Archiasous was colder than Massachusetts. I had known that. I packed extra layers in my things for that reason. I had closed toed boots for that reason.

But it was colder today than I expected.

I was shivering as I stood in front of Dragon Tower.

"Open Sesame."

The door swung open. The main room was empty.

Why was it still so cold?

I should have grabbed a jacket. Not just a long sleeve shirt.

"This is what I get for going to an island that's next to Greenland," I mumbled to myself as I sat in front of the roaring fireplace.

Enchanted fireplaces were the best. No cleanup or smoke to get warm. No crackle of burning wood but it was worth it.

I didn't bother with a chair and sat directly on the floor.

I moved my gloves to my pockets as I let my hands get warmed up.

Much better.

"It's not the weather."

The shock sent all of the air out of my body.

That voice!

"The reason you're cold," Red explained from somewhere unseen. "It's not the weather."

I kept looking around until she finally appeared. Sitting with her legs tucked under her body as she lounged. Dragon overcoat, hood up and covering her face. She had a book in her hands, brown cover with a dragon on the front. Her hands were covered by black gloves.

"Then why am I freezing?"

"Remember what you were told about your magic and your senses?" Red asked.

"They're linked," I recalled.

"Yeah. And what do you think getting your magic back is going to do to your senses?"

"I don't have it back. I was Awakened for all of one second."

She sighed, "You know that feeling when you've finally gotten out of bed on a cool morning? The blankets are gone and you feel a chill? It's not that it's that cold in the air. You were warmer before."

"My magic is like a blanket?'

"It can be. Sometimes. Magic also tends to do whatever it wants. But I don't have to tell you that, do I?"

That's…vague and a little sinister. "You know me?"

She laughed loudly and obnoxious in a way that reminded me of my mother, "Ah right. Of course. Not there yet."

"Why do I get the feeling you won't clarify?"

"Good instincts. Trust those. But yeah, I can't tell you anything. It's against the rules."

"You're a Dragon, right?"

"I am. Did all the red tip you off?"

"I meant that seems to be a Dragon thing, going against rules and norms?"

"Talk to M about that."

"M?"

Her head tilted up but then turned back down. Like she changed her mind about looking at me. "Yep. But by the time you know who that is it won't matter anymore."

Ominous.

And then she was gone.

This was my life now. I signed up for this. I studied for months for this. Worth it.

I sat there for a little while longer after that.

Red was probably right. The chill in the air seemed to linger despite the flames.

A blanket, huh? And here I thought my magic was some kind of starved monster. It certainly had the claws.

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I then remembered reading about some tea that can help mana flow. Perhaps it was worth a try.

Once brewed, the tea in question was a deep emerald color.

Some leaves swirled in the liquid and I stared down at them trying to see if I could see any shapes there.

I couldn't. I never could before so I wasn't surprised.

"I can't imagine the tea is the cause of your problems Serafina." Vivian Hearth said suddenly across the table from me.

"I'm trying and failing to read tea leaves."

"Let me see," Vivian reached towards the cup, but only halfway.

I pushed the cup the rest of the way. I had finished anyway.

She swirled the cup three times in her hands and then the cup began to glow purple and began to float upwards then flipped itself upside down.

A few drops of liquid dripped down but in a small flash of purple light vanished.

There was a sound from the sink.

She placed her hands back on the cup and flipped it back over and looked down into the glass. I shifted in my chair to try and get a glimpse of what she could see.

It just looked like damp tea leaves to me.

"Sit closer," she told me.

I moved a chair closer.

"Do you see the wheel in the center?"

"No. I don't."

"Change is in your future. That looks like a rock by the edge, you're sturdy and resolute at this point in your life. Which will be good if we're going to get you through this."

"As long as you don't see any skulls or anything that I should be fine."

"No skulls. But look here; going across the whole cup," she pointed at it with her pinky. "A key. I wonder what it is you're going to unlock?"

That's when I finally saw something.

"What's that?" I asked as I pointed towards the end of the supposed key. "It looks like Gemini."

She hummed thoughtfully. "It could be."

"What would it mean if it was?"

"You don't have a twin, or even siblings. Perhaps it means you have a doppelganger running around. I sure hope not."

"That would explain my terrible luck though, wouldn't it?"

She laughed. "Perhaps. But I can't help but wonder what you'll unlock with this key."

"My magic? The secrets of Dragon Tower?" I offered.

She nodded, "Maybe."

That's when I remembered that I had somewhere to be.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's ten minutes after three."

"Holy Hecate! I have to go!"

"You need to be resting."

"Fethris is dueling in my name, I can't just not show up at all."

Vivian Hearth sighed, "You're not wrong. But you should still take it easy. If you faint I'm taking you straight to the healers."

That was probably as good as I was going to get.

(*********)

Duels Of Vis were a time-honored tradition. I knew some basics about them, for all the secrets my mother kept before letting me come here she did tell me some things.

The duel was underway by the time I showed up.

"You're late," Celica accused as I showed up.

"I told everyone I was busy. That's my excuse for Fethris doing this for me."

She rolled her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jarec asked. "You look pale."

"Just tired. Working on my magic is exhausting."

"Good news: you haven't missed much." Russel told me.

I wasn't sure if I believed that, given the dark orange glow on the floor that was spreading out in a veinlike pattern from Anubis but there was a green circle at Fethris's feet keeping them at bay.

An institution like The Towers of Nine School of Magic Study and Practice was built with tradition in the mortar and decorated by two thousand years of history.

Of course we had a room specifically for dueling.

I wonder how many problems at my old school I could have solved if some papers could be signed and I was allowed to punch some people in the face.

But the brightest and finest of this generation were far too dignified for punching each other.

Instead what they did to settle disputes was stand in a big hexagonal room and throw magic at each other until someone bleeds.

Because that's the terms Fethris apparently set and what Vivian Hearth agreed to.

First blood.

Fethris had his casual clothes underneath the Dragon Red coat. His hands glowed green but his eyes stayed their normal brown.

He was smirking at Anubis who was in full Kraken uniform and looked furious in a way that filled me with both joy and a strange sense of nostalgia.

There were a lot of other observers on the sidelines of this. Mostly faces I didn't recognize except for a handful of people from my Alchemy class, some from Monsters, and Representative Horus.

Figures he'd be here.

Anubis was avoiding the glowing veins on the floor as she walked in a curved line around Fethris.

Fethris was standing perfectly still and looking calm.

What was he planning?

It wasn't a new feeling, to see other people casting spells and wishing I was able to do the same.

I held in a sigh as a wave of lightheadedness washed over me.

That's when I heard a loud snapping sound.

Now Fethris's eyes were glowing. Bright green.

But then there was another sound. A series of clicks.

There was a ten-feet-long centipede behind Anubis now. It glowed Fethris green and was rearing up. A projection spell? It featured no other colors and was see-through like glass.

The lower half of its body was coiling up around Anubis's feet.

A single one of its far too many legs reached out and scratched Anubis's cheek in a simple line barely more than a couple inches long.

And even I could see the hint of red welling up as the creature vanished.

"Victory goes to Fethris Nightcall!" Horus called over the crowd.

"He did it," I mumbled. "By gods he did it."

The veins and protective circle on the floor vanished and Fethris did a large bow to his opponent and it reminded me of an actor at the end of the night on stage.

Anubis bowed as well, though it looked stiff and stilted by comparison.

Hopefully she wasn't too angry. I did have to go to a meeting with her tomorrow.

Joy of joys.

But first things first.

I went up to Fethris with the others and reached him first.

"Congrats on your glorious victory," I told him earnestly with a smile.

He smirked at Anubis and looked back to me, "You should find a way to get more people to pick fights with you."

"I will do no such thing," I told him. "You want to show off more please pick your own fights and leave me out of it."

"Fair point, and I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances over the next few years."

"Before you start planning your next conquest mister hero let's get you back to Dragon Tower, you look like you could use a rest. We've got plenty of time for you to take a nap or whatever it is you're supposed to do after a duel."

"Sounds good."

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