"Bria, are you going to sleep the entire day away, or are you going to get up and come with me tonight?" Jay's judgmental voice hovered above me, seemingly a thousand miles away. In a way, it became a tether to draw me back to earth. I slowly became aware of my body lying on a soft mattress and covered by an equally soft blanket. My body was at that perfect temperature, nestled against the soft body pillow in the most comfortable position. "Bria," Jay whined above me. "You can't spend your entire day in bed. You've had years to rest! It's time to play now!"

"Go away," I mumbled. My mouth felt parched.

There was a sudden shift in temperature as my blanket was disturbed and thrown off me. I groaned, crunching into a sideways ball. The blanket removal was only the first disturbance. Jay drew back my curtains, allowing sunshine to flood into the room. "Come on, Bria. It's already five in the evening. It's time to get up."

Thinking it was much earlier—perhaps nine in the morning—I hesitated. Then the realization hit: it couldn't have been nine in the morning. The last I remembered, I had been with Professor Leander for my first lesson. That had to have lasted into the afternoon. Pushing my tangled hair away from my face, I sat up. I glanced around, disoriented. I was still in the clothes I had worn for the lesson. My shoes were still on, albeit the laces were untied on one. Had I just fallen into bed after the lesson? "I don't even remember deciding to take a nap." I worked on trying to blink the disorientation away.

"A nap?" Jay scoffed. "I think you went to sleep yesterday and just never woke up, Sleeping Beauty."

"No," I denied, adamant. "I just had my first magic lesson."

"That was yesterday, Bria," Jay laughed.

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't."

"You had your lesson at the Academia the day after I showed you the city, right?" I nodded slowly. "That was two days ago, Bria. Your lesson was yesterday. What did you do afterwards? Did you go into town and just party it up until you blacked out? Unfair that I wasn't invited, but I won't hold it against you," Jay joked.

Dismayed over the time I had wasted, I glanced down at my lap. I didn't find his joke all that hilarious. At the massacre, I had blacked out. I still didn't have any memory of that time. If I had blacked out this time, and the same thing happened... no, last time, I had returned to consciousness immediately. I hadn’t fallen into bed and slept for twenty-four hours. "I must have," I finally agreed. I rubbed my face.

"Don't be too shocked," Jay consoled. "Magic takes a lot out of people when they are first learning how to control it. People tend to use the magic stored in their bodies way too fast. The skilled ones know when they are getting down to their limits and stop before they send themselves into fatigue for days. You must have used all your magic yesterday during your lesson."

"I couldn't even get the die to spin," I muttered, doubtful.

Jay patted my shoulder mockingly. "The old Leander had you doing the die exercise, huh? Poor, poor thing. You survived, though, so it's time to get up, clean up, and let's get the hell out of here. There's pleasure to be had!"

I peered up at Jay, blinking. "Where are we going?"

"Hellions and Halos," Jay said as if I should have known this.

Knowing he was waiting for me to get ready, I tried to be quick about my tasks. My movements were clumsy with grogginess. I was so focused on becoming more presentable that my mind didn't have a chance to dwell on the fact that I had essentially missed a full day by sleeping. I was disappointed in myself. There was still so much of this new world of mages I wanted to explore. I had wasted an entire day when I could have been getting orientated with my new home. A part of me didn't want to go to the bar with Jay again. I didn't want to see him flirt with Avery as a precursor to their champagne room frolic. Yet, Sebastien had assigned me a mission. I had to get closer to Macaila and Cassiah to infiltrate the Resistance. Regardless of whether I thought it would work, I had to try. Just as I had to go with Jay to Hellions and Halos, just in case those two made an appearance.

I made Jay wait for only thirty minutes as I executed my best attempt to look more presentable. As I was taking a shower, I noticed the layer of dust and dirt particles on my skin. I had superficial scratches darting across my limbs that I had no memory of receiving. When I was massaging the shampoo into my hair, my fingertips came away smeared with an ashy blackness. My heartbeat pounded in my chest, and I only scrubbed my scalp harder.

After I was done, I found Jay laying on his back on my bed with his hands settled in a relaxed position on his chest. "Your bed is a lot more comfortable than what we get in the barracks," he justified. "I may start staying in your room from now on." There was a teasing lilt in his voice. Yet, I knew he was serious, testing the water. He wanted an invitation. I swallowed, standing a couple of feet away from the foot of the bed.

"Come. I'm getting hungry," I said instead.

Jay groaned in reluctance before he pushed himself upward and stood. "You're going to let me stay the night soon," he proclaimed as he followed me out of my apartment and into the residential hallway. "You wouldn't want your poor friend to get a shitty night's rest, would you? A friend who does very important work for the government. Your bed is obviously heavenly: you basically slept through an entire day!"

I shook my head. "It makes up for the thin mattress over steel I slept on for three years."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"True."

After we had left the castle's grounds, I mustered up the courage to ask, "How long have you've known Avery for?" She didn't seem to be his type; he liked the innocent ones he could corrupt.

Jay shrugged, noncommittally. "Less than a year."

"You two seem close."

"She's been a bit clingy, really. I don't know how to tell her I'm not interested anymore." There was the Jay I knew. He loved corrupting innocent women before dumping them when something new came along.

That left an awkwardness between us until we reached the steps to Hellions and Halos. My second experience there started off much like the first. This time, knowing what to expect, I went through the motions. I took part in conversations with Jay's peers, ordered an appetizer and drink, and yearned for one of Jay's Ambrosias as I fought against the constant internal debate whether it would take me to the sanctuary. Jay's friends were a lot more jovial tonight than two nights ago. Their Ambrosia stock had been replenished, and with it, their self-worth just got elevated to that of king or queen. By the time the table disbanded to entertain different activities, I was sitting on the edge of the bench, my foot tapping incessantly with the energy I couldn't show above the table.

Jay and I walked over to the main bar together. His eyes immediately gravitated towards Avery, who was working behind the bar, and I was forgotten. Biting my lip, I scanned the bar for my prey.

I spotted Macaila and Cassiah where they had been two nights ago. Like then, there seemed to be a bubble that separated them from the rest of the revelry. They made themselves inconspicuous enough that no one paid them any attention. I told Jay I would meet up with him later, not meaning any of it, and uncertain if he even heard it. Bracing myself, lifting my chin, and throwing my shoulders back, I walked over to my targets. There was just enough space at the bar in between the two misfits and the party of females out for a girls night. I angled myself away from the females and towards my prey.

The bartender from last time, Reagan, I remembered, was immediately in front of me. For a second, I was thrown off. She had been at the opposite side of the bar before I had left my previous seat next to Jay. "What can I get you?" she inquired. She kept her voice pleasant, although if I listened carefully, I could hear a slight stress and demand to it. I wondered if she was some sort of guard dog. Tonight, she was clad in a red flannel shirt that was tied right underneath her breasts and revealed her toned stomach underneath it. Her black shorts were just as equally revealing. Her hair was secured in two braids that hung over her shoulders. There was a fierce protectiveness lingering in Reagan's eyes. It soon disappeared as a blank professional mask slipped onto her face.

I jerked my head over to Macaila's drink. "I'll take what she's having."

"She's having a dirty Shirley Temple," Reagan said slowly. "Did you want to change the alcohol?"

I shook my head. "No, keep it the same."

Reagan tapped the countertop. "I assume this will be under Britton's tab?"

Macaila's eyes flashed.

"Yes," I confirmed. There was some sort of satisfaction in charging my drinks to his tab. I was not above spiting him for abandoning me that first night to have his cock serviced.

"I'll make it top shelf, then." Reagan smirked. Reagan pivoted and reached for one of the better vodkas they had on hand.

"You know that guy? The soldier, I mean." The question's delivery itself was awkward for all the unmasked scorn attached to it. It came from Macaila. I glanced at her, pretending to be surprised by her approach. Her spine had straightened, and she had pulled her drink in closer to her body, as if she was protecting it. Beside her, Cassiah was leaning forward against the bar to get a better view of me.

By her scorn, I realized that her opinion of Jay was unfavorable. If she was a frequent attendee of the bar, like Sebastien had said she was, I understood why her opinion of Jay was negative. His behavior seemed consistent, and I had to suppress the questions of how many times, with how many women, those two had seen Jay retreat into the champagne rooms. I toed the edge of getting her and Cassiah to accept me or making them despise me. I could get them to trust me if I said the right things. Her stare informed me I would have only one chance to make this work. "I grew up with him," I admitted with a meager half-shrug. Reagan slid my drink towards me. I immediately uttered my gratitude and took a sip of the drink. To my delight, it was equally lemony sweet and bitter from the spirits.

"I'm sorry," Macaila declared loudly. I looked at her in confusion. "It's just that he's a dick."

I suppressed the loyal part of me that wanted to argue with her and defend Jay. Galileo had trained me better than that. I had a mission to complete. Also, in a way, I could understand their opinion. Jay had always been ruthless, bold, and sarcastic. He never cared about what he said or if his behavior hurt another's feelings. "I haven't been around him for three years," I confessed. "When he realized Jay and I knew each other, the chancellor asked Jay to show me around Astraera."

"You're new here?"

"That explains why you were with the chancellor and dean two days ago," Cassiah finally piped in, his interest shining through his eyes. "We saw you with them when you came into our Magical Theory class."

"Do you have an affinity?" Macaila asked.

"Yes, though we don't know quite what it is."

Reagan, seeing that I wasn't about to attack her friends, warily drifted away to help other customers further down the bar. I caught her looking back, checking on her friends several times. "How is that even possible?" Cassiah peered down at me. Both were excited to be talking to someone new.

"Very odd," Macaila agreed. Macaila's eyes drifted over my shoulder. Her look darkened. "I can't believe they paired you up with him." Twisting around in my seat, I saw Jay was talking to another female; this one appeared to be of Asian descent. I didn't even try to conceal my grimace as I turned back around. I took a drink from my cocktail and ended up consuming it in its entirely.

When I finished, I asked, "Know of any good places where we can go to hang out? Maybe a place with a better dance floor?"

Macaila and Cassiah exchanged a look. Their expressions were so easy to read that I could see the idea appealed to them, even though duty was preventing them from saying yes immediately. Come on, I thought, take the bait. View me as naïve enough to give you all the information you want. It was then when I realized we hadn't properly introduced ourselves yet. I had been relying on the information Sebastien had given me. "I'm Bria, by the way." I interrupted their silent communication.

Macaila turned around to face me. "Mac," she offered, hesitant.

"It's short for Macaila Jade," Cassiah informed. "I'm Cass."

"Short for Cassiah Isaac," Macaila sniped with an eye roll. I hid a smile. "There's a place in the arts district with a dance floor."

Macaila and Cass finished their drinks and informed Reagan they were leaving. Reagan looked apprehensive momentarily, and like she was about to argue with the departure. She said nothing as I stood up. I didn't tell Jay anything, and I doubted he even noticed I was leaving.