Akari wandered the airship’s fancy white hallways, too anxious to sleep another minute.

“Don’t worry,” Elend had said as they boarded. “We’re all safe now.”

“Heard that before,” she muttered. “There’s still time for another shipwreck.”

“Vaslana and Espiria are best friends,” he said with an easy shrug. “Even if we crash here, the worst is still behind us.”

Adrenaline had kept her going all night, but she’d fallen asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She’d always thought that was just an expression, but apparently it was a real thing. She woke six hours later, and the monitor showed them more than halfway through Espiria. All safe and sound, just like Elend promised.

Talek. She almost couldn't believe it. When was the last time she’d been safe? Like, really safe? Even before Creta, they’d been fleeing from the Martials. Before that, she’d had the threat of homelessness looming over her, not to mention all the Golds she’d pissed off along the way.

Back then, Gold had seemed like the top of the world. Now, Akari could beat any of the Martials in a fair fight. Not only was she a Gold herself, but she was more than halfway to Apprentice.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t nearly so impressive in this new world of Artisans, Masters, and Mystics. And Creta was one of the weaker countries?

Yeah … she had some serious catching up to do.

The airship continued soaring through the clouds, passing miles of farmland and cities below. Elend and Irina hung out in the cockpit with the crew, and Kalden and Relia continued sleeping as the sun moved toward the horizon.

Akari took a shower while she waited, then rummaged through the bedroom’s wardrobes. The ship’s owner must have had a teenage daughter because the clothes actually fit. Sucked for the others, though. Everything looked way too small for Relia, and she hadn’t seen any guys’ clothing at all.

After she’d dressed, Akari made her way back into the main area—whatever you called that on an airship. The living room? The common room? Probably some fancy term she’d never learned, right up there with “port” and “starboard.”

The bar had an espresso machine, so Akari slipped behind the counter and helped herself to a doubleshot. She’d never used an espresso machine on Arkala, but she vaguely remembered using one in Last Haven.

Talek. This was weird. Not only had she inherited Dream Akari’s combat skills, but a shitload of other stuff too. Aside from espresso making, she knew a lot more math and physics. If she even thought about spacetime, her mind flooded with memories of relativity, time dilation, gravity, and pocket dimensions.

Her parents had made her sit through countless lectures and textbooks, and learn hundreds of equations to prepare for her aspect. She’d always hated that work as a kid, and she’d told her parents as much.

“I’m gonna be a duelist,” Akari had said one evening. “Not some academic. What’s the point of all this math if I never use it?”

“You’re learning to speak the language of the universe,” Emiri had countered. “You can’t practice portals like you practice kicks or punches. They’re too complex for that. You can only study—put in the hours—and let your subconscious bring you closer..”

“Sounds like wishy-washy bull—.” Her mother gave her a look, and she trailed off.

“If it made perfect sense,” Emiri said, “then everyone would learn it.”

Akari frowned. “But lots of people learn math and physics. I don’t see them having breakthroughs.”

Her mother nodded. “Those same people pick an easy aspect in their mid-teens.”

Her parents had been right in hindsight. For all Kalden’s skill as a duelist, he’d still lost to Zakiel last night. Meanwhile, Akari’s portals had saved them all.

No … her parents had saved her. They’d known dueling wouldn’t be enough. In a way, they’d known her better than she’d known herself. And how had she repaid them?

Akari squeezed her coffee cup tighter as she stared out the window. She’d betrayed her family and her sect. She’d been responsible for her mother’s death, and countless others. And for what? To win a stupid duel? To impress people she didn’t even like?

She’d spent these past few years blaming Golds and Martials, but it was her fault all along. She’d already admitted this out loud, but the idea still seemed too big to face head-on. In that moment, she understood why Kalden had no reaction to his lost hands. Maybe human minds couldn’t deal with too much change without breaking?

So Akari focused on the present moment instead. She sipped her coffee and felt the cup’s heat on her fingertips. She sat back in her plush leather armchair and watched Espiria roll by below the clouds.

“Hey,” Kalden said as he stepped into the room. He’d also showered, judging by his freshly styled hair. And apparently they did have guys’ clothes on this ship because he wore a navy button-up shirt tucked into a pair of gray pants. The outfit looked a little big on him, but so did hers.

“Is that coffee?” he asked.

Akari nodded, setting her own glass down on the wooden end-table. “I’ll make you one if you want.”

“Oh no.” He held up a hand. “You don’t have to.”

Akari got to her feet and strolled over to the bar. “We both know you’re useless in the kitchen.” Then she winced as she remembered his missing hand. “Because you grew up with servants. Not because …” She trailed off before she made it worse.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Kalden said. “Elend’s wife is a doctor. I already asked her about prosthetics.”

“Yeah?” Akari perked up as she filled the portafilter with ground coffee. “She didn’t seem worried?”

He shrugged. “Nothing’s better than the original, but Knowledge Artists can help healers work above their level. They can make hands of flesh and blood. It’s not like I’ll be this way forever.”

At least he had options. Still, something told her it wouldn’t be that easy.

Akari handed Kalden his steaming cup, and they walked back toward the window-view seats. She’d hoped they could sit together on the sofa. She yearned to feel his arm around her shoulders—for him to kiss her forehead the way he had before.

Instead, Kalden dropped into one of the single armchairs, seemingly lost in thought.

Oh well. He was dealing with stuff too. Not just his injuries, but a whole rush of memories from his past self. Things would go back to normal if they just gave it time.

They made small talk for a few more minutes, then Relia emerged from another hallway. She looked like a weather reporter with her white blouse and dark gray skirt. Maybe she and Kalden had raided the captain’s cabin? Relia must have found a pantry too, because she carried several packages of food in her arms.

“Whose airship is this?” Akari asked as they ate.

“Hmm?” Relia finished chewing her protein bar and glanced around. “No idea. The Darklights don’t have one, so they probably borrowed it,”

“The Espirian Navy? ” Akari suggested. She’d seen the Master-level cannons as they boarded, so it definitely had enough firepower.

“I don’t think so,” Kalden said. “The Navy likes more utilitarian designs. Plus these windows are a structural weakness in battle.”

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“The Navy owns the Senate’s personal ships,” Akari replied. “Could be one of those.”

Kalden shook his head. “The Senators all have Utopian A16s. And I saw a Sanako Corp gravity Construct in the engine room. Sanako doesn’t do military contracts.”

Relia stared at them both for several seconds. “I keep forgetting you guys have your memories back.”

Akari blinked as she processed the words. That’s right. Yesterday, she and Kalden hadn’t known a thing about modern-day Espiria, much less its military or its corporations.

“I’m usually the expert,” Relia added. “Now you guys just know everything?”

“You’re still the expert,” Kalden said. “These aren’t like other memories. They only pop up when they’re relevant. Mostly.”

Relia frowned. “So, basically like all memories?”

“Yeah …” Kalden furrowed his brow. “Guess it’s harder to explain than I thought.”

“It’s like sitting down at your computer,” Akari cut in. “You know where all your important files are, right?”

Relia grinned. “My computer’s a mess, but sure.”

“You know what you’ve got,” she clarified. “Doesn’t matter how they’re arranged. You’ve seen them all at least once.”

“I guess.”

“Then one day, you need a file you’ve never seen before. Like …” She glanced around the room, looking for inspiration. Her gaze settled on the table, and all the open food wrappers.

Kalden spoke first. “A cookie recipe. Minus the chocolate chips, of course.”

“No chocolate?” Relia asked.

“Akari’s allergic.”

“Wow. That’s depressing.”

“More like annoying,” Akari said. “People stick the stuff everywhere like it’s some gift from the Angels.”

“What are your symptoms?” Relia asked.

“Myopia,” Akari said with a straight face.

The other girl blinked in confusion. “Like … near-sightedness?”

Akari nodded. “And stunted growth. And social anxiety.”

Kalden hid his laugh behind his hand. “She ate way too much chocolate when she was younger.”

Akari grinned back. Most people didn’t get her sense of humor, but Kalden always did. For a moment, her mind flashed back to simpler times—to the days when they’d first become friends on Arkala. To the days when they could relax and joke without all this drama.

Kalden’s smile faded a second later, and Akari got back to her analogy. “Anyway … you start looking for a recipe, right? You’ve never seen one on your computer. Ever. But once you think of it, you know exactly where it is.”

“It’s a good comparison,” Kalden said with a slow nod

“Speak for yourself.” Relia glanced back and forth between them. “These still sound like normal memories to me. Anyone can forget something and remember it later.”

“What do you have on your computer?” Kalden asked her.

She shrugged. “I dunno, the usual stuff. Pictures, music, school projects.”

“No recipes?” Kalden prodded.

“Nope.”

“You’re sure?”

She gave him a flat look.

Kalden’s lip curled up in a small grin. “Anyone can forget.”

Relia paused to consider. “So you’re a hundred percent sure you don’t know something …”

“Then you realize you’ve known it the whole time,” Kalden finished. “It just comes out of no where.”

“Yeah.” Akari moved her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It’s trippy. And it keeps happening over and over.”

Kalden nodded in vague agreement, staring down at his broken hands. “We barely survived these past few weeks. Even with a Grandmaster’s help.”

“Two Grandmasters,” Relia said. “The ship didn’t fly itself here.”

“My point exactly. Makes me wonder if Sozen ever stood a chance."

“Sozen?” She cocked her head to the side. “He was your brother, right?”

Kalden nodded again. “Even before I met you, a part of me always believed he was out here—surviving in the outside world. Now, after all we went through …”

He had a point. Their group wouldn’t have lasted long without Elend, and they definitely wouldn’t have regained their memories or their mana. Kalden’s brother was just a Gold when he left. Probably weaker than she was now.

“There’s still a chance he made it,” Relia said. “I mean, we would have sailed straight to Vaslana if it weren’t for that storm.”

The Inner Sea had mana storms every day, but Akari kept that to herself.

The conversation shifted to lighter topics again after that, which drove Relia crazy. Apparently, she wanted them to have mental breakdowns or something.

"You sure you don’t need to talk?” she asked them for the tenth time.

“What?” Akari feigned surprise. “That’s allowed?”

She shrugged. “I’m just saying—it seems like you guys remembered some bad stuff in your dreams. Fighting can be traumatic, too. If it were me—”

“Please.” Akari snorted. “How long did you keep your condition a secret?”

Kalden took a meaningful sip of his coffee. “She’s got you there.”

“Fine.” Relia blew out a breath and slumped back in her chair. “But you guys lectured me about that afterward. And you were right.”

“Well then,” Kalden said. “Guess we’re all hypocrites sometimes. Fair enough?”

And that was the last they said about that. Akari knew they’d have to process everything sooner or later, especially since Elend would make them describe their dreams in detail. But not now. Some part of her mind still felt like a clenched fist, and that fist plugged up her emotions like a drain.

She’d deal with it later, once she knew for sure they were safe.

The airship flew for another hour, then they reached Koreldon City at sunset, dipping through a mist of orange clouds.

Until now, Tureko had been the biggest city she’d ever seen. But this looked like something out of a movie. Skyscrapers of concrete and brick shot up in dense clusters from the streets below, broken up by the rivers that emptied into the Inner Sea. Akari squinted for famous landmarks like Garridan’s Clock Tower or Azul’s Arena, but real life was nothing like a composed picture. The airship just soared over the skyline, oblivious to her efforts.

“There!” Relia gestured to a set of brick buildings. “That’s Koreldon University.”

Akari took in the sight with wide-eyed wonder. Some parts of the city looked new and shiny, but this part looked downright ancient with its domed rooftops, stained-glass windows, and twisting stone spires. A web of cobblestone streets ran between them, too narrow for the smallest cars. One building even had crenellations like a castle.

“What’s that big cylindrical one?” Kalden asked. “The library?”

“The Artegium’s library,” Relia said.

“Atree-what?” Akari asked.

“Artegium,” she repeated. “It’s KU’s College of Mana Arts. We’ll all be studying there together. Once you guys get accepted, of course.”

Butterflies danced in her stomach at the thought of studying Mana Arts at a real university. Akari had spent these past few months practicing and fighting, but that wasn’t the same—not for someone with sights as high as hers.

She wanted to fulfill her parents’ dream and become the world’s first Spacetime Artist. She wanted them all to reach Master by twenty-one, to save Relia, and to save the people of Last Haven. To do that, she’d need to dive deeper into Mana Arts than she’d ever gone before. A university seemed like the perfect place for that.

The airship continued to a coastal suburb on the city’s northern border. They hovered for several seconds, then set down on a concrete landing pad outside a fancy stone mansion. A man and woman stepped outside to meet them, but Akari couldn’t make out their faces from this vantage.

Elend and Irina emerged from the cockpit, along with the pilot and the rest of the crew. The ramp opened, and they followed the two Grandmasters outside.

“Irina.” A man’s voice said when they reached the bottom of the ramp. “I trust my ship suited your needs?”

“It did,” she replied smoothly. “We won’t forget this favor, Senator Moonfire.”

Moonfire?

Akari snapped her attention forward and saw a red-haired man in a navy suit. She took in his pale, sharp features and confirmed her worst fears. This was Ashur Moonfire—the man from her dream. This was the man who’d convinced her to betray her sect by revealing their enemy. The man who’d sent that Mystic to erase their memories and destroy their identities.

A wave of pure panic ran down her spine. Sweat covered her body, and her sense of safety fled like birds from a dragon.

What if he saw her? Damnit. Why hadn’t she hidden her face? Why hadn’t she warned Elend back on the ship?

Now it was too late for warnings. Even running wasn’t an option at this point. That would just draw more attention. Besides, he had a Mystic on his side. For all she knew, he was the Mystic.

“And who is this with you?” Ashur Moonfire asked in a pleasant tone. His gaze surveyed Kalden as if he’d never seen him before. Akari met his eyes for a split second, but saw no flicker of surprise or recognition.

“These are my newest students,” Elend said. “Kalden and Akari.”

The man nodded at them both, then turned his gaze back to Irina. Talek’s tits and teeth. Either he was the best liar she’d ever seen, or he’d truly forgotten that day in the diner.

The adults made their way toward the house, discussing transportation back to the Darklight estate. Kalden moved to follow, but Akari stood frozen in place. Relia shuffled down the ramp a few seconds later, looking like a kid on her first day of school.

“What’s with you?” Kalden asked.

Relia didn’t reply. She just kept staring at Ashur Moonfire and his wife.

“You know them?” Kalden pressed

“Yeah,” Relia said. “But not as well as I should.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She swallowed hard as she pulled her eyes away from the retreating figures. “Those are my parents.”