“Of course,” Professor Lacer continued, “people have been claiming to have found Myrddin’s hermitage every couple of decades since he died, so I am rather skeptical. However, it is obvious they did find something of historical significance, and perhaps of great worth. The rumors of Myrddin’s lost inventions and discoveries are, frankly, overblown and ridiculous. The man, while impressive, lived over a thousand years ago. We have made many advancements in sorcery—in thaumaturgy as a whole—since then, and to think that he may have made breakthroughs we struggle to comprehend today is extremely unlikely. It is a particular failing of character to long constantly for the ‘better days’ of the imagined past when really, the best days are now, with even better to come tomorrow.”

He let out a deep breath, his dark blue eyes growing distant as he looked past her. “That being said, there are obviously mysteries in this world which we do not yet understand, and I suspect many of them come from the pre-Cataclysm eras, which I do not long for, but long to understand. Perhaps Myrddin made some discovery along that vein and spent his later years trying to decipher it.”

Lacer’s attention returned to Sebastien. “In that case, if they really did find his hermitage, the things they retrieved could be of value. The Raven Queen’s interest in the items points increasing weight toward that possibility, in my opinion. The University still retains possession of the remainder of the expedition’s haul, but a select number of people in the History department have exclusive access while they inspect the items. The theft has made their paranoia about security seem more reasonable, but they have reported no significant findings yet, and I believe people will eventually begin to grow impatient with the secrecy and apply pressure for open access. Knowledge, like any other resource, can only be kept for oneself so long as one has both the skill and the power to ward off others.”

Sebastien couldn’t help but feel that was a warning about her own secret, though she knew he hadn’t meant it that way.

“That is all I know,” he said, “and keep in mind that much of it is speculation.”

“I understand. Thank you,” she responded, giving him a shallow bow as she turned to leave, her mind already spinning with this partial confirmation of what she had speculated herself.

She’d passed halfway through the bubble of the sound-muffling spell when she paused yet again. “I’m not sure if you were aware, but Grandmaster Kiernan called me into his office last week, ostensibly to give me contribution points and make sure I was doing alright, but really to pump me for information about what happened. I told him to talk to you.”

Professor Lacer’s eyes narrowed. “I was not aware. I will discuss this with him.”

This time, Sebastien really did leave. Most of the students had already moved on by the time she exited the classroom, but she tried to keep herself from being visibly uneasy. She wanted to find the nearest bathroom stall and lock herself inside it until her fingers stopped trembling and the tension in the muscles of her neck and back stopped sending electric arcs of pain up into her skull.

‘Professor Lacer might be skeptical of Myrddin’s accomplishments, but I have proof that whoever made the transformation amulet did things I’ve never heard of before. So I stole Myrddin’s journal or something. Stars above, no wonder they’re all so desperate to catch me.’ She shuddered, wondering again if there were some way to get rid of it, to just give it back, without endangering herself.

‘But more immediately pressing, Professor Lacer wants to examine my ward, or at least how its magic works. It makes sense, since they are under the impression that the divination-diverting ward Liza created for me is actually some mysterious boon given by the Raven Queen. Is there a chance that he finds something dangerous? No matter my desire for control or privacy, the possible danger involved in a spell cast by the Raven Queen is arguably more important than my comfort. There’s no way I can just refuse a checkup. Should I contact Oliver, or maybe Liza, to warn them? How risky is this? Do I need to give up my identity as Sebastien and leave the University in advance?’

“Sebastien!” Ana’s voice called.

Sebastien’s head jerked up, the movement sending another spike of pain up through the back of her neck. One of her eyelids twitched.

Ana was leaning against the wall in the hallway outside Lacer’s classroom. She tucked away the pink leather notebook artifact that allowed her to communicate with her little sister, smiling. “Accompany me?” she asked.

Sebastien hesitated, her mind stumbling a little as she struggled to focus on anything but her pervasive anxiety, but nodded, hoping whatever Ana needed wouldn’t take too long.

Ana slipped her arm through the crook of Sebastien’s elbow and led her off.

“Where are we going?” Sebastien asked.

“I have something important to discuss with you. I’d rather not do it where random passersby can eavesdrop.”

Sebastien hoped it wasn’t some juicy piece of gossip or the like. Ana was much more socially attentive than Sebastien, and tended to care about things that could create social leverage, whereas Sebastien just wanted to focus on the magic. Someday, she would leave all this behind, and knowing all the latest gossip would be useless.

Even though the hallways were mostly empty of students, Ana pulled Sebastien into an unoccupied classroom, closing the door behind them.

Normally, this level of intrigue would have raised Sebastien’s interest, but at that moment, it was all she could do to keep herself from vibrating apart. She suppressed another shudder at the unfortunate wording of her thoughts.

Ana ran her fingertips lightly over the smooth knit of her scarf, her face alight with some emotion Sebastien couldn’t place. “You mentioned that I needed to deal with my uncles in a more effective and permanent way, do you remember? Well, I’ve figured out how to do it. I’m going to discredit them and, hopefully, have them removed from the Gervin Family line of succession. My father has the ability to do that, if there’s just cause. I simply need to convince him it is necessary.”

“Great,” Sebastien said. She realized her fingers were tapping impatiently against the side of her thigh and stilled them. “Did you need feedback on your plan, then? I’m not particularly versed with social manipulation, and I don’t know your father at all, so I’m not sure I’ll be much help, but I’m happy to listen.”

“Actually, I was hoping you could help me implement the plan. I know my uncles have done things that could be used to blackmail them. There’s almost certainly proof in Uncle Malcolm’s office, probably in his vault. If I could access that, I could use it to knock them down and put myself in a position of power.”

Sebastien stared at Ana. “You want me to break into your uncle’s office and go through his vault?”

“Well, maybe,” Ana said, biting her lip anxiously. “I’m open to suggestions about the details of how we’d implement all this. It shouldn’t be that dangerous; I’ve a plan to make sure Uncle Malcolm is preoccupied at the time, and I know how his security system works.”

Sebastien let out a short, sharp laugh as a sudden surge of outrage rose up in her stomach and through her throat, spilling out into the world as cutting words. “I’m happy you’ve figured out a solution to your problems, but I really don’t have the time or the wherewithal to get involved in this kind of dangerous scheme. Why don’t you commandeer someone who has more time on their hands, like the rest of your Crown Family friends? Or hire someone to help you who would be willing to place their safety at risk for some coin. I’m sure you can afford it.”

Ana went pale, and in the silence that followed, Sebastien knew she’d made a mistake. She didn’t want to take on a new project—she could barely handle her current workload—and she was wound up like a coiled spring with stress. Even so, she hadn’t meant to snap at the other girl like that. She should have turned her down more gently.

Ana gave her a wide, bright smile that looked almost feral, her eyes glittering with the sheen of unspent tears. “Sebastien Siverling, do you think you’re the only real person in the world? You act like your goals and interests are the only important ones, like your ideas are the only ones that hold value.”

Sebastien tried to interject, but Ana’s voice only grew louder. “If someone disagrees with you, thinks differently than you, or just acts in some way that you don’t like, they must either be stupid, ignorant, or otherwise unworthy of your attention—perhaps because they’re a noble and thus somehow worthless? The Crown Families might be elitists, but you’re a reverse snob, which is really no different than a normal snob. You need to open your eyes and realize that in the real world, you don’t stand atop some pinnacle of worthiness alone. You’re just like the rest of us, down here mucking about in the shit, blind to the wider reality.” Ana growled the last sentence, spun on her heel, and stalked out of the room.

She slammed the door behind her, leaving Sebastien alone with the echo of Ana’s bitterness off the stone walls.

Question: If you were Sebastien, would you have been able to handle the situation with Ana better? If so, how?