The carriages that take students off the floating island and back to their countries board stupidly early, especially after the end of year party last night that kicked off right after the last set of exams.

All three boys in the room are scrambling around shoving everything into their trunks and they can hear chaos further off in other rooms of the tower. Nicholas knows for a fact that half of his shit is with Rafael and the other half is with Stavros, so Nicholas is basically packing their stuff into his own luggage, and they'll just have to sort it out later and send it with shrinking charms through carrier pigeons.

"Help," Nicholas whines, sitting back on his calves in his bed, patting around the covers for like ten minutes now because he can't find his glasses and he checked the floor – they're not there.

"Just summon them," Stavros snaps, kneeling on his trunk to force it shut.

"I don't know where my wand is either," Nicholas complains, panicking because he's barely dressed and he hasn't started packing half the stuff. "Guys, come on, I'm blind. Like I genuinely can't see shit right now."

Rafael storms over and picks up Nicholas’ glasses, where they had been ten centimetres from his foot, and puts them on Nicholas' face before picking up Nicholas' wand, half buried under the pillow that he threw at the foot of the bed to check the rest of the mattress.

"I love you," Nicholas says solemnly as Rafael heads back to packing.

Nicholas then uses a time-set transfiguration spell to gather all his things piled on the floor into handkerchiefs, tosses them into his luggage and shuts it with a satisfying bang. He puts his hands on his hips and smiles because when it transforms back it'll be absolute chaos but it's all fine for now at least.

"Since when?!" Stavros cries. "No – fuck you, Nicky, you could do that the whole time and you didn't once offer to help me?"

"I was looking for my glasses!" Nicholas yells back. "Which you didn't help with either so fuck you back!"

The piercing whistle cuts through the wind, barely heard this far away but still striking fear into their hearts. Everyone is scrambling to drag Nicholas over to their piles of trash scattered around.

All their bits and pieces are closed and shrunken with the carriages about to leave in like twenty minutes so they bolt down the stairs, joining the frantic crowd of other InCore that stream out from the dorms.

The three take a sharp left and shove aside a tapestry, most of the InCore behind them following because everyone knows you can bribe the boys for shortcuts so this will definitely get them to the carriages faster.

There's a poor year-seven at the back, lugging two full bags because she doesn't know the shrinking spell yet, and wheezing. "Oh whatever, I'll just stay at the citadel the whole summer."

"You can sneak through the Transverse gate later!" Stavros calls back over the thudding of feet echoing off the narrow stone walls.

"You said that last time and we still ended up having to ask a random teacher to port us," Nicholas retorts, firing back a shrinking spell at the girl's luggage. "Get someone to unshrink that when you get off the carriage!"

They sprint down spiral stairs barely big enough for one person and burst out into the courtyard to the sound of another warning whistle from the coachman. By the time they stagger out to the front entranceway, all the other students who got there at a reasonable time are snickering at them.

Most carriages are connected in a line, and then set up in rows with big signs for each continent hovering in the air. The shadowy coachmen in fancy tailcoats and top hats are sitting at the front, holding reigns that are attached to invisible horses.

There are still some kinks to be worked out because the carriages were introduced only a few years ago after some research, from Jordan’s lab at that, came out about really long-distance Transverse use being bad for people and some parents complained to the school. They didn’t have the carriages connected last year and it was even more of a confusing scramble, but this year wasn’t so bad.

The three of them run around, ducking between carriages and petting invisible horses until they find the Europe line. Nicholas kicked up such a fuss being separated from his friends too early that his parents decided they’ll just pick him up at the Europe station and head over to the manor in Egypt with a Transverse after.

Nicholas wobbles after Stavros to an empty six-seater carriage and just passes out on Rafael’s lap.

Rafael pats around and picks up the newspaper that came in through the dorm window via unsympathetic pigeon while everyone was frantically packing this morning. The bird sat on the windowsill for two minutes, realised it wasn’t going to get a treat, and untied the shrunken paper from its own leg before leaving.

Stavros occupies himself with repacking his luggage – which actually means shoving everything he can fit of Nicholas and Rafael’s into his own suitcase because he likes to hoard their stuff. After he gets bored an hour in, he kicks Rafael in the leg from where he’s sitting opposite. “You’re such an old man.”

“It’s interesting,” Rafael retorts. “A Creature Reform Centre was shut down recently.”

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Stavros crosses his arms with a sneer. “What for? Not making the creatures miserable enough?”

“Gas explosion.”

Stavros blinks. “And all the creatures are dead?”

“Half the staff, not a single ‘patient’ injured,” Rafael explains, just as incredulous. “I think it’s Lambros doing this. The creatures are being moved to a rehabilitation centre inside a conservation.”

“Another reform centre then.”

“I don’t think so?” Rafael flips the page but that’s the entire story, crammed into a few paragraphs in the middle pages. “I looked up the conservation before, it…seemed genuine.”

After a too-long pause, Rafael looks up.

“Why were you looking it up?” Stavros demands, voice soft, dangerous.

Rafael shuffles the newspaper a bit, the moon waning enough he hunches his shoulders. “Just in case.”

“And where were we in your ‘just in case’?”

“Dead,” Rafael murmurs. “Because I’d killed you.”

Stavros grins wide like baring his teeth. “I’d win that fight.”

Rafael rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’d eat Rito and we’d fight to the death gladiator style.”

Stavros barks out a laugh.

Nicholas snuffles at the sudden spike in noise and opens his eyes, squinting out at Stavros. “Wha’s a time?”

Stavros casts a time spell before he realises it’s going to be messed up from flying over different time zones. “We’re about halfway.”

Nicholas blinks. “I need to go say bye to everyone!”

It’s immediately clear the power nap gave him way too much energy because he starts bouncing around even before he gets his glasses on, throwing open the carriage door and climbing up to the roof. The barrier around it stops the rush of air from travelling this fast and actually gives him a very smooth ride.

Despite being perfectly stable, students are definitely not meant to be jumping around several hundred meters in the air. That rule never stopped a twelve-year-old Nicholas and it’s not going to stop him now.

He jumps over carriages, flopping flat on the roof to duck his head down through windows and say goodbye to everyone he knows, and even has half an hour left to tease Mariana and her friends before he gets chased off.

The Europe carriage line stops outside the major Transverse gateway (‘The first TransverseTM gateway in the world’, brags a nearby sign), and the students all pile out to find parents already waiting just under the awnings of the large open building.

Nicholas jumps down the carriage steps first and immediately spots a large break in the crowd where Stavros’ parents stand, blank-faced and imposing for all that they look like beautiful works of art. They’re behind and a little to the right of the Lambros Lord and Lady, who welcome their son Aeneas back with nods and a hand on his small shoulder. Phaedra is also walking over but her parents stand much further back.

"Come over whenever, yeah?" Nicholas murmurs.

Stavros is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a controllable or obedient person. He’s loud and wild and…not good but he can pull back into the perfect son, already talented and clever.

He just needs to fake the traditional manners and high-handed behaviour but it gets harder and harder for him to find a reason why he should be playing along. Especially when he’s just a spare. But his parents have expectations and Aeneas is only above average at best. Easily disposed of.

It starts fine when Stavros gets back from school because his parents have forgotten how he can be, but the tension builds and Stavros usually ducks over to Nicholas’ house at least a few times over the breaks.

Stavros offers up a smirk. "Don't worry, they've gotten off my back ever since they heard you went traditional with that high mage."

Nicholas laughs. "What, are you serious?"

"Really! They think you'll get me some good contacts, turn me into proper heritage," Stavros scoffs. "I'm not telling them otherwise. Quick, leave before they meet you and realise you're still a stupid sheep."

Nicholas chuckles and heads off with his tiny luggage in hand, arm hooked with Rafael’s. "See you later with Thoth, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'll be there!" Stavros calls back and watches them go. The smile falls off his face and he hefts his own luggage, striding through the crowd.

Nicholas sees his parents (with Luca!) standing beside a pillar and waving to him. Ayad are much more distant from each other but there is a branch family saying their goodbyes and moving off with friendly smiles towards Nicholas as well.

Nicholas waves back enthusiastically with both hands but still walks Raphael to the single-person Transverse, a series of pentagram ritual circles carved into the ground in a neat row with people popping in and out.

Rafael usually takes the Transverse to Italy and then a bus home because his mum gets paranoid about being out in public as a werewolf. She wouldn’t have let him go to school either, but someone caught sight of Rafael using magic as a child and there was no way to avoid it. She’s strangely very meticulous at hiding for a woman who brought a son into the world knowing full well what he’d be.

Nicholas would spend every waking minute of the holidays with Rafael and Stavros if he could but he spends almost the whole year at school and really misses his parents. The two have an open invitation to come over but Nicholas’ parents insist on him staying in the house as long as possible.

Nicholas drags Rafael into a squeezing hug and then darts off again towards his family, calling over a shoulder, "Bye, Raffy, love you lots, mwah!"

"If you see bigger Hearth again, let us know," Rafael says with a wave.

Nicholas ducks around a family of far too many little kids and barrels into Luca going full speed. "Luca, Luca, Luca!"

Luca leans his weight into it so he doesn't get thrown back. "Nicholas, um…we need to talk. At home."

Nicholas looks to his parents and sees they're solemn and regretful.

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"Haochen Xia is coming by in a week to pick you up," Jordan admits quietly once they're safely back in Ayad Manor.

"It was a possibility," Nicholas says, trying to reassure his dad.

"I'm coming with you," Luca tells Nicholas.

"Is that…the best idea?" Nicholas asks hesitantly.

"Nicholas, I will fight the sun for you. If Xia hurts you he is going down."

Jordan cuts in quickly. "Whoa, okay, let's calm down first."

"I agree with Luca," Vinaya states. "We should wait for the high mage to come and then get him while he's distracted."

"No, no, no," Nicholas blurts out. "I'm sorry, you think we can take a high mage?"

"We have Ayad Family Magic," Vinaya scoffs. "Unless he’s actually immortal he won't stand a chance."

"Um," Luca says.

"Never mind," Vinaya immediately switches tracks. "Luca, you still can't hold your mind arts shield, you're not going. Nicholas, be good for the high mage, okay?"

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After a week of constantly being smushed in familial love after being away for so long, Nicholas’ parents calm down just as the invitation letter arrives.

The letter is actually a teleportation circle that activates on command because of course Haochen doesn't have enough time in a day to pick up his wayward stolen heir. The other three Ayad stand around nervously.

Nicholas lifts up his packed duffel bag and holds the letter in one hand. "Haochen Xia's Manor," he says and the circle activates.

Luca dives for it at the last second so Vinaya can't grab him and they both disappear.

Vinaya throws up her arms. "Can I not have one child that listens to me?!"