Liliana took a sip of her tea, eyes locked on the perfect slice of cake across the table from her. She blinked when a notification appeared before her eyes.

Warning! You have been poisoned. -5 Health per second.

Your [Poison Resistance] has reached level 216!

The poison you ingested has been neutralized.

“Oh, that’s so nice of the staff!” Liliana said as she sipped her tea again.

It had a fruity taste with a hint of spice she’d first assumed to be cinnamon. Now she knew it to be the taste of a rather common poison derived from the Widow’s Lament. It did have a rather spicy taste if ingested. She’d have to remember that it made for a rather nice tea.

“What?” Emyr asked, head rising from where it’d been pillowed on his arms. The dark circles under his eyes had faded slightly, but he was spending far less time sleeping than he should have. Liliana knew he had begun spying on Marianne, and combined with his school responsibilities, it left him little time to rest.

“They added poison to my tea,” Liliana said happily. Emyr blinked at her for a moment before groaning and hiding his face back in his arms.

“Lili, they’re probably trying to kill you,” Alistair said tentatively, rubbing a hand against his lover’s back with a sympathetic look.

“Oh no, if someone was trying to kill me, they wouldn’t use such a weak poison.” Liliana waved a hand as she finished the tea. Besides, the Academy couldn’t afford to kill a noble in such an obvious manner. Itwas more than likely just the staff showing their displeasure in a more obvious way.

“Only you would think the use of any poison was a good thing,” Marianne snorted, examining her own tea warily before taking a tentative sip.

Liliana shrugged as she set her teacup down, eyes locking on the cake slice. “It helped my resistance level, and everyone knows by now poisons are not effective on me.” She said conversationally, keeping her body relaxed.

“Maybe Zir’elon bribed a worker and is trying to kill you. Again,” Emyr muttered into his arms.

“I doubt the workers need incentive to try to kill the person responsible for the multiple food fights we’ve had,” Alistair said with a grin. Liliana frowned at her brother. He was as much at fault as her for those. She activated [Threads of Control] and yanked the plate of cake to herself in a flash of movement, feeling vindicated in her theft now.

“Lili!” Alistair shouted, jumping up from his seat as Liliana grasped the plate and dug a fork into it in a movement too fast to see. Before her brother had taken another breath, two bites were already taken from his cake.

“Is one week without you stealing Alistair’s food and starting a fight in the cafeteria too much to ask for?” Marianne groaned as she slid herself, and her homework, several seats down the table, out of the danger zone if a fight did break out.

“Yes.” Liliana replied as she shoved cake into her mouth as fast as she could, her brother too slow to stop her before the plate was empty.

Emyr lifted his head again, giving her an unimpressed glare while Alistair stared at the empty plate like it was a fallen friend. “This is why the cafeteria workers are trying to kill you.”

“They’re not trying to kill me.” Liliana snorted, giving her brother an impish grin when she presented the spotless plate to him. “Are you taking my dirty dishes, Ali? How sweet of you!”

Alistair’s face turned stormy, eyebrows descending like guillotines, his lips twisted in a scowl. Liliana hopped up from her seat, sensing an impending fight. She grinned at her brother, eyes already running over the cafeteria, looking for what she could use as an impromptu weapon or cover.

“Lili!” a sweet voice called out, and Liliana turned with a wide, thankful smile as Diana ran up to her. Liliana carefully maneuvered, so the girl was between her and her brother. Alistair wouldn’t attack if it might hurt Diana. He wasn’t that angry yet.

“Oh hello, Diana. What wonderful timing you have! Do you need me? Great! Let’s go talk somewhere else. It’s a bit stifling in here,” Liliana said eagerly, tossing her plate on the table and locking arms with Diana, dragging the confused girl out of the room. “Bye Ali! Thanks for the cake and taking care of my dishes!” she called back to the enraged man as she hustled them out of the door.

“Did you just use me to get out of a fight with your brother?” Diana asked wryly as Liliana kept them moving quickly down the staircases and out of the cafeteria. Alistair probably wouldn’t chase them, but he could also hold a grudge, and fighting on a staircase was the worst tactical choice she could make.

“How did you know?” Liliana asked with a smile full of mischief.

“Educated guess,” Diana drawled with a smile and a shake of her head, “did you start it?” she inquired.

“Technically, I feel like Alistair started it,” Liliana said diplomatically, eyes sparking with amusement.

Diana rolled her eyes, but her smile was unbearably fond. “So you started it.”

Liliana paused as they left the cafeteria, her free hand pressed against her chest and lips open in faux shock. “How could you say something like that?” she demanded, rubbing at completely dry eyes. “It’s like you know me.”

Diana snorted, tugging on Liliana’s arm and guiding them now. “You’re spending too much time with that bird.” She chastised, but her tone held no bite.

Liliana sighed. “His name is Corbin.” She pointed out, lips twisted in a small, indulgent smile.

“Is it?” Diana asked, voice too full of surprise to be real.

Liliana didn’t press the issue, whatever it was. Most of her friends seemed to have some kind of vendetta against Corbin she couldn’t parse out. “So, what did you need me for? Or was that just an incredibly well-timed rescue?”

“I do need your help, actually. Saving you was just a lucky coincidence,” Diana said, face turning nervous.

“My knight in shining armor,” Liliana teased, just to wipe the nervousness off Diana’s face. The girl had asked the others for help, occasionally, but whenever it came to Liliana, she always hesitated. As if she never thought Liliana would help her.

Diana flushed, looking down and pausing on the path, “I-It’s an assignment I accepted. A guard assignment.” She said slowly, voice almost whisper quiet. Liliana gave her a bemused look at the sudden shyness.

Liliana glanced around, instead of discomfiting Diana further by staring at her. Locating a free bench, she gently guided Diana to it for them to sit. It always took a good amount of effort to get Diana to explain what she needed help with. And to stop apologizing halfway through, and explaining Liliana didn’t have to help.

Liliana sat next to Diana and leaned back, keeping her eyes carefully off of Diana as she waved at the occasional student. Taking far more interest in the slowly dying flowers and trees as winter crept over the land than her companion. She preferred spring as far as seasons went, but there was a certain kind of beauty in winter. In the temporary death of nature.

“It’s. I thought I’d be able to take it on my own. You know?” Diana started rambling almost immediately and Liliana let out a small noise to let her know she was listening. “Even with all the weirdness going on with assignments. But when I talked to the students taking this and the information about it... It’s odd.”

Liliana perked up at the word ‘odd’, turning slightly to look at Diana. Which was the wrong thing to do as Diana immediately flushed again and looked down at her hands.

“You don’t have to help! Of course. I’m sorry. This is silly. I’m sure I can handle it on my own. I’m sorry to bother you.” Diana immediately started apologizing, and Liliana let a comforting smile slide on her lips instead of releasing the sigh she wanted to. That would only serve to make Diana clam up entirely. For someone so strong and capable, Diana was startlingly insecure.

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“Diana, it’s okay. I was planning on taking on a new assignment today, so this is actually perfect. I don’t have to hunt down a good assignment if you let me join you.” Liliana said carefully, leaning forward and widening her eyes slightly to project honesty. She always had to approach Diana when she was like this delicately and with precision, or Diana would convince herself that Liliana was just saying things to make her feel better and didn’t mean any of what she said.

She wasn’t lying in this case, either. She had been planning to take a new assignment. It had been two weeks since the dungeon, and she didn’t like going for long periods of time without something physical to do. Battle Training never felt real to her anymore. The shields made it all seem pointless. No risk and little reward. Fighting wasn’t the same if the threat of death wasn’t hanging around the peripherals.

“Really?” Diana asked, brightening at the thought that she was helping.

That was the key Liliana had found to dealing with Diana when she asked for assistance. If she wanted Diana to get to the point, she had to make it seem like Diana was the one helping her. Diana was always eager to help, and reticent to accept help in turn. Most especially from Liliana, who despite their years of friendship, she still seemed to look up to. Or feel some kind of odd guilt or debt from the short stint in first year where Diana had cut off contact.

“Of course, so tell me what’s going on so I can make sure we’re prepared.” Liliana said kindly, with a warm smile.

Diana flushed again, and Liliana was tempted to check her for a fever if flushing wasn’t such a common thing for Diana. Her fair skin meant she turned red at the littlest things. At times, it made Liliana thankful for her darker skin. The thought of turning red at the drop of a hat was uncomfortable for her. It showed too much emotion for her taste, in a way that was not easily controlled like other physical tells she’d mastered over the years.

“Well, it’s classed as a subjugation assignment. But the assignment details don’t say what creature it is. It’s assumed to be a level that the second years can handle because whatever it is, it keeps taking children. All under thirteen, no one whose been Awakened has been taken.” Diana explained, far more comfortable now that she felt she was in the position of helping someone else. “I was hoping, since you have more knowledge of creatures than anyone else, you might know what it is?” she asked, turning slightly unsure at the end.

Liliana frowned, head tilting as her eyes went distant. In her mind books were opening, pages turning as she rifled through her immense stores of knowledge on beasts to find ones with hunting tendencies that matched what Diana had said. There were several she could think of off the bat that would target children.

In fact, a lot of low-level beasts would attack a human child. Opportunistic hunting was common in predators, and Unawakened children were easy targets. But for it to be multiple children, that wasn’t opportunistic. That was a pattern, a preference.

“Do you know what the terrain is like?” Liliana asked. That would help her the most with pinpointing what it could be. They were likely dealing with a man-eater, low level if it was going after Unawakened children rather than Awakened ones who would give it more experience to kill. Killing children would mean it would take longer to level, but it was technically safer.

“Are there any reports of remains?” Liliana added in, as that would also give her ample information to narrow it down.

Diana shook her head with a worried frown, “there’s no information in the assignment about remains. The children are assumed missing, since no bodies have been found.” She explained.

“Terrain?” Liliana asked again, and Diana brightened a little.

“The location is spread across several towns and villages in the Drisbow Duchy territory. The towns and villages range from the center of the territory to slightly to the north.” Diana explained eagerly, excited to have useful information to use. Liliana nodded as her mind eliminated certain creatures and picked new ones to fit.

The issue was that while the creature being a man-eater did narrow it down; it didn’t narrow it down enough. Neither did its focus being on children. Bogeymen, Kluddes, Baba Yagas, Oude Rode Ogens, Bauks, Gurumapas. All of those creatures preferred children and would fit the area well enough. And they weren’t even the full list of possibilities. And some of them were Rank 3 and up exclusively, which was concerning.

Liliana was relieved the more she heard that Diana had asked her for help, as the assignment reeked of danger. She doubted the professors would cancel it, as they’d been the ones to approve it and assign it as a second year task in the first place. And if she was already going to join in, they would consider it safe enough with her to help. They wouldn’t cancel an assignment because of a gut feeling or unsubstantiated suspicions. Not when there was no proof the creature was a danger to second years when whatever it was had only attacked defenseless children.

“When do we head out?” Liliana asked. Diana beamed at her, shoulders drooping in relief as if she’d truly thought Liliana would say no. Which was ridiculous, Liliana would’ve accepted no matter what because it was her friend asking. She didn’t make a habit of denying a request for aid from a friend.

“Today?” Diana said, wincing slightly. Liliana shook her head, wondering how long Diana had agonized over asking her.

“I’ll talk to Vereign and get my name added. Whats the assignment name?” Liliana asked, not mentioning Diana waiting until the last minute. It wasn’t the first time, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Luckily, Liliana always kept supplies on her, so she didn’t need to rush to gather everything. She preferred to stay prepared, just in case. Silas had beaten that into her head over the years. Guérin and Rauk had only further cemented that with their ‘surprise’ dungeon dives for their class, done with no warning more and more as the years progressed.

“It’s assignment GAU134S4.” Diana recited easily, and Liliana nodded, noting it down in her mind. She had to know which assignment it was to get her name added, so the professors didn’t think she was playing hooky.

Liliana stood and stretched, grabbing up her hair that she’d left loose and quickly tying it back in a rough ponytail. She’d braid it later. She never left her hair loose on assignments. It was a massive risk in a fight, getting in her face or providing something for enemies to grab onto.

“I’ll add my name, let the others know, and grab my bonds. Where do you want to meet?” Liliana asked.

“In the main plaza,” Diana replied promptly before grabbing Liliana’s hands in her own and giving her a look full of wide eyes and admiration that made Liliana slightly uncomfortable. “Thank you, Lili. For helping me.” She said softly.

Liliana cleared her throat, feeling her face heating and once more finding herself thankful her complexion didn’t reveal blushing as easily as Diana’s did. “It’s fine. Like I said, I needed an assignment, and this one sounds like it’ll be interesting.”

Diana smiled at her and squeezed her hands tightly while Liliana tried to figure out if it would be rude to just pull away.

“First you steal your brother’s boyfriend and now you’re already moving on?” a taunting voice full of disdain reached Liliana. For perhaps the first time in her life, she was thankful for Zir’elon because it gave her an excuse to pull away from Diana’s hands. And her eyes that seemed to be full of something Liliana didn’t want to examine.

“What rock did you crawl out of Zir’elon?” Liliana drawled as she turned towards the dæmon prince with a sneer in place.

Diana’s soft look swiftly fell to be replaced with a nervous glare. Liliana subtly stepped slightly in front of the other girl. Zir’elon preferred to target her, but he was cowardly and would eagerly target Diana, seeing her as the weaker prey, if given the chance. He knew doing that would enrage Liliana, and he usually came to taunt her with the intention of drawing her into a duel.

“I was simply walking by when I was forced to witness this disgusting display of infidelity.” Zir’elon snorted, arms crossed as he lifted his chin to stare down his nose at her.

“Maybe if you spent less time staring at those better than you, you’d have time to repair your abysmal grades and climb a class rank.” Liliana offered with a cruel smirk, dusting nonexistent lint off the class S stars on her chest.

She had a full set of eight, almost unheard of in the Academy until her year had come around. Zir’elon had two, one from his first semester and then a second from his second semester in third year when he’d clawed his way back only to drop once more. If their classes were determined based solely on fighting ability, he would’ve stayed in class S. But apparently scholarly pursuits were beneath the prince, if his grades were anything to go by.

“My betters? Where? Certainly not the common bitch and the whore who took after her commoner mother and is trying to seduce half the school to retain her falsely gained noble title.” Zir’elon sneered, words dripping disdain as he looked over at Diana and Liliana as if they were something disgusting he’d accidentally stepped in.

Liliana’s smirk turned into a feral snarl full of sharp teeth. Her hand dropped to the dagger on her hip and slid it out of its sheath without a sound. She could most definitely stab him before someone realized what had happened and intervened. She knew she was fast enough.

“After the last time I beat you in a duel, one would think you’d learn to not antagonize me.” Liliana murmured, voice low and full of threat. She took a step forward, only to feel a small hand grip her arm.

“Lili, let’s go. We don’t have time.” Diana whispered, voice timid. Liliana paused and sighed, sheathing the dagger she’d pulled out. She’d really wanted to stab Zir’elon.

“I have better things to do than to waste time with the royal disappointment. Go study, Zir’elon. Gods know you need some wisdom. Maybe it’ll bring your intelligence above that of a five-year-old.” Liliana raised a hand in a halfhearted dismissal as she turned her back on the prince, the true insult. She was saying he wasn’t even a threat to her, that even if he attacked her back, she didn’t think he’d be able to hurt her.

“You dar-“ Zir’elon started when Liliana cut him off.

“Oh, shut up.” She tossed over her shoulder as she grabbed Diana.

The girl turned slowly, eyes locked on Zir’elon, her face obscured by her position from Liliana. But when she turned around, there was just an unhappy frown on her face, the more passive girl likely unnerved by the confrontation. She froze up in arguments, and she seemed to have a fear of Zir’elon, who always had a cutting remark ready. She was like a deer in headlights, staring at the prince as if she thought staying absolutely still would stop him from turning his attention on her. Liliana was almost tempted to punch Zir’elon in the face simply for upsetting Diana like that.

Zir’elon didn’t say anything more when they walked off, likely licking the wounds to his ego. He never did take it well when he lost the verbal spars. Nor the physical ones he tried to constantly goad Liliana into. She’d thought self preservation would’ve eventually kicked in and he’d leave her alone, but apparently his ego was so large that almost four years of having it cut down by her still hadn’t killed it.

“Meet you in two hours?” Liliana said, forcefully injecting cheer into her voice. Diana smiled hesitantly at her and nodded.

“Yeah, see you,” she said softly, smile dropping as she looked over her shoulder. As if expecting Zir’elon to follow them.

Liliana frowned but comforted herself with the knowledge she’d have several days to bring Diana’s mood back up. If all else failed, when they came back, she’d just challenge Zir’elon to a duel and wipe his smug superiority off his face again. It might not improve Diana’s mood, but it would make Liliana happy.