“Wake the fuck up.”

Alistair blinked awake, the young mage gasping as his eyes honed in on the darkness all around him. It was only after he noticed Kanda and saw a faint light in the hall beyond, one that reflected off the tiled floor of Seraph’s Rest, that Alistair realized where he was.

“Good,” Kanda said from his bedside at Seraph’s Rest. “I’m surprised the assassin let you sleep for that long.”

Ghost took over. “They sedated us with something.”

“I can see that,” Kanda said. “I’ve never seen the two of you—weird saying it like that—so quiet.”

“What about Juno and Zola?” Alistair asked, only thinking of the others in his team as an afterthought. What had they given him? His mind still felt fuzzy, even with the assassin living in it…

“Juno and Zola are fine,” Kanda assured him. “I told them to head back to their dorms and rest. That brings me to my next point. Lauren. Do you know her?”

Alistair remembered how Lauren had kissed him on the cheek. “Yes,” he said as he naturally brought a hand to his face.

Kanda shot him a puzzled glance. “What’s with her? The weird little bitch won’t leave. She’s still out there waiting to see if you are better. I thought about summoning Daisy to run her off, but decided against it.”

“She’s just worried, that’s all. And don’t do that. Please. Unnecessary.”

Alistair tried to fight Ghost’s influence but ultimately failed. “Lauren kissed him during the fight,” Ghost said. “They have a thing for each other now. You should feel his heart race when he sees her.”

“Seriously? Her?” Kanda could barely hide the skepticism in her voice. “That’s not what I was expecting to hear. And all because of the kiss? I can kiss you right now if you want.” Kanda moved forward and stopped. “Just fucking with you, Alistair. Grow up.”

“I don’t have a thing for her,” Alistair told Ghost and Kanda. “I’m almost grown up—”

“Well, she certainly has a thing for you.” Kanda drummed her fingers for a moment on the desk. “But who cares about that. We have a lot to discuss, and we probably shouldn’t do it here. Resonant Rooms? Let’s head there. It’s private. We can train as well.”

“You realize I just woke up in the campus hospital, right?” Alistair asked her.

“And?”

“And you want me to train? That seems a little extreme considering I fought a professor today.”

Ghost spoke: “She has a good point, especially after the way Yuber handed you your asses.”

“Did you really think we would actually beat him?” Alistair asked.

“I suppose not. If you had beaten him, it would have been an embarrassment on his part. So no, I don’t think you would have actually beaten Yuber,” the assassin said. “But you could always use more training. Always.”

“What even happened?” Alistair asked. “The last thing I remember…” He stared intently as he tried to recall what had happened in the end. Alistair drew a blank.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Kanda said. “We need to discuss Solaria. Talk to me, Ghost.”

“What’s there to say other than your uncle is losing his shit. We already visited and heard firsthand from a fence.”

“You already went to Solaria?” A coldness came across her eyes. “Why didn’t you inform me? You should be—”

“I believe we’ve been over this before, Kanda. Alistair and I don’t need to inform you of anything. Anything. We have our own agenda. Where it crosses with yours, that’s fine, but not everything we do will be revealed to you. I suggest you don’t question us about this again.”

“You suggest?” Kanda’s face twitched slightly. “You can’t talk to me that way.”

Ghost forced Alistair’s body up. The assassin placed both feet on the ground and stepped over to Kanda. Because of Alistair’s height, he was forced to look slightly up at her.

Alistair managed to take control. “How about both of you cool it, yeah?”

“Follow me,” Kanda said as she turned to the door. Once she reached it, she swiveled back to Alistair. “Actually, meet me outside after you change clothes. You’ll look like an idiot going around in hospital gowns. Hurry.”

She shut the door behind her, leaving Alistair with the assassin.

Ghost: Call Lionel.

“Why?” Alistair asked.

“Haven’t we spoken before about questioning my orders?” Ghost asked. “If you must know, it’s a preventative measure in case she tries something. I want Lionel to trail us, keeping to the shadows. I don’t want to kill her here, but if I have to, I have to.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Please, I’m begging you, please don’t say things like that. I don’t want something like that to happen here.”

“I just said I didn’t want to either,” Ghost reminded him. “Keep up. It’s probably the sedative they gave you. It’s always the sedative. We should try to get some of this stuff, if possible. It could be useful for a future endeavor.”

“No. No, no, no. And if I summon Lionel, what happens when we get to the Resonant Rooms? I’ll have to bring him back.”

“Right, I didn’t think of that. Have you ever actually tested that?”

“Summoning something outside of the Resonant Room and then going in? No, I haven’t.”

“We don’t know what will happen.”

“No, we do not.”

“In that case,” Ghost said, “cancel our trip to the room and tell her you want to meet somewhere on campus instead. It’s best for her not to think we’re plotting her death, since we aren’t. It’s just an option. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“A late night meal, then. I approve. You seem hungry. And Ziggy probably wants something. The dining hall has an after hours meal. Juno said that a few times. Let’s do that. But we cannot, we must not, let Kanda threaten us or think she is in any way in control. That’s out of the question. It’s about to get rough with her. I only hope we can use her influence to our advantage until then.”

Alistair grumbled, but he ultimately put his clothes on and summoned Lionel.

“Yes?” the Abyssal summon asked him.

“I need you to keep to the shadows and stay with me. You may encounter Daisy there. I don’t know if Kanda has called hers out or not. But basically, if things get out of hand, intervene.”

“And does the assassin want his sword?” Lionel asked.

“No,” Ghost said for Alistair. “Not yet. But have it available.”

“As you wish,” Lionel said as he melted into the darkness of the room.

Alistair stepped into the hallway and found Lauren and Kanda having a heated discussion in the waiting area, Lauren with her arms crossed over her chest and Kanda with her fists balled at her sides.

“See?” Kanda said as she gestured to Alistair. “He’s fine. Go. Your watch has finished.”

“Who the hell are you even?” Lauren asked her.

Ghost: This should be good. You’ve got yourself a teenage love triangle going.

Alistair: What? Kanda doesn’t like me!

Ghost: But she wants to control you, and in her eyes, you are hers. So it’s a jaded teenage love triangle, but a love triangle nonetheless. If I recall, you once teased me about something like this. I guess payback is a bitch.

Alistair: What-the-fuck-ever.

Ghost: Have you ever had two women fight over you?

Alistair: I’m done talking to you for the time being. First, you want me to steal medicine. Then you casually ask that I openly murder Kanda. On campus. Now, you’re suggesting… nope, not going down this route with you.

Ghost: It’s important to explore your feelings, Alistair.

Lauren came forward to hug him. Once again, he felt that tingling sensation in his gut, the butterflies unleashed. As she squeezed him tighter, Alistair felt Ghost take over and push the girl away.

“What?” Lauren asked, confusion in her eyes.

Ghost: Speak to her, unless you want me to.

“Um, yeah,” Alistair said through gritted teeth. “I’m fine. Thanks for, ugh, waiting around. You didn’t have to.”

“And why is she here?” Lauren asked as she gave Kanda the side eye.

Alistair went for the first lie that came to him. “Because she’s my mentor. I got into trouble recently, and Provost Weaver assigned me a mentor. Kanda. So that’s why.”

“Yes, I’m his mentor,” Kanda said, “and we were just leaving.”

Kanda led Alistair to the exit, ignoring Lauren’s gawking glare.

Once they were out of the campus hospital, Ghost immediately spoke to the older girl: “Play nice with Alistair’s friends, Kanda. I mean that. We do our part to maintain the facade, you do your part. Also, we’re hungry. No training tonight.”

“Ugh. Didn’t you say you wanted training?”

“Can’t a person change their mind?” Ghost asked her. “We’re hungry. It was a tough fight earlier. They gave us a sedative.”

“So you want to have this conversation outside the dining hall?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Sure.”

“Fine.”

Kanda led Alistair on what he soon recognized as a shortcut, one which ran by a small garden with stone flowers instead of real ones. As usual, this triggered Professor Halor’s voice:

[Ahem, what you see here are the results of a card known as Flora Stone Essence designed by Professor Ryan Reed and Professor Dorrie Sacks. After losing a close friend in a border skirmish with the Dracolich Empire, the two professors designed a card that would turn any organic substance to stone. Realizing the extent of what they had designed, they coded the now Forbidden Resonant Enchantment Card to only have an effect on flora and used these very flowers for their demonstration. Fascinating, really. I really should have had them petrify a rose for you, dear Calista.]

Ghost: A card like that would be so helpful in dealing with a target. I wish the professors hadn’t been so cautious.

Alistair: Really? Turning someone to stone?

Ghost: Yes. Less bladework, more batshit magic. That should be something we live by if we are to continue our partnership.

“Noted,” Alistair whispered as they reached the dining hall and entered through a backdoor to find a late night offering available that consisted of toasted sandwiches with a creamy dipping sauce.

While Kanda waited, Alistair got a pair of sandwiches, one for him and one for Ziggy, and some of the dipping sauce. He headed to the seating in front of the hall to find Kanda at a stone table, the older girl staring up at the partial moon in the sky.

“Eat,” she said without looking at him. “I’ll tell you and Ghost what I’ve learned, and what I’m thinking.”

Alistair noticed a pulse in the shadows, indicating that Lionel was there. He went ahead and summoned Ziggy, who squished with delight upon seeing the toasted sandwich. Squish!

“Do you want some of the dipping sauce as well?” Alistair asked.

Squish? Ziggy, who now sat on the table, peered down at the dipping sauce.

“Like this.” Alistair dipped his sandwich in and took a bite. “See?”

Squish? Squish! Ziggy wolfed down half his sandwich but kept it in his mouth as he approached the dipping sauce and dipped the end into the sauce, where he then proceeded to swallow it all. Squish…

“Anyway,” Kanda said once Ziggy was done, “you’re right, or better, Ghost is right. My uncle has gone crazy. And here’s what I think we should do about it…”