“Aster!” My head snapped up from the desk I’d been sleeping, and evidently drooling, on. My classmates snickered quietly as I fumbled my way back into consciousness, and Lily rolled her eyes. I blinked at Mrs. Twofield, who was glaring at me. She was clearly expecting me to answer some question she’d asked while I’d been out. Lily mouthed the word “four” at me.

“Um. Four?” I replied nervously.

“That’s close, but the actual answer was William Shakespeare. Do try and keep the sleeping at home in the future.” The class snickered again, this time counting Lily. I slumped back in my seat and rubbed my temples. This was an embarrassingly regular occurrence for me at Hyperion Academy, the premier academic institution for rich kids. They didn’t know about the Blackwood family’s secret magical history, nor their position of importance within the larger magical society, but they did know about the sizable checks the family kept sending to the board. That was enough to convince them to let me stay in school despite sleeping through class.

The rest of class stretched on with me winking in and out, before the bell rang and dismissed us. I lurched out of my seat and made for the door when Lily put a hand on my shoulder.

“Long night, huh?” She smiled at me. I shrugged.

“Milking pixies didn’t go according to plan.” I wasn’t supposed to involve her in my assignments, but it was hard not to overshare when we had to spend so much time together.

Her brow furrowed. “Did something happen?” She had concern in her eyes, and I looked away, pushing the door open.

“Don’t worry about it.” The family’s instructions had been very clear: whatever this creature was, Lily was not to get involved with it like she had last time. Their precious heir couldn’t afford to be taking those kinds of risks. That’s what her bodyguard was for.

Lily followed me into the hall. “I hate it when you keep things from me, you know.”

“I do know.” I tried to keep the conversation short, but we were both headed to the same class. Part of that whole bodyguard business meant we had identical schedules, which made it difficult to keep much from her.

“I’m not going to stop pestering you about it until you tell me. Look: pester, pester, pester.” She pushed my shoulder as she pestered, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I shook my head. “You can pester all you want, but I’m on thin ice after last time. Just leave it alone, okay?” I shrugged off her hand and pushed open the door to our next class. She frowned at me, but didn’t continue with her antics.

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Lily Blackwood and I weren’t really supposed to be friends. I owed her family everything after they took me in, but their price had been clear: I was to accompany their daughter, Lily, and be her sworn guardian against all threats to her. When she was safe at home, I was to be tasked on any mission the family deemed important for their Adepts to handle. Important things like milking pixies. I’d been given a list of all the useful alchemical properties of pixie dust once upon a time that I never read, but I was sure it was important. I obviously couldn’t travel too far from her, so most of my duties involved more mundane things around the manor. I wouldn’t call this the best deal in the world, but it was the best deal I was going to get at the time.

Lily had always wanted to pretend like we were normal friends, or maybe even siblings. I’d been warned numerous times that I was not to get too close to her. Getting too attached to your charge could have dire consequences, and lead to emotions that can be manipulated by the enemies of the family. At first I’d tried keeping a distance between us, but she’d worn me down over the years. At school we could act like normal teenagers. At the manor though, everything had to be cold and impersonal between us. She was my better, the heir to one of the world’s most powerful mage families, and I was just one of their many servants. I sometimes wondered if she’d had a similar relationship with her previous guardian. She never really talked about it, but she’d always seemed intent on making us friends.

The rest of the day dragged on, but at least I stayed awake for it. My calculus homework got returned covered in red marks. I was well on track to flunking all of the upcoming exams. And Lily, true to her word, would not stop the pestering.

“Did one of the pixies get mad? Ohhhh was there like a super-pixie that came to beat you up because you milked the little ones? Or, or, or was an enemy mage infiltrating and you had to fight them? Come on, give me something, Aster.” Lily tugged at my arm while we walked home. I laughed as she went on with her suggestions.

“You’re very persistent.” I commented to her. “But there’s nothing I can do. My lips are sealed.”

“Come on, there was also ‘nothing you could do’ last time, and look how that wound up!” Lily cheerily skipped in front of me and grabbed my wrists. “Please?”

I winced. Lily was right, I’d been less careful last time and let too much slip. From her perspective, it probably seemed like everything went fine. The family kept her sheltered from a lot of things, including the penalties I had to face by the end of that incident. The scars on my back from the lashing itched as she brought it up. I shook my head.

“Everything will be fine. It’s nothing to get so worked up over.” I tried to appease her, but she pouted and continued.

“That’s what you say every time something fun happens! Mother never lets me out to do the big magic, the cool stuff. It’s always boring, dreary, arcane theory. The stuff you get to do is so much more exciting!” The words tumbled out of her mouth while her eyes sparkled. Whatever her overactive imagination was conjuring up, the reality was going to disappoint her. I didn’t know how to deal with the power imbalance between us, and it seemed almost invisible to her. Her teasing and positivity didn’t bother me, but her complete lack of awareness of consequences did.

I sighed. “I’m serious, Lily. Please stop. I’m not allowed to tell you anything, and things didn’t go as well last time as you seem to think.” She cocked her head quizzically at me, and I sputtered as I tried to move on. “Just focus on your studies, make your parents happy. Let me do my job, and don’t let it bother you.”

She squinted at me, but didn’t say anything else. She turned away from me, and we walked back to the manor in silence.