Morning light filtered through the crystal window in soft golds and blues, but Akilliz barely noticed. He'd slept fitfully, dreams tangled with Thalindra's starlight eyes, the weight of the elven key burning frost into his palm, and Taimon's voice whispering promises he couldn't quite remember.

  He dressed quickly, pulling on the fresh tunic Sylvara had left folded on his chair. He needed to get some leather gloves today, maybe deep brown ones to match his boots. They would hide both marks. Taimon's corruption spreading up his right hand, and Thalindra's faint circle on his left palm.

  Two bindings. Two masters. Two secrets he couldn't tell anyone.

  Well. Almost anyone.

  He grabbed his pack and headed down to the Refectory, stomach twisting with a mixture of hunger and nerves. The plan Thalindra had laid out seemed simple enough in her office. Ask Sylvara for the key. Get the book. Let the guard "catch" him. Bring the key to Thalindra.

  But telling Lirien and Kael? That felt different. Dangerous. Like speaking the plan aloud might make it real in ways he wasn't ready for.

  The Refectory buzzed with morning energy when he arrived. Apprentices filled long tables in loose clusters. The serving counter steamed with porridge, fresh bread, boiled eggs, and some kind of weird fruit—pale orange with a sweet smell that reminded him of summer honey.

  He loaded his tray and scanned the room.

  There. Lirien and Kael sat at their usual table near the middle. The silver-haired girl and the broad-shouldered male elf from yesterday were absent today. Akilliz approached, setting his tray down. "Morning."

  "Morning," Lirien said warmly. Then her smile faltered slightly as she actually looked at him. "You okay? You look exhausted."

  "Rough night," he managed, sitting across from them.

  Kael glanced up from his porridge. "Up studying elvish again?"

  "No. Just..." He smiled politely. "Just couldn't sleep."

  Akilliz leaned forward slightly, keeping his voice low. "Actually…I…have to tell you guys something”

  Kael's eyebrows rose. Lirien set down her spoon, immediately focused.

  "What happened?" she asked quietly.

  He took a breath. "Last night, Thalindra called for me."

  "What?" Kael's voice rose slightly. Students from a table over, turned their heads at the noise. He lowered it to a hiss. "Thalindra? The *Judiciar* Thalindra?"

  "Yes."

  Lirien's face had gone pale. "Oh gods. We're screwed. She knows about the library, doesn't she? She knows we took—"

  "No. Listen." Akilliz cut her off gently. "She knows I was in the restricted section. But she doesn't know about..." He gestured vaguely, not wanting to say *my mother's stolen pages* out loud. "She doesn't know about everything."

  "How is that possible?" Kael asked. "If she knows you were there—"

  "She knows because Sylvara sent me there. With a key." Akilliz kept his voice steady, measured. "She asked me about it. About the key. And she wants me to get it again."

  Silence. Both of them stared at him.

  "She *wants* you to get it again?" Lirien repeated slowly.

  "She wants to examine it. The key Sylvara gave me wasn't..." He paused, remembering the frost forming on his fingers, the impossible weight. "It wasn't normal. It was dwarven work. Forged with runes or something instead of elven magic."

  Kael's eyes went wide. "Dwarven? But that's—"

  "I know." Akilliz glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Thalindra thinks something's going on. She wants to study the key. Figure out how it was made and why Sylvara has it."

  "So what does she want you to do?" Lirien asked.

  "Ask Sylvara for archive access again. Tell her I need research for my Festival offering." He met their eyes. "Dragon's Breath. I actually *do* need to study it. There's a book called *Nicodemo Maximo's Collection of Infernal Alchemical Medicinal Materials*. Black cover, bound in Nightmare hide. Thalindra says it's got everything about Dragon's Breath cultivation."

  "And Sylvara will just... give you the key again? Did you just casually say Nightmare hide?" Kael sounded skeptical.

  "I did. Its some weird creature, hope I never meet one. But yeah, Thalindra thinks so. The book request is legitimate. I'm supposed to take it, use the key, and when I leave the archives..." He hesitated. "A guard will be waiting. He'll search me. Find the key. Bring me to Thalindra."

  "You're going to get caught?" Lirien's voice rose slightly. She caught herself, lowered it. "On purpose?"

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  "The guard is Thalindra's. I won't actually be in trouble. But I have to make it look real so Sylvara doesn't suspect anything."

  Kael leaned back, processing. "So Thalindra gets the key. You get the book. Everyone's Sylvara gets the key back, everyone's happy."

  "Except..." Lirien's silver eyes found his. "What about your mother's journal?"

  And there it was. The question he'd been dreading.

  "She said I'll be searched when I leave," Akilliz said quietly. "So I don't know. Maybe I can read another page or two while I'm there. Memorize what I can."

  "That's no good." Lirien's voice was firm. "We need the whole thing. All the pages. Not just fragments you half-remember."

  "I know, but—"

  "I have a solution," Kael said suddenly.

  Both of them turned to look at him.

  He grinned. That mischievous, slightly manic grin that meant he'd thought of something brilliant or incredibly stupid. Possibly both.

  "We steal Zolam's magic satchel."

  Silence.

  "What's a magic satchel?" Akilliz asked finally.

  "It's like a normal satchel," Kael explained, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Except you can fit a bunch of stuff in it and it won't get heavier. Tables, chairs, books, entire carts of supplies. I've seen him pull a whole desk out of it once."

  "That's..." Akilliz blinked. "That's incredible."

  "It's also legendary," Lirien said flatly. "And it belongs to an Archon-class wizard. How exactly are you planning to steal from Zolam?"

  "Easy." Kael's grin widened. "He's asleep."

  "He's always asleep," Lirien pointed out.

  "Exactly! Sylvara hasn't delivered his speed potions yet. Without those, he sleeps for days. Sometimes whole weeks." Kael looked between them. "With your help, it should be easy. We just borrow it for a few hours. Return it before he wakes up."

  "With our help?" Akilliz echoed. "You want us to help you rob an Archon?"

  "Borrow," Kael corrected. "Not rob. Big difference."

  "That's too dangerous!" Lirien's voice had an edge of panic now. "We could all be expelled. Or turned into toads. Do you know what Zolam would do to people who steal from him?"

  "Nobody's getting turned into anything," Kael said. "Because we're not going to get caught. And technically, Akilliz is the one doing the stealing when he takes that journal. We're just... facilitating."

  Akilliz's mind raced. The magic satchel. If it really could hold anything without getting heavier...

  "You're right," he said slowly. "If I had that satchel, I could take my mother's journal. The whole thing. Hide it inside. The guards would search me and find nothing."

  "Exactly!" Kael looked triumphant.

  "Except you'd be stealing it," Lirien said, turning to Akilliz. "And breaking Thalindra's trust. She told you to take nothing else. Just the Dragon's Breath book."

  The words hit like a punch to the gut. She was right. Thalindra had trusted him. Given him a mission. Made a pact to protect him from Taimon's corruption.

  And he was planning to betray that trust the first chance he got.

  But Ma's journal...

  "It depends on you," Kael said quietly, watching Akilliz's face. "What's it worth to find out what's in there? What your mother discovered. Why she ran. What she meant about Aurelia."

  Akilliz met his eyes. "Everything."

  The word came out steadier than he felt.

  "Exactly why I'll help you," he said to Kael. "We'll get the satchel. And the journal."

  He turned to Lirien. "You don't have to get involved if you don't want to. I know it's dangerous. I know it's wrong. But I have to know what she found."

  Lirien stared at him for a long moment. Her expression cycled through concern, frustration, fear, and finally something that looked almost like resignation.

  "Ugh. You guys." She rubbed her face with both hands. "This is... this is insane. This might be really bad."

  She lowered her hands. Met their eyes.

  "But it's good too. Finding the truth. Understanding what happened to your mother." She sighed. "Alright. I'll help. If only so you two don't screw it up on your own."

  Kael's grin returned full force. "Knew you'd come around."

  "Don't make me regret this," she warned.

  "So tonight then," Kael said, already planning. "I'll be waiting for you at the Arcanum. Akilliz, do you think you can get the key tonight?"

  "I'll try. Sylvara mentioned we're visiting the Sanitarium today. Maybe I can ask her after."

  "I'll try to stop by and say hello while you're there," Lirien offered. "Maybe show you some of our medicines if I have time"

  "Good idea. That might really help with what I'm supposed to be doing here anyway." Akilliz nodded. "Alright. We meet tonight. I get the key from Sylvara. We get the satchel from Zolam. Then I go to the restricted section, grab both books, and we return the satchel and the key before anyone notices."

  "Now this is the kind of stuff I like," Kael said, eyes bright with excitement. "Way more fun than sorting mushrooms by moon phases or whatever Zolam gives me next."

  "You're starting to talk like him," Lirien observed.

  "What? No I'm not!" Kael looked genuinely offended. "The day I start talking like that old wizard is the day I grow hair on my toes."

  "Disgusting," Lirien said flatly.

  "What? It's a valid comparison!"

  "It's gross."

  Akilliz found himself laughing despite the knot of anxiety in his stomach. These two. Somehow they made planning a heist from an Archon feel almost... normal.

  "Alright," Lirien said, standing and gathering her tray. "I need to get to my shift at the Sanitarium. I'll see you both tonight."

  She paused, looking down at Akilliz. Her expression softened. "Be careful today. With Sylvara. Don't let her suspect anything."

  "I won't."

  "And Akilliz?" She touched his shoulder briefly. "We'll figure this out. All of it. Your mother's journal, the demon mark, all of it. You're not alone."

  The words hit harder than they should have. He nodded, not trusting his voice.

  She squeezed his shoulder once, then left.

  Kael watched her go, then turned back to Akilliz with a more serious expression. "She's right, you know. About being careful. Sylvara's smart. If she even suspects you're up to something..."

  "I know."

  "Good." Kael stood, stretching. "Alright. I've got to go pretend to study ancient runes for a few hours. Zolam's latest obsession. Apparently there's some inscription in the deep archives he wants translated." He rolled his eyes. "Like I can read pre-Luminael dwarvish."

  "Can you?"

  "...a little. Don't tell him that." Kael grinned. "See you tonight. Arcanum. After evening bells."

  "After evening bells," Akilliz confirmed.

  Kael left, and Akilliz sat alone at the table for a moment, staring at his half-eaten breakfast.

  The Refectory was starting to empty as apprentices headed to their various lessons and assignments.

  He should go too. Sylvara would be expecting him soon.

  But he sat there a moment longer, the weight of what they were planning settling over him like a cloak.

  Stealing from Zolam. Lying to Thalindra. Taking Ma's journal despite being told to take nothing else.

  Every choice felt wrong and necessary at the same time.

  What would you do? he thought, touching the journal through his tunic. Would you tell me to trust Thalindra? Or would you tell me to find the truth no matter what?

  The journal didn't answer. It never did.

  But he thought he knew anyway.

  *Question everything. Trust no one. Even those who knew me.*

  Ma's words. Her warning.

  He stood, gathered his tray, and headed for the cleaning station.

  Tonight, they'd learn the truth.

  Even if it cost him everything.