"Ms. Malik, good. Please sit."

Hadley Thomas sat behind his desk, and waved her inside. Alice closed the door quietly behind her, and stepped into the room. She was surprised by the size of the office, as well as the emptiness of it. Hadley had worked here for nearly ten years, but it didn't show. The entire left hand wall was built-in shelves and drawers, and the furniture huddled together next to its oppressive size. The shelves held a few books, but were mostly empty. Everything, including the floor and walls, was gray or black, and the small window at the far wall did little to pierce the gloom.

Alice tugged her skirt in at the back, and sat down in the chair. The leather creaked whenever she shifted her weight, and she tried not to move too much. She lifted her eyes, at last, to look at Hadley.

She wasn't sure what to think, or feel, now that she was sitting across from him.

Ten years ago, Hadley Thomas, Luka Lavrin and Lena and Abel Knight had saved the Academy. They were students at the time, in their second year, and barely eighteen. Alice had only heard the story after she'd come to the Academy. She wasn't a Legacy like Teagan and Nick, who had heard about it when it happened, and grown up with the legend. As a result, she felt less connected to it, which wasn't to say that she didn't feel anything at all.

The story had been retold so many times over the years, that even the people who had been at the Academy at the time, barely remembered the truth anymore. Even just during the five years Alice had been at the Academy, she had heard at least four distinct versions of it, and it made it hard to be sure of the details. She didn't actually know if Abel had died, or if Lena had, or if no one had. Nor did she know what the threat had been, or how they had managed to defeat it.

What she did know, was that Hadley was the only one, who had remained at the Academy, and that Luka had somehow taken all the credit. Both Luka and the Knights had vanished, but Luka's name was the one that still traveled through the Academy. Luka was the one who became the legend.

Meanwhile, Hadley had become something else. There were people, like Teagan, who believed him to be the real hero. By staying, he had proven his loyalty to the Academy and the Council, but for many, the novelty of him had soon worn off. He had become notoriously reclusive, and refused to have any contact with the students. It was likely a result of too many questions he didn't want to answer, and people eventually stopped trying. Which was also why this meeting was so strange.

"How are you?" Hadley asked, distantly polite. His eyes were on his laptop, and he hadn't looked at her yet. His desk was the only surface in the room that might be described as cluttered, but every file, every notebook and every pen was meticulously lined up in a way that made it feel as desolate as an empty desk might.

Alice's smile was automatic and completely lost on him. "Good," she managed.

The harsh light from the screen highlighted the dark circles under his eyes, too deep to be from a single sleepless night. His skin was pale from spending most of his time behind a desk, and he appeared more thin than fit. He sat slumped, like the weight of the world wore him down, but beneath it all he was still handsome. He had a quality about him, something in his swept back hair and deliberate stubble, in his square jaw and gentle eyes, that made him look like the hero of the story. Only without the happily ever after, and she wondered more than ever what exactly had happened a decade ago.

He put his fingers on the lid of the laptop and lowered it, his eyes finally finding hers.

"You show a lot of promise, but you never signed up for a mentor."

"No, I…" The words were right there, so close to the surface, that she was uncertain if she'd said them out loud. I'm leaving. It should have been easy, but this was Hadley Thomas. Hadley Thomas, who never spoke to students, who had nothing to do with assigning mentors.

He was still watching her, waiting for her to finish.

"I'm sorry, sir. What is this about?"

He squared his shoulders and sat up straighter, like he had just remembered that he was a professional. He folded his hands in front of him, and his eyes drifted to a folder sitting next to him, before they resettled on Alice.

"I have an offer for you."

Alice stilled. Echoes of I'm leaving still floated around in her mind, waiting for her to tell the truth.

"What kind of offer?"

She thought the words would be ready to spill over when she asked, but Hadley hesitated. She was watching him closely enough to catch the slight shake of his head, either a tick or reluctance. When he spoke, it was slow and deliberate.

"I want you to consider accepting Luka Lavrin as your mentor."

Even sitting across from Hadley Thomas, the name was a shock. Luka Lavrin wasn't just a legend, he was a mystery too. No one had seen him in years, and she never could have imagined this as the purpose of the meeting. She wasn't sure she could believe it now.

"Luka Lavrin?" Alice echoed, because maybe she hadn't heard him right. "The legend?"

She asked the question without thinking. She knew it was a mistake, even before Hadley's expression confirmed it. For a second, she thought she could see traces of their shared history, as pain and resentment hardened his eyes.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Yes," he said, bitterness lacing his words, "that Luka Lavrin."

By all accounts, Luka had gone rogue after the Incident. He didn't even stay long enough to graduate. It was strange, for someone who had just saved the Academy, to vanish like that. The rumors were endless, but the memories were hazy, and it might never have been clear, exactly what happened. Alice didn't want to speculate, but she could see that whatever had happened between the two of them was a sore subject.

"It's just... I thought he was gone. He's not in Russia?"

There were plenty of theories, but that was the common one. That he would have gone back home.

Hadley took a deep breath. No doubt reliving the suffering of endless questions about Luka, that had caused him withdraw from the students in the first place.

"No. Whoever spread that rumor didn't know him very well."

Alice only nodded, so she couldn't make things any worse.

"There are... conditions," Hadley continued, "if you accept." He forced his tone back to something more neutral, but it didn't slide perfectly into place. "You should know that you are our first choice, but there are other candidates, if you decline. I will not be able to offer you any time to consider, as the matter is of some urgency."

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Why what, Ms. Malik?"

"Why me?"

I'm leaving. I'm leaving. I'm leaving.

She couldn't think. She knew she should decline, allow him to move on to a candidate, who actually needed this. Alice was a waste of effort, of a legend. She would never be a mage, and whatever Luka taught her would be lost. Except, she was their first choice and she didn't want to hand the opportunity over to someone else. She wanted this.

She was prepared to accept, despite everything, on the pure thrill of being chosen, but she needed to know why.

"You meet the criteria," Hadley said, as if that was any kind of answer. She didn't want to push him, but she needed a proper answer.

"What criteria?"

"Okay." He hadn't even managed a return to his politely distant tone, and now he was letting weariness bleed through as well. "We are concerned that Lavrin might be... reckless. You have been chosen, because we believe you might balance him out, and because you're talented enough to keep up with him."

"Oh," Alice said. It was partly flattering, at least, but also a little intimidating.

"You need to know that this is a temporary arrangement. He will be hired as an independent mage, and according to his contract, he is required to teach you for as long as the case lasts. After that, I suspect he will disappear again without a second thought. You are not receiving an education here, and if you decide to become an Agent afterwards, you will likely have to start over with a certified teacher."

It gave her hope for a moment. Whatever the case was — and she suspected it had something to do with the missing students — it couldn't possibly last more than a few months. It could be done by the end of her summer vacation, and wouldn't have to slow her down at all. However, she also feared what this choice would mean for her. Law school had never felt like the right fit, but neither had anything else. She loved magic, but there was no Academy career that had resonated with her either. What if this was it?

Working with Luka Lavrin was one thing, one very, very exciting thing, but working on the kind of case that only he could solve? She could help save people, make a real difference. But it could also be the thing that cemented her decision to go to law school, and Hadley had just removed the last obstacle.

"I accept."

Hadley shook his head. "One more thing, before you give your final answer. Lavrin will be difficult to work with. He barely accepted the job, and doesn't want to be here. He doesn't want an apprentice, and you have to prepare yourself for a certain amount of hostile behavior from him."

"Hostile behavior?"

It was easy to forget that there were real people behind the stories, and even easier to forget that she didn't know those people at all. Even if she hadn't felt the Incident as deeply as some of her classmates and even Nick and Teagan, she had a clear image of what she thought Luka should be like. Hostile behavior didn't fit.

"He can be…" Hadley paused, sighed, started again. "He won't consider your feelings. He will be harsh. I'm not trying to scare you off, but I need to know you can handle it."

"I can handle it." Harsh words didn't bother her, especially if she knew it wasn't about her.

"Good. Now, I want to make it clear, that your job is to be his apprentice. I do not expect you to manage him, but I do expect your loyalty to lie with me. You will report to me regularly, and immediately inform me, if he does anything… damaging."

Alice halted, another red flag. "Damaging?"

"To himself, to others. To the Academy as an institution. Anything that crosses the line."

Hadley knew the real Luka, or at least, he had. There was no reason to doubt him, but just how volatile was Luka? And where was the hero they all believed him to be? The Academy wouldn't allow him to be her mentor, if he was dangerous, but what kind of damage was Hadley imagining, and what did it mean, in this instance, to cross the line?

"Sir?"

"Don't worry," he said, catching the worry in her voice. "He won't do anything to hurt you."

"But you think he will do something."

"I know he will, which is why I need you to tell me about it."

She wasn't reassured, and she wasn't sure she should accept the condition. She didn't have a choice, of course, other than to reject the offer entirely. It just seemed like a very bad idea, given everything Hadley had just suggested, for her to spy on Luka from the very beginning. Clearly, building trust with him was going to be a challenge, even without additional complications.

"Of course," she agreed. Maybe it was naive, in light of Hadley's certainty, but she could allow herself to hope it wouldn't come up. What she couldn't do, was to let herself to surrender this opportunity on a technicality.

"Excellent," Hadley said. "We will meet back here tomorrow at noon for the briefing."

Alice felt dismissed and stood, agitating the creaking leather, as she moved. Hadley's attention had already drifted back to his laptop, but Alice halted in front of his desk.

"It's about the missing students, isn't it?"

He didn't even look at her, when he answered. "You will be briefed tomorrow."

"You don't think we deserve to know what happened to them?"

"What I think isn't relevant." Now he did spare her a glance, pointedly. "I will see you tomorrow, Ms. Malik."

"Yes, sir."

Stepping outside the office made the whole thing feel unreal. The hallway was quiet, not much different from the office. The walls were the same gray and the floor an ashy wood, but it was brightly lit, and colored glass panels broke up the colorless monotony. Even the subtle differences, were enough to make it feel like walking into an other world, or out of a dream. She looked at the plate of frosted glass sitting next to the door, and ran her fingers lightly over the letters.

Hadley Thomas

Director of Security Operations

She bit her lip around the smile, that she could no longer suppress. She had concerns, of course, and it made her anxious to think about what the case was, but she had just become Luka Lavrin's apprentice. It was an opportunity so unique, that no one would even have wished for it. It was so improbable, that no one would even have considered it an option.

And yes, Luka might prove to be difficult and hostile, but it was an experience so uniquely hers, that she didn’t care. She had survived her share of bullies, and she was sure that she would survive this very temporary arrangement. The only thing she dreaded, even with the reassurance of staying on schedule, was telling her mom.