“Learn what, exactly, Little Conduit?”
“That sort of arcana. Combative. Defensive. All of it. It looked so complex.”
Kieran chuckled, drawing a few coins from his own pocket to purchase a pastry.
“That’s because itisvery complex. It’s called ‘Physical Arcana,’ freshling, and there are courses on it. Though, they’re usually only available for third year students and above. Unless you join the Guard, of course, in which case we train you ourselves. Why?”
“I wonder if I could test into them early. Entry exams are coming up, after all…” I trailed off, touching my chin.
“Into a third year course?” Kieran asked, one eyebrow raised. “I mean shit, if anyone could pull something like that off, it would be you, Ark—but why? What’s the rush?”
I glanced away for a moment, flushing slightly before Kieran nudged me, handing me half of his croissant.
“I just… don’t like the idea of being so defenseless,” I muttered.
“You’re not defenseless, freshling. You’re surrounded by some of the most intimidating motherfuckers in the city,” Kieran laughed. “I would argue you’re one of the safest people in Sophrosyne by association.”
I sighed.
“And while Iappreciatethat,” I said pointedly, “That’s hardly an excuse to be complacent. We’re not always together, you know.”
Whether I liked it or not, Kieran would always have much higher priorities.
“Hey,” Kieran said softly. “Is this about Amir, Arken? Because I promise you, you’re safe here. Yvestra isn’t nearly as warded as we are.”
“It’s not about Amir, exactly,” I said slowly, trying to calibrate my thoughts. “It’s more like… What the Hel could I even doif Laurel got attacked one day, and we were alone? I’m not a fighter, and neither is she. All we could do is run.”
Kieran nodded thoughtfully, chewing on a bite of his food.
“Sometimes, the best thing to do in those situationsisto run, Arken. There’s no shame in that. In such a hypothetical, highly unlikely situation, youshouldrun. Run, and find me.”
“And if you’re not around?” I asked quietly.
Kier seemed to deliberate on this for a moment before nodding again. “Fair point, and well-made as ever. But if you want to test into Physical Arcana, I’ve gotta warn you: It’s a two part test for Conduits. You’ll have to prove arcane aptitude, which you’ve got in the bag already. But you’ll also have to test for physical strength and endurance. Arcane combat is incredibly taxing on the body. They won’t let you start until you pass both exams.”
Ugh. Nowthatwas an obvious obstacle—I had never been particularly athletic. Sure, I had the stamina to walk through the forests for hours on end, but I doubt that’s what he meant by endurance. It certainly wasn’t strength.
“You’re going to try to test in anyway, aren’t you?” Kieran asked with a smirk.
“You know me so well,” I crooned, punctuating the remark with an elbow to his side. He pretended to stumble, lightly bumping into one of the merchant’s stalls.
“I know that you’re stubborn as Hel, which is all I really needed to know,” he replied. “But if you’re truly dead set on this, I can help, you know. I can put together a light training regimen for you, help whip you into shape. Resultsnotguaranteed by the end of this quarter, but we can try.”
I grinned.
“Deal.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kieran
Several weeks later, I received a summons from my commander while I was in the middle of my weekly rounds.
After I wrapped things up with Roshana, I made my way back to HQ. Before I could even raise my fist to knock, I heard my commander call through the door.
“Come in, Captain Vistarii.”
I knew damn well that he had very expensive wards set up to alert him of the presence and identity of visitors (or eavesdroppers) nearby, but that didn’t make it any less alarming. I could have sworn that he took advantage of it sometimes, just to be as ominous as possible.