The voice had e from behind him, and Krion turo see who had spoken. Standing a few steps back at the edge of the seating for the middle nobility, hands csped ly behind his back, was a young man with the look of someone who was too fident for his own good.
The grin on his face turned a bit sheepish as he raised a hand in a gesture of apology. “Ah, my excitement got the better of me,” he said smoothly, his tone light. “It’s not every day oo meet someone who causes such a stir before csses even begin. Allow me to correct myself — wele to the Imperial Academy, Lord Bcksword.” He dipped his head slightly, the movement subtle yet respectful, as if to aowledge the gravity of Krion’s rank, or at least the House he came from, without overdoing it. “I trust you will five my earlier pse in de.” His smile returned, sharper this time, as he waited.
pletely caught off guard, Krion froze for a long moment. He cursed the fact he was still g in experieerag with nobility. Deg to take the out offered, Krion gave a short nod, his expression as calm as he could keep it as he replied, “No offeaken. I appreciate the wele.” He kept as ral a tone as possible, while still being polite. Inside, his thoughts tio . He wished he had received even a fra of the training in courtly de that most noble ss attending the Imperial Academy likely had. Navigating even this iio a little like walking on the edge of a bde — one wrong step and he could offend or reveal his inexperieno, until he was able to deal with this weakness, the best thing to do would be to take his cues from others and simply try to be as polite as possible. Crap. “I’m sorry for being rude. Your name is...?”
“No apologies necessary, I tell I iently startled you,” the stranger tinued, his expression still polite. “Allow me to introduce myself. Hector Draven, s of House Draven, a vistcy, at your service.” He gave a shallow bow.
Krion studied him with a measured gaze. Hector was dressed impeccably, his uniform tailored much like his own had been to reflect perfe. The crest of the vistcy sat at each shoulder — an intricate design of crossed bdes encircled by a coiled serpent. His dark hair was ly bed over a symmetrical face of almost cssical handsomeness like what Krion had seen in old museums when he was younger. But it was Hector’s eyes that drew Krion’s attention the most. At odds with the polite, almost weling introdu he had exteo Krion his eyes were a sharp, calg grey, flickering with an intelligehat seemed to assess and weigh every detail about their surroundings — and Krion.
“It’s o meet you, Lord Draven,” Hector’s eyes seemed to sharpen, and Krio once he had made a mistake somehow, “but if you wouldn’t mind…?”
“That dispy at the Altar of the Foresworn was… memorable,” Hector said, not taking Krion’s hint. “I doubt anyone here will fet it anytime soon.”
Unwillingly, Krion’s face grew tight. He didn’t particurly want to discuss the bizarre and ulis of the ceremony, much less with a stranger. “It is not something I care to dwell on,” he replied curtly. Maybe being a bit short would get Hector to leave him alone. “I assume you are here talking to me for a reason?”
Hector’s smile widened slightly as though he had expected the brusque response. “Straight to the point. I like that.” He leaned closer, his voice going lower but still keeping a slight smile on his face. “I am here for a reason, yes. Let’s just say your… ue piqued my i. For many of us in the nobility, the fmes bring about slight ges. Some few, usually in the higher ranking Houses, see more. But very rarely is someone as ged as you were. ”
Krion’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“And,” Hector responded smoothly, “I’m curious. You’ve already caught the attention of nearly every udent, especially your rivals iher Archducal Houses, whether you like it or not. I simply approached you first.”
“Let me guess,” Krion said after Hector ceased speaking, perhaps hoping to gauge Krion’s rea. “You’re here to make me some kind of offer, aren’t you?”
Hector’s ugh was soft, almost spiratorial. “Not quite. I’m not foolish enough to approaeone like you with an offer before I uand what it is you truly want. But I will admit I see your potential — potential that, if nurtured correctly, might be us both.”
“Us?” Krion echoed, folding his arms across his chest. “You don’t even know me.”
“True,” Hector admitted, “but I’ve always beey good at reading people. It’s a skill I’ve honed out of y.” His gaze roamed over Krion, lingering on his scars, almost like he was memorizing every detail that he could see. “You are ly what I expected from a s of House Bcksword,” he remarked, his torigued. “From what my family’s tutors taught me, ss of your family are generally stern and anding in presence. Since I have no reason to doubt them — my family paid quite well for their highly reended services — I would say you are almost out of pce, even. The fact you did not correct me on calling you anything but your first name and even addressed me as ‘Lord Dravee all ss being of equal rank so long as we are officially students, tells me you have very little idea about the specifics of the Imperial Academy.”
Once again, Krion fought to keep his expressioral, masking the annoyance bubblih the surface. So he had messed up with how he had addressed Hector. He shifted awkwardly on his feet until he realized Hector was watg him even closer. Krion stopped moving all at once. Damn. He had hoped to fade into the background after the ceremony, especially in the wake of how the Vice-cellor had disappeared. While he knew he would have to eventually get to know other members of the nobility, he had hoped for a little more time to adjust to being here. But perhaps that was too much to ask. All he could do was try to salvage the situation.
“I wasn’t trying to make an impression,” Krion said mely. It was the best he could e up with, as there was no way he was going to tell a stranger about any part of his background.
Hector’s smile grew bigger, almost as if he didn’t believe a word of what Krion was saying. “Whether you inte or not, Krion, you’ve captured quite a bit of attention. The question is, how do you pn to ha?”
“I doubt anyone will care that much over the few days as csses begin,” Krion replied. “I’m sure most will move on to something else soon enough.”
“Perhaps,” Hector responded, but his voice carried more than a hint of doubt. “But I wouldn’t t on it. This is the Imperial Academy, after all. Ambition is the lifeblood of this pce. Even our non-noble cssmates will be filled with it. The more exceptional you appear, the more people will want to align with you. Or tear you down.”
Kriold eyes met Hectaze, “And which are you?” he asked quietly. “Someone looking to align with me, or someone waiting for the right moment to tear me down?”
Hector chuckled, the sound low and unhurried. “Once again your direess is a breath of fresh air,” he said. “But I assure you, I’m not looking to be your enemy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Like I said, I think you have potential and I think a w retionship might help us both. What do you say?”
“I’ll think about it,” Krion said finally, though he was not sure yet what it was that he might be sidering to agree to.
Hector ined his head, as though he had expected that response. “Of course. Take all the time you need. We’ll be seeing more of each other in csses, I’m sure.”
With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk away, his footsteps eg softly in the y amphitheater. Apparently, while Krion had been absorbed in the versation, the rest of the ss, even those of the other Archducal Houses, had already stepped outside.
Krion watched him go, his mind rag. His first day on campus had already been far more eventful than he could have hoped for, and this enter with Hector only drove home how mucertainty he had to look forward to.
He stepped out of the House Bcksword seating to follow Hector outside. He couldn’t shake the sehat the enter he had just had was more signifit than it appeared. Hector’s sharp gaze and calg demeanor, even if covered by a weling smile, left Krion wary of manipution. He repyed Hector’s words in his head, sidering whether they were a subtle way to provoke him or if they were truly an attempt at an olive branch. Regardless of whie was true, the fact remaihat Hector had already made clear to him one of the things he had been previously w about since his time with Alesin and Rolfun: that he did not fit the mold of what others expected for a s of House Bcksword.
While part of him wao figure out what the more typical Bcksword s was like, that he might adopt a simir persona to stand out less, the reater part admitted he would likely not be able to do that for long. If he could even pass in the first pce. He never had been a very good actor, and his friends had always been able to tell when he was lying. No, he would still try to keep his head down, but he also didn’t think he would be able to py at being someone he was not.
He reached the entrance he had e in through and, with no one else in the way, made his way outside for the rest of the orientatios.
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