ㅤ
“Because it's unstable.”
ㅤ
“The additional mana enters through the channel that's already disturbed. Could we reinforce that section before you begin the second spell?”
ㅤ
“You think timing matters more than amount?”
ㅤ
“I think we can test it.”
ㅤ
The next barrier lasted nineteen seconds. Evelyn read the measurement before I did.
ㅤ
“Again.”
ㅤ
“Let me record this one first.”
ㅤ
She waited, watching my pencil closely enough that I nearly transposed two digits.
ㅤ
We continued until the improvement stopped being consistent. Some barriers lasted longer; others failed almost as quickly as the first. Evelyn wanted to repeat the sequence, but her mana expenditure had climbed throughout the session.
ㅤ
“Two more,” I said.
ㅤ
“Four.”
ㅤ
“Halden asked me to record the results, not carry you to the infirmary.”
ㅤ
“I know my limits.”
ㅤ
“Then you know why a break won't hurt the experiment.”
ㅤ
She checked the crystal. “Two. Then we review the readings.”
ㅤ
For someone I'd spent two years avoiding, she was straightforward to work with when we had a problem to solve. She asked precise questions and tested suggestions she didn't immediately accept. She was also willing to continue until one of us collapsed. I suspected it would be me.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
After the final attempt, Evelyn sat on the bench while I organized the report. The crystals cooled in the quiet chamber.
ㅤ
“Why did you choose defensive magic?”
ㅤ
“It's useful.”
ㅤ
“That can't be your entire reason.”
ㅤ
“Most of it.”
ㅤ
“Halden says your reserves are average, but your control is unusually efficient. You must have spent a great deal of time developing it. Why?”
ㅤ
I could have explained that I'd arrived in this world already enrolled at the academy and spent months learning how to live the life I'd inherited. Neither that nor my fear of the novel's events belonged in a practice report.
ㅤ
“I'd like a job after graduation. Ward maintenance, perhaps. Or preservation work at the city archive.”
ㅤ
“That's your ambition?”
ㅤ
“A house would be nice too.”
ㅤ
“What kind?”
ㅤ
“Small. Outside the academy district. A garden, if I can afford one.”
ㅤ
“Most students here want a court appointment.”
ㅤ
“I've heard those involve people.”
ㅤ
“They generally do.”
ㅤ
“I'd prefer a garden.”
ㅤ
Her mouth moved as though she were suppressing a smile. “An unusual preference.”
ㅤ
“Beans don't ask for recommendations.”
ㅤ
This time, I was almost certain she smiled.
ㅤ
We reviewed the readings together. Evelyn caught a transcription error and corrected my attribution of one fluctuation. I showed her the attempts where she'd reinforced the barrier early.
ㅤ
“The improvement is real,” she said, “but it isn't stable.”
ㅤ
“Not yet. We have enough to justify another session.”
ㅤ
“Then I'll prepare a different mana distribution before tomorrow.”
ㅤ
“I'll adjust the measuring crystals.”
ㅤ
At the door, she paused. “Adrian. Thank you for the assistance.”
ㅤ
“You're welcome, Lady Rosenfeld.”
ㅤ
I delivered the report to Halden. He checked the figures, noted the longest attempt, and told me to return the following afternoon.
ㅤ
I had paid work. I headed to the guesthouse before anyone could assign me something else.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
The girl spotted me crossing the garden and reached the door before I'd finished the stairs.
ㅤ
“Daddy!”
ㅤ
I caught her. “Hello, sweetheart.”
ㅤ
“Did you meet Mommy?”
ㅤ
“Yes.”
ㅤ
“Did you talk?”
ㅤ
“Quite a lot.”
ㅤ
“Did she like you?”
ㅤ
“We were working.”
ㅤ
“That isn't an answer.”
ㅤ
Marcus laughed into his cup. “She's been practicing that one.”
ㅤ
I showed him the signed agreement. “Twelve silver a week.”
ㅤ
“Halden hired you?”
ㅤ
“For the defensive exercise. I start properly tomorrow.”
ㅤ
The girl tugged my sleeve. “Did Mommy smile?”
ㅤ
I remembered Evelyn asking about the garden. “A little.”
ㅤ
“Good.”
ㅤ
“Why?”
ㅤ
“Because Mommy said you made her smile before she knew how.”
ㅤ
I didn't know what to say. She retrieved Sir Flopsy and added, more quietly, “She said you were the first person who didn't ask her to be someone else.”
ㅤ
Marcus stopped smiling.
ㅤ
I'd met Evelyn for the first time that morning. I didn't know what the girl meant, and I wasn't going to pretend I did. Tomorrow, Evelyn and I had another session.
ㅤ
“Daddy?”
ㅤ
“Yes?”
ㅤ
“Can we have eggs again?”
ㅤ
I looked at the agreement. “We can have eggs.”
ㅤ
“With cheese?”
ㅤ
Marcus raised both hands. “Don't look at me. I've already supplied breakfast.”
ㅤ
“Cheese,” I told her, “depends on the price.”