There were no further instructions from the chancellor as to what to do after my evaluation. After I changed back into my own clothes, I was at a loss as to what to do and returned to my apartment to regroup. It was early afternoon, and I didn't know what Sebastien was up to. I wondered if he was in a debriefing related to last night's bombings. It seemed too arrogant to arrive at his office unannounced. Besides sending his assistant to escort me to the evaluation, he had failed to communicate his expectations for the day. There was a sense of freedom in my steps as I headed towards my apartment. It had been a long time since I had had the freedom to decide how I was going to spend my day.

I wanted to find a way back into the sanctuary. It had been three days since I'd last seen Hawk; the longest I'd ever gone was a week. He grounded me, and in these past three days, my life had been in a state of constant turmoil. We had agreed to not discuss reality, and I would continue to abide by that rule. Still, I yearned for his company. Maybe there was something out in the mage city that could emulate the ketamine pills. I could start exploring the city on my own, maybe even try some of the mages' traditional cuisine... whatever that was.

My plans were becoming more appealing the closer I got to my apartment. They were wrecked when I saw Jay leaning nonchalantly outside of my apartment door.

He was in a watered-down version of his uniform and didn't look as official as he had last night. A firearm and metal badge jutted out from his right hip. His thumbs were inserted inside of his front pant pockets. Remembering that he had been assigned to serve as part of the front lines during last night's bombings, I searched him for any sign of injuries. There were none.

Surprise must have been etched on my face, because Jay straightened from his lean and immediately informed me, blunt as ever, "I was ordered to show you around the city."

I stared at him. I had stopped my approach a couple of feet away. "By whom?" I asked, guarded.

"By my commander. He said the order came down the pipeline from the chancellor's office."

"You don't think it's going to ruin your career if you show me the city?"

Jay had the sense to look uncomfortable and shifted on his feet. "I'm sorry for what I said last night. I was just surprised to see you there. Last time I saw you, you were locked up twenty-three hours a day and the only colors in your wardrobe were red and white."

Feeling my irritation escalate to new levels, I placed a hand on my hip. "You know, when people are surprised by the sudden appearance of someone they haven't seen for a while, someone they used to call a friend, they usually hug the other person out of joy. Not pretend that they don't exist."

"I know, and I'm sorry for how I behaved last night. Let me make it up to you and show you around Astraera. It's nothing you've ever seen before, and we've been to so many different cities together. You won't regret coming out with me, especially if the alternative is just sitting in your apartment." His sea-foam green eyes were earnest as he waited for my answer.

It didn't escape my attention that the only reason Jay was talking to me right now was because, through an order, the chancellor had told him it was okay. Still, Jay had a point. There was a new city to explore, and with it, a new culture to experience. It was my culture, one that I hadn't even known about. There was a desire inside of me to belong to it, and admittedly, I needed Jay. I didn't have any money to my name. Even if I did, I was at a loss as to the currency rules. I finally assented to Jay being my tour guide, and we were off. Jay's mood, surprisingly, lifted with my agreement. "We'll explore as much of the city as we can this afternoon, and then tonight, I want to take you out to meet my friends. They're great. You're going to love them!"

Jay navigated us to the main staircase from my apartment, and then from there, to the same atrium and exit he had left through the previous night. We crossed the bridge that stretched over the stream and reached the main road surrounding the castle. Four foot retaining walls bordered the road on the other side to help protect against accidental falls over the sudden cliff. There were a few vehicles parked near the entrance to the bridge. One appeared to belong to the military commander: it was a shiny black tank. Another was a delivery truck. Jay's motorcycle was nowhere to be found. I sent him an inquiring look. "Are you going to show me around Astraera in the tank?"

"What?" Jay's eyes shifted to the tank with understanding. "Oh, no. We're going to be walking. You are limited with where you can drive in the city. It's unnecessary. You can definitely get to places quicker without a vehicle." Jay motioned me over to the retaining wall. A part of the city spewed out in many different levels from where we stood until it reached leveled ground. "The roads here are cramped, and there are barely any traffic laws. The only one is perhaps that everyone needs to yield to military vehicles. Motor bikes are much more common, though expensive to purchase."

The road in front of the castle followed the curved base of the castle and encircled it. Jay and I followed it. Gardens and fountains filled the courtyard space in between the road and moat surrounding the structure. After a couple of minutes of walking, the road completed its circle around the castle before descending towards the next ring. As we walked, Jay assumed the role of tour guide. I was astonished by his knowledge of the place. He’d never paid a lot of attention to our surroundings when we were growing up. Yet, the further we got away from the castle, the clearer it became that Jay had a map of the city in his mind, accessible at any time.

The level below the castle was dedicated to military operations. Though we did not tour this level, as Jay claimed it was dull, I could see training fields, barracks, and an administration building through the barbed wire fencing. Motorcycles were aligned outside of the administration building in three rows. A single person in a maintenance uniform was walking down the middle row, seemingly inspecting the bikes. When I asked him about it, Jay acknowledged he had a bunk at the barracks.

The military ring was sandwiched in between the castle and what Jay deemed the beau monde. This contained the residences of Astraera's politicians and the upper classes. From what I could see from where the main road intersected with the ring's circular drive, security was a concern for the massive plots of land each equally sized home sat on. Not only did twelve-foot gates secure access to this city level, but each lot had its own personal gate. "The security gig here is a cinch," Jay explained. "You basically just walk around and make sure no one without the proper authorization is roaming around. It's a job for those soldiers who are retired on duty.”

The actual city started in the fifth ring, after a service level. Jay's assertion that vehicles weren't really used rang true once we stepped into the main portion of the city. There were a lot of pedestrians moving with intention and determination under the late summer sun. Scents coming from the food stands and restaurants permeated the air. After skipping breakfast, my stomach rumbled from the smells. Jay took pity on me and bought arepas and fried plantains for us at one of the food stands. We nibbled on these as we wandered through the city. Both the arepas and fried plantains were made with such an expertise that I yearned to return for seconds. I had mentioned my desire to try some mage cuisine, to which Jay just laughed and shook his head. "Your mortal palate will be shocked. Our recipes are quite eccentric," Jay warned. "The mages basically take random ingredients and throw them in a bowl together for a meal."

The further we ventured away from the castle and descended to the flatlands, the more we came across the canals that snaked through the city. Much like Venice, the city had been founded on a close-knitted island chain the mages had connected through a series of bridges. More astonishing to me was that the city's circular pattern continued despite the canals. "There are eighteen arrondissements in Astraera,” Jay lectured. "The first one is the castle, the center. The eighteenth one is the outermost circle."

Jay's tour consisted of leading me through each ring of the city until we found the bridge to take us to the next arrondissement. Through my brief exploration of each district, I picked up on the subtle clues of identity for each one. The sixth one was basically filled with skyscrapers and business executives, while the seventh appeared to be more upscale, where all the expensive shops and restaurants were. The eighth one felt more artistic: I saw a dance studio next door to the small bridge leading to the ninth arrondissement. Street art decorated the streets and sides of buildings. People were sitting outdoors at small, round cafe tables, sipping from espresso cups and eating ice cream. Buildings were painted in bright colors and brightened this part of the city. The street's pavement was striped with a rainbow. Little poof balls—with fur the color of purple or pink—darted around freely; Jay wasn't amused by the sight of them. He informed me they were called waileys.

A clocktower stood over the rainbow street. Its looming presence was undeniable with its large gothic clock. The front entry was impassable due to the multiple signs nailed to the door. One of the most prominent was one that advertised that the space was for sale. Above it, crafted out of iron letters, was the name of the establishment: Ironton Street Clocktower.

I yearned to explore this section of the city a bit more, though Jay's pace sped up. If anything, he seemed uncomfortable in this artsy corner of the city.

The eleventh contained a shocking Latin/Spanish quarter. The fourteenth had odd invention-type contraptions lining the street. Museums, historical statues, an array of fountains providing a show, high-reaching cathedrals, a grandiose Opera House, and monuments were hidden throughout the city, waiting to capture my awe. Jay didn't stop at any of them, having other ideas in mind.

There was wealth put into the city, I realized, after seeing fourteen of the eighteen arrondissements. However, as soon as we crossed into the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth, I learned that the wealth deteriorated the further out we went. The seventeenth was by far the largest and worse of the three. I noticed multiple buildings were in disrepair. A window's shutter had broken off and was now hanging by the second and last nail. A building's roof was in shambles and covered with a blue tarp. One window was boarded up with a simple plank of wood—one that looked like it had rotted from water damage. Weeds were allowed to run rampant throughout the chipped cobblestone streets. Paint had peeled off from entire sections of buildings.

Despite the ugly and desolate state of the circle, there were people loitering the street. A razor-thin woman was leaning against one paint-spotted building, supervising a gaggle of children playing some game reminiscent of hopscotch within the confines of jagged pebbles and taking drags of the cigarette perched in between her fingers. Two men were walking away from us, their heads down and their steps sluggish. All the energy had been sucked dry from them; it seemed as if they had worked throughout the night and far into the morning. A couple was trying to dry laundry by flapping it in the middle of the street. Like the others I had seen in the other rings, no one seemed frightened. They moved around their lives in whatever routine they had established, never mind that the previous night had seen bombings and senator assassinations. No one seemed to be afraid of the Resistance lurking amongst their city streets. There were a good number of soldiers moving about; Jay and I never went more than five minutes without seeing a pair on patrol. According to Jay, this was commonplace.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I waited until we had reached the eighteenth ring before I spoke. Jay had immediately guided us to a magnificent staircase that was ascending to one of the largest bridges I had seen in the city thus far. Jay referred to it as the Sky Bridge. The upkeep of the staircase compared to the seventeenth arrondissement was stark. In fact, the eighteenth arrondissement was like the first ones we had passed through: money had been thrown into its upkeep. Golden beaches stretched out on either side of the bridge. Cabanas dotted the beaches. A fence restricted access to the beach on the right side of the bridge to those who lived in the seventh arrondissement. To keep the undesirables out. "You all just shun the poor people here?" I tried to make my tone joking against the bitterness in my mouth.

"They should consider themselves lucky for even being allowed to live in the city in the first place," Jay argued.

Bile rose in my throat. I wanted to call him out on the discrimination. I bit down on my bottom lip, reminding myself that I didn't have all the information. "What do you mean?" I prodded.

Jay glanced around us quickly, as if he was verifying no one was actively listening. There were people enjoying the September weather and beach along the coastline. They didn't pay us any attention as we ascended the steps to the large bridge that spanned the water. "Magic has been disintegrating for ages now. More and more mages are being born without any control of the elements. They are more mortal than mage now, and the only reason the government has been allowing them to stay in the city and remain classified as a mage is because they can trace their ancestry back to someone who actually could control an element."

"But they have all been shunned to the slums. I don't think that's letting them 'stay in the city'."

"That's more of a financial and attitude thing. Naturally, the positions that pay the most are ones that require the use of magic. People with these types of jobs can afford better housing in the inner rings of the city," Jay defended. "There are jobs available for the mages without any affinities. Naturally, because of the lack of expertise needed, they pay less. The housing in the outer rings is all they can afford. There are options for them to join the military, and perhaps secure a better future for themselves. But many are so bitter by the hand that they were dealt and believe that the government is at fault for it, so refuse to enlist. They refuse to swallow their pride."

Jay and I finished climbing up the steps. A smooth path now led to the bridge’s apex. "Does anyone know why magic is disappearing?" I inquired.

"There are some theories about it," Jay hedged. "The main one most widely accepted is that magic is a recessive gene. When mages started to reproduce with mortals, the mortal genes destroyed the mage ones—the ones that gave us magic. Even when people realized what was happening, and stopped having babies with mortals, it was too late. By then, the mortal gene had spread throughout the mages. Sometimes, those mages do have a baby who gets an affinity, though it doesn't happen very often anymore."

"What about you?" I tilted my head.

"Me?"

"Do you have access to magic?"

We arrived at the bridge's apex. It formed a plateau for what seemed like a mile over the water before fog blocked the view. Benches lined the bridge on either side at intervals. We were the only ones on the bridge, which made it seem even more surreal. While Jay claimed a seat on one bench, I was too impressed with my surroundings to sit down. Mountain peaks poke out over the bay, majestic under the warm afternoon September sun. "I was one of those kids born to parents who were forced to live in the fifteenth ring," Jay told me. I turned to look at him over my shoulder, shocked. "My parents hoped I would be one of those miracle babies that received an affinity, even if it was at the first level. Every year, from the time I was six to the time I was ten, they would take me for an evaluation. It was the same thing every time: 'I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Britton, Jay's powers have not developed yet.' Every single time, I was made to feel like it was my fault for those ten months afterwards. Then, two months before the next evaluation, my mother would become hopeful again. By the time I was ten, my parents had to admit that I was just like them. Fortunately, I escaped their scorn by getting sent to the Academia."

"They didn't want to wait the two extra years until you were twelve?" I questioned softly.

"No," Jay said. "By then, I was so out of control, they were happy to get rid of me. Let me be the Academia's problem."

Which, I knew, was very short-lived. Jay had spent only enough time there to get into trouble and get sent to the reformatory, where he would later serve detention with Galileo and get yanked into my life.

With my arms resting on the railing of the bridge, I let my eyes take in the world around me as I hesitated to assauge my curiosity with the million dollar question. Dense fog concealed the opposite side of the bridge, so I wasn't sure what it connected Astraera to. The vast body of water surrounding the city was a blanket of turquoise serenity. The bay was bordered by a mountain range that rose out of the water. A few clouds were above, casting shadows onto the water. Its surface was calm enough to reflect the clouds and mountains. It was strange, and I almost believed that we were in the middle of a lake and not an ocean.

"Did you know I was a mage?" I finally asked, not turning around from the turquoise water this time. This had been something I had been wondering about for some time. It had been difficult to banish the feeling that everyone around me had been keeping this a secret.

"All of us knew," Jay admitted. "Kit, Galileo, and I. We didn’t know you had an affinity. Kit and I just thought you were like us. We did not know that your mother had put a rasa stone in you to stop your ability. I had no idea until you blew up Union Station."

My back tensed, and I sucked in a bunch of air through my nose. "Please don’t phrase it like that," I hissed.

"Sorry." Jay had the grace to be chagrined about it.

I nodded in forgiveness. "Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?"

"When we were growing up or after...?"

"Both."

"Before... Galileo told us to not tell you. He never told us why it was supposed to be one large secret. He just prohibited us with a such a sternness that we had no choice but to comply. And after... you do know that mages are forbidden to tell mortals about magic, right? There’s a lot of secrecy separating the worlds. The only ways we could communicate were being constantly monitored by jail staff, and probably investigators, too. Besides, if I had told you after Union Station, what would you have done? You would be in solitary confinement without anyone to answer your questions. You would have gone insane, Bria, and don’t even tell me you wouldn’t."

My lips trembled. "That night. Before the handcuffs. You could have told me then."

Jay huffed humorlessly. "I think we were a bit distracted then." He refused to say it out loud: that we had been intimate that night.

I sighed, wanting to protest and claim I would have been fine with the knowledge. "I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? We got here in the end, so all the secrecy my mother and Galileo tried to pull off didn’t work. I found out everything. In the end."

"How did your evaluation go today?"

"I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me. I guess the chancellor wanted to review the results before anyone else did." I became distracted by the faint imprint of something underneath the water about thirty yards away from the bridge. Narrowing my eyes, I leaned further over the rail to see better.

"He’ll take care of you," Jay promised. "He’ll get you all trained up. After what I saw three years ago, I bet you are going to be incredibly powerful in a couple of years! Perhaps even a level three."

"Yeah, sure." One cloud overhead shifted. It helped me see the imprint better. To my amazement, I realized that the shadowy form was a building submerged in the water. Not just a building, it was another castle. "Hey, is there a sunken castle in this bay?"

"What?" was Jay’s initial response. He stood up and met me at the rail. I pointed out the shadow to him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the side of his face turn to stone except for the twitch in his jaw. I waited for Jay’s denial or for him to say something equally dismissive, like the castle wasn’t important and I shouldn't concern myself with it. I waited for the lies to float out of his mouth, for that would be what they were: untruths. His reaction and recognition of the shadow proved the sunken castle was important. However, this time, Jay went with the truth. "It’s the Astraeran Castle," he finally informed.

My eyebrows rose. I glanced back at the castle on the hill and then back to the shadowy one in the bay. The one on the hill had only one prominent turret that lorded over all the other ones, while the submerged one had several of the same height. "I thought the Astraeran Castle was there." I pointed to the one on land.

Jay shook his head. "No, that one is the Sistine Castle, built for the Senate and chancellor."

"Okay," I replied slowly, not impressed with Jay’s history lesson. "What was the Astraeran Castle for?"

"Would you accept it was just a tourist welcome center?" Jay asked hopelessly.

"Jay."

Jay glanced around again, even though we were alone on the bridge. The nearest person was a woman playing with her dog on the beach. Feeling like he was about to tell me what I wanted to know, and not stall, I turned to face him. Finally, Jay talked. "There used to be a monarchy, and that there was the dynasty’s castle."

My eyes narrowed. "Okay. Why didn’t you just come out and say that? Was there some civil war that destroyed the monarchical institution? Did evil run through their blood? Did a rebellion take them down?"

"You could say that. The monarchy is gone, and people don’t like to remember that time. It's actually forbidden to even discuss the old dynasty."

"What do you mean? How was it destroyed?" I pressed unrelentingly.

Jay looked away from me and back towards the city. "I don’t know. I was just a baby when it went under, okay? Just drop it, Bria. It’s a touchy subject for mages. I don’t want you alienating people by talking about it and getting yourself into trouble."

Reluctantly, I agreed to drop the subject. Curiosity still crowded the edge of my thoughts. It faded as Jay distracted me with a different tidbit of knowledge, which also had me turning away from the bay and looking down towards the opposite side of the bridge. "I’m really surprised you haven’t been asking about this," Jay teased, lightly bumping into my shoulder and dropping the solemnity he had displayed during our previous topic. "It’s almost like you don’t want to know where the bridge leads!"

"Actually, I was curious," I admitted. We stared down the walkway, side by side.

"You know Astraera borders the mortal world, right? This bridge is a connection to their world. It unified us with the mortals before the magical world separated from the mortals. Now the mages who don’t have an affinity use it to go into the mortal world."

"Where does the bridge land geographically there?" I wondered, already trying to figure out if I had been within steps of Astraera while I was growing up and traveling the world.

Jay shot a grin at me. "That’s the best part. Astraera is like the moon and sun."

"You mean it orbits the mortal world? We are orbiting the mortals right now?" Jay nodded, still grinning. "Are we in outer space, then?" Immediately, I regretted my question, already knowing the answer. We weren’t in space. This was some other dimension. I was surrounded by magic now. Everything I knew about science didn’t apply here.

"No, we’re on the outreaches of Romania right now. If you finish crossing the bridge, you’d be in Bucharest. You’ll have to hurry and return or else the bridge won’t be there after a while. It moves on its orbit a little every hour."

I turned around so that my back could lean against the railing. My arms crossed over my chest as I considered Jay, right down to his polished boots. "You've changed," I observed. "You used to be so reckless. Now, you are radiating discipline."

Jay shifted on his feet. "I guess that is what happens when I lose both of the people I cared for and then get thrown into boot camp."

"I'm not gone." I reached out to lay a hand on his forearm.

"No, but I thought you were." Jay's own arms crossed over his chest, and he glanced up at the sky. "Galileo's death happened too easily. He should have been able to fight against it. I mean, I know I just said you were powerful and everything, but... I just thought Galileo was stronger. That nothing could take him down, you know."

I only squeezed Jay's forearm.