Helas’s friend turned out to be the dean of Tairayat Academy, the most prestigious magical research university on the continent.

Why there? I wanted to ask. Even if Tairayat Academy had a dungeon that could help me get strong quickly, it was in the southern kingdom of Shazia—where Harorin was from.

But before I could ask, Yalgor returned with a small pouch that he handed to Helas, who opened it to scrutinize the edibles. Seemingly satisfied, she closed it and stashed it in her satchel.

“Thank you for the help,” she said, putting a hand on my back and pushing me with more force than necessary. “We’ll see ourselves out. Take care of yourselves.”

“You too,” Yalgor said, giving us a kind wave as we made our way out of the temple.

Helas didn’t say anything as we walked. When we crossed out of the temple’s surrounding forest, she tugged me in the opposite direction of her house. That wasn’t what I expected.

“Are we not going to stop by your house first?” I lowered my voice because there were more people around now. “What about Harorin’s… body?”

Helas hummed, but she didn’t course correct. “We’re going to use the university’s portal. I can convince the guard to log my departure a few hours earlier to avoid any suspicion. I’ve got an item you can wear that’ll make you invisible. You’ll get your own eventually.”

So we were headed back toward the university, and whatever happened to what was left of Harorin’s body would happen. Then again, I’d left a mess in the dorm room, and so this wasn’t much different.

Together, the pool of my blood and Harorin’s corpse would tell a story his family would want to investigate. If I was lucky, it’d point to my father, and he’d be politically ruined before I killed him. Be sweeter that way.

“What murderous thoughts are you thinking right now?” Helas asked. “Careful there.”

Careful wouldn’t cut it. If Ezrenad found out I was alive, then I’d be as good as dead. He wouldn’t just beat my head in next time; he’d kill me like he’d killed Mother.

I couldn’t return home to the Noveden Kingdom, and I didn’t want to stay in here Bolstaor. Both would be easy guesses for Father. He’d never guess I’d go to Shazia though, which made the southern kingdom a fine hiding place. Even if that place might be a constant reminder of Harorin.

“I’m ready to be someone else,” I said, “and somewhere else. I need a new start if I’m going to grow strong enough to act on my murderous thoughts.”

Helas snickered. “Okay, kid. I’ve got connections in Ridahr. You want a fresh start? I’ll get you one. First step is getting there though. Hold on…”

As we walked, she opened her satchel and dug around until ultimately retrieving a golden cloak with a shimmering teardrop pattern associated with Sak’hed. “Put this on now so no one sees you inside.”

“It’ll make me invisible?” I shoved my arms into the sleeves. “What’s it called?”

She reached forward to close the clasp in the front. “For an hour.”

So it was probably Rare like the Infinite Chain.

“And my second question?”

“I’m not taking any more questions.” She folded her arms across her chest and grinned. “This’ll be your first time taking a portal, right? First time is magical. I’ll never forget the feeling. Quite sensational. You’ll love it.”

“What’s it like?” I asked, not believing her at all.

“I said no more questions. I’m getting funny looks.”

While I would’ve loved to get her more unflattering attention, this wasn’t the time and so I relented. She picked up her pace as the roads continued getting busier. Daylight wouldn’t arrive here for another few hours, but that didn’t mean the work day waited for the sun.

No one looked twice at us when we entered Bolstaor University. Or, rather, no one looked twice at Helas. Helas’s cloak made me invisible even to myself, whatever it was called. I followed her closely as she navigated down a basement hallway to the portal room.

Only a handful of wooden chandeliers lit our way. At the end, two columns supporting a rounded archway led to an underground chamber without extravagance. Between us and the stone entrance to the portal room stood a podium with a registry of travelings and a guard.

The portal behind those stone doors was networked to parallel portals located at universities all over the world through ley lines. Crisscrossing just under the surface of the planet, the ley lines were a naturally occurring source of Nix Fin Lux—often translated as Divine Light, though I preferred the translation limitless light. Which made this place seemed too important for only one guard and a professor to keep safe.

“Professor Trazigar,” the guard said, giving a small but respectful bow as we approached.

“Good morning.” Helas walked up to the podium and leaned against it casually. She tapped on the logbook with a fingernail. “I need to go to Tairayat Academy for my research. Put me down for having left around midnight though, will you? Better for billing.”

A name on the logbook caught my eye.

The guard chuckled and dipped his quill into some ink. “Smart,” he said as he wrote her name and logged the time of her departure as requested.

The name Lorem Vulros was logged twice above Helas’s with a three hour gap between entries. So he’d used the portal to get here, and he’d probably checked that I was still dead before leaving.

Once the guard finished logging the time Helas had requested, he grinned. “I wish you luck with your research, professor.”

“Thank you kindly,” she said, and I could tell she didn’t mean it.

She passed him and pushed one side of the heavy stone doors open. I stepped into the portal room with her for the first time with my jaw slack. White light in the center of the underground cavern beamed upwards from a tall tree that had a white trunk and glowing white leaves. A ley line. It flashed with color, like light refracting off thousands of prisms.

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A blue-scaled and purple-freckled professor stepped out from behind the tree. She wore a headscarf and sleeveless robes with contrasting patterns. Her layers of gold necklaces and bracelets glimmered in the light of the ley line.

“Professor Rhesk,” Helas greeted her by opening her hands to the other professor. They must’ve been rather close, but given Helas’s age, I wasn’t surprised.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you.” Professor Rhesk curled her fingers around Helas’s, returning the greeting. All that I knew about her was that she was an old lizardfolk who’d served in the portal room since before I was born. Her eyes twinkled. “Research. Again?”

Helas rolled her eyes. “Yes, research. Are you going to let me through?”

“Never,” Professor Rhesk said, smiling widely. Her tail re-coiled behind her, and she pressed a hand to the tree. Underneath her touch, the outer layer of bark peeled away to reveal the bright white light of the ley line. “As always, keep your destination in mind, don’t hold your breath, and take one step at a time.”

Helas gestured toward the portal, and I knew what she wanted me to do. I stepped forward first and took a big breath.

“Thank you,” she said to the professor as I stepped through.

I was not prepared.

My soul lagged behind like an anchor, dropping me into a yawning darkness as if I’d closed my eyes.

Or died. A lot like when I’d died.

Walking through the portal distorted time and space, extending across both. I wish I’d been warned that it’d feel like my body was being stretched across Eshon, every muscle in my body screaming in overexertion.

After what could’ve been forever, my feet found solid ground.

【NOTICE】

You have now entered the Shazia Kingdom.

But my legs threatened to give out under me. All the muscles in my body aching, I released a breath and a wave of nausea hit me as I took in my surroundings.

Almost nothing about my surroundings had changed. Tairayat’s portal room was identical to the one in Bolstaor. They all probably looked like this, created by a dozen people chanting the same set of spells.

Only a few steps away was the only difference.

Helas stepped out after me and a genuine smile washed over her face.

“Welcome back, Helas,” said Dean Sarsyss. She had dark brown skin. Her coily purple curls were tied back into a pile down the center of her head like a crest, and she wore loose robes with an intricate purple pattern. She opened her arms to Helas. “And so soon. You flatter me.”

With her black curled horns and a thick scaled tail, the dean of Tairayat Academy didn’t have the luxury of hiding her heritage as a half-demon—a tiefling. Almost anyone would recognize her.

Helas hugged her. “I get that a lot,” she said. “It’s good to see you again, Dhysrya. And Geram, you can take the cloak off now.”

I released the clasp and shrugged it off. Since this was my first time meeting Dean Sarsyss, I put a hand to my heart and bowed slightly. But the motion made me sick, and my greeting got stuck in my throat.

“You didn’t warn him?” the dean said. She didn’t bat an eye at me, seemingly unsurprised that I’d snuck onto her campus while wearing Helas’s cloak. “The feeling will fade in a day or so. Ginger tea will help. I have some in my office.”

“We need to talk,” Helas said. “Your office is great.”

I took one last look at the tree and the ley line as we left.

We navigated through the palace to the dean’s residence at the top levels of one of the towers. The name on the door read Dean Dhysrya Sarsyss, and the door opened by itself to a clay tiled courtyard under a bright blue sky. Tall potted trees provided shadow and hid a columned arcade wrapping around the courtyard.

After crossing the courtyard, we followed the dean into her bright office through an arched entryway. Bookshelves covered the walls and palm trees cluttered the corners. Behind the dean’s desk, glass doors to a balcony showcased a view of the sprawling port city of Ridahr below and the Oprad Sea in the distance.

The dean took a seat behind her oversized white-washed wood desk. Helas and I took up the woven chairs on the other side of it.

“First, let me introduce you,” Helas said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “This is my apprentice, the Hidden Slayer.”

The dean sat straighter as grabbed a cup from a tray on her desk and poured some steaming tea into it. “A new slayer?”

“We have a lot to catch up on, Dhysrya,” Helas said, taking the cup from the dean when offered and then giving it to me. “But he needs to get stronger, and it’s about time that he clears a quest in a dungeon like Silvernight.”

The dean cocked an eyebrow, relaxed back in her seat, and turned to me. “Apologies for not introducing myself properly. I’m Dhysyra Sarsyss, the Dean of Tairayat Academy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She put a hand to her heart and bowed her head slightly.

I took a sip of the ginger tea and, with it, swallowed the remnants of nausea still rebelling in my stomach. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I’m Geram Vulros, though I’m currently seeking a new identity.”

“Well,” the dean said, “you have certainly found a suitable mentor, Geram. I’d love to help you here, but the Silvernight Dungeon is closed to non-students.”

Helas scoffed. “Dhysrya.”

“Helas, let me finish.” The dean gave me a wide smile. “But I could open it for a promising potential student, such as a new slayer like yourself. How about you promise to apply to Tairayat, under whatever identity you’d like, and I’ll give you access to the dungeon.”

“Ha!” Helas slapped her knee. “So you’ll help us hide him?"

“I can certainly offer a student a safe haven in Tairayat. We also boast a robust magical education parallel to none, and I’m sure we have much to teach a new slayer.”

I held up a hand. “I’m in.”

Helas chuckled. “You hear that? He’s in. So?”

The dean released a breathy laugh followed by a sigh. “I’d like to know exactly from whom we’re hiding him, as well as everything else I need to be caught up on before sending him in. Also, he looks like he could use a bath, some food, and a rest.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “Don’t think I could eat or sleep right now.”

“You may feel differently about sleeping after a relaxing bath, and you may feel differently about eating after you rest. There’s a guest room you can use. Take a right out of here, second door.”

Although I wanted to protest, ignoring the opportunity wouldn’t do me any good. I’d run down the time on my most useful skills already, and I couldn’t have been asleep for more than two hours before I’d awoken to Father’s handsome, pale face.

So I found myself opening the second door on the right after finishing my cup of tea and watching Helas flirt with yet another woman. Something to tease her about later.

The guest bedroom that the dean offered me shared her office’s brightness and favor toward white-washed furniture. As inviting as the four poster bed looked, I doubted that I’d be able to fall asleep right now.

In the armoire, I found a pair of shorts and shirt, both loose and linen and entirely more weather-appropriate than the leather and fur I was currently dressed in. I brought them to the en-suite bathroom, white-tiled with a huge round bathtub in the center and access to the balcony.

After washing and changing, I wandered out to the balcony. Out here, where magic spells weren’t tempering the heat, the sweat was immediate.

Heat radiated from the surface of the city’s characteristic sun-bleached terra-cotta tile roofs in distorted waves all the way up to the domed palaces that surrounded the academy and the royal palace next door. Of course the nobles and the scholars both wanted to look down on the rest of the city here just like in Sørgentsen and my home of Noveden.

I took a seat in a woven lounge chair on the balcony and groaned at the feeling of the sun. It’d been a long time since I’d felt sunshine on my skin. The sun was too bright to keep my eyes open, so I closed them to the blue sky and let my mind wander as the breeze played with my hair.

If Harorin was still alive, he’d probably have come with us. He’d be pointing out where his family lived while prattling on about how great it was to be home and leaning over the edge of the balcony too far to be safe. He’d have forced me to go home with him so I could meet his father and keep his step-mother from singling him out.

Anger churned deep within me. What I’d learned from meeting Sak’hed was that I needed to feel through it and move on. I was devastated that Harorin was dead, and I hated that I could’ve saved him had I been stronger or more experienced with fighting demons. Nothing would change that.

But a whisper somewhere even deeper told me that I could use these ugly feelings to get stronger. That’d be the best way to honor Harorin.