“And?” Lianshi whipped around to grip Scorio’s arm with talon-like fingers. “How could you just sit there and not say a word? Not even pass me a note?”
“Base cruelty,” said Leonis, leaning forward from his seat behind them both. “The man is a callous wretch who likes to leave us in torment.”
“Look at how he’s grinning,” said Naomi, climbing to her feet. “Is there any doubt as to how it went?”
“Tell us!” Lianshi punched him in the shoulder. “Or do you expect me to beat it out of you in sparring class?”
“You really shouldn’t,” said Scorio with smug coolness. “House Chimera is very defensive of its proteges. You’d find yourself in a world of—”
But Lianshi interrupted him with a squeal of delight as she attacked him, hugging him tight and squeezing him as hard as she could. “You got it? You really did?”
Scorio laughed, cheeks burning, aware that several other students in the class were watching. “Looks like it, yes.”
“Good job,” said Leonis. “That’s fantastic. They’re going to finance your recovery?”
“All of it.” Scorio hopped up to sit on his desk and face them both. Naomi, he saw, was already drifting toward the classroom door. “It’s incredible. They’re going to give me two Sublime Purification pills each Eighthday, along with an Apotheosis pill, Thousand Step pill, and Peaceful Wheel.”
Leonis let out a low whistle. “That’s incredible. An Apotheosis every week?”
Lianshi looked taken aback. “That’s top tier, Scorio. You must have made an impression.”
“What can I say?” His grin turned roguish. “Principal recruiters find me irresistible.”
“It has nothing to do with Imperator Sol’s personally vouching for you, of course,” said Leonis. “You earned this purely on your own merits.”
“Maybe a little of that, too,” said Scorio, and then he laughed in exhilaration. “But it worked. They want to invest in me for the long term, help me reach Imperator if that’s possible. With so many resources at my disposal, I’ll heal up fast, and then together we can crush the Gauntlet at the semester’s end.”
Leonis frowned. “You sure they’re going to let you team up with us? Neither of us is House-sponsored, nor are we still in the tournament.”
“They never said they’d pick my team,” Scorio said hurriedly. “Though they said I should meet the other House Chimera proteges and think about forming a team with them. But you know what? There’s no need to waste anybody’s time. We’re in this together. The four of us…”
“Huh,” said Leonis, twisting about. “Guess Naomi didn’t want to hear the good news?”
“She’s not ready to celebrate the Houses or Academy,” said Lianshi quietly. “Not that I blame her, given what she’s been through. But I know she’s happy for you. It must be hard for her to see you succeeding, though, where she’s only ever seen closed doors.”
“Was her decision not to enter the tournament,” said Leonis. “She could have destroyed anyone in the loser’s bracket in her Nightmare Lady form.”
“Well, I hope she’ll still team up with us,” said Scorio. “I mean, I don’t plan to give her a choice.”
Lianshi’s smile returned. “This is just brilliant. We have to celebrate!”
“Now we’re talking,” rumbled Leonis. “Something worthy of the occasion. And lo! Tomorrow is Eighthday. We’ll have all day long to mark the moment.”
“Celebrate,” mused Scorio. “Yeah.”
“What is it?” asked Lianshi.
“Just that… I don’t know. Since I was reincarnated in the Gauntlet, there’s not been that much to celebrate. Just one brutal trial or insurmountable obstacle after another. To have something like this to celebrate, something simple and good and right, feels… strange.”
“Get used to it,” laughed Leonis, rising to his feet. “This House sponsorship will take you far. Just don’t forget us little people when you head out to conquer hell.”
“No chance of that,” said Scorio, gathering his supplies. “It’s like I said, right? We’re in this together. From the start right to the bitter end.”
“Agreed,” said Lianshi, shouldering her satchel. “You can count on us.”
“Just don’t ask me to carry your stuff,” said Leonis with a false glower. “I’ll knock your head off if you do.”
“Got it,” said Scorio, feeling almost giddy with delight. “No bag carrying. What about boot polishing? We should really review all the terms.”
Leonis went to rebuke him as they stepped into the hallway only to draw back sharply before he could collide with someone striding past.
Jova Spike. She studied them with her smoky dark gaze as she went by, looking trim and lethal, self-contained and panther-like in her intensity.
Impulse stirred Scorio, and he reached out his hand. “Jova? A word?”
For a moment he thought she’d keep walking, but then she stopped, body stiff, staring straight ahead. Did she expect him to move around to her front? No—she finally looked at him over her shoulder, a wave of black hair falling down one side of her face, to stare at him with one dark-rimmed eye.
“What is it?” Her voice was low, reserved, mildly irritated, husky.
“Guys, go on ahead, I’ll see you in class,” said Scorio. Lianshi and Leonis slowly moved away, as if reluctantly breaking free of some terrible gravitational pull, and Scorio nodded to an empty side corridor. “I need just a moment of your time.”
She followed him warily into the narrow hallway, and there stood in its mouth, arms crossed over her chest, chin raised, expression flinty. “Speak, Scorio. I won’t be late for class.”
“Right.” He gave a measured exhale, thoughts settling into place, and then stood straight. “I was just offered sponsorship by House Chimera. Imperator Sol personally vouchsafed my being readmitted to the Academy. I’m now in the top thirty-two of the loser’s bracket of the tournament.”
“Good for you,” she said, tone dry and utterly unimpressed.
“Which is all to say that I’m working hard at being a legitimate member of this cohort.” Scorio felt his palms prickle, his chest tighten. “And that’s to add context to my request.”
“You’ve less than a minute,” she said. “Then I’m walking away.”
“I checked my locker. Your name was carved deep into the rock of the back wall. Everything else was gone.”
Her dark-rimmed eyes narrowed. “My name?”
“Jova Spike. Meticulously carved. It’s the only clue I have to my past. I’ve been thinking about it, and the last time I reincarnated was two hundred and thirty-three years ago. So I was hoping you could check your journals, or mementos or whatever, and see if there’s anything there about me from that time period.”
Her gaze was suspicious, her expression unyielding. “You think I’d have agreed to write a secret message of yours in my private journals?”
“That’s my hope,” said Scorio, speaking more quickly. “I’m just asking you to check. It would mean everything to me. There has to be a reason your name was carved into the back of my locker.”
“No,” said Jova simply.
Scorio blinked. “No?”
“No. I wouldn’t have included any message of yours for the same reason I won’t help you now.” She spoke with deliberate clarity, utterly self-assured and unafraid of confrontation. “Because you are a Red Lister, Scorio, and no House sponsorship or Imperator recommendation will change that fact.”
For a moment, she just stared at him, as if making sure her words had hit home, then she simply turned and walked away.
Scorio stood there staring at nothing. Eyes wide, jaw clenched, he forced himself to dry swallow and process the sheer finality of her words. No? That wasn’t what she was supposed to say. He was part of the Academy now. It wasn’t even that big a request. And so what if he was a Red Lister? Even Praximar had agreed to let that be forgotten.