ROWAN KENRITH

"I'm soooo gonna fail this exam," Plink lamented. "Professor V is gonna take one look at my answers and tear it up before she lets me get my diploma."

"I don't think it's gonna be that bad, Plink," said Rowan. "She's actually very nice."

"Says the Prismari who's somehow the professor's pet," said Plink, rolling her eyes.

"Here," she offered, "let me have a look."

They were sitting cross-legged on Auvernine's bed with her, as the three of them studied for their finals. She leaned over and Plink carelessly handed her the notes. Rowan flipped through the pages, examining the drawings and notes for a moment before she felt her face grow warm. Then she handed them back, shaking her head. "Okay, I don't understand any of this."

"No kidding," said Auvernine. "I could've told you that. That's like asking me to understand all your Prismari hocus pocus."

Rowan laughed and clunked her with a pillow. Auvernine snickered and then the two of them started going back and forth, bashing one another with pillows while Plink sat there in the middle of the fray, still fretting about her upcoming finals. Finally, she said, "Hey, when's Professor V coming back, anyway? Didn't you say she was coming before finals week?"

Auvernine and Rowan both stopped the pillow fight, and Rowan said, "Yeah. That's what she said, anyway. I thought she was coming back yesterday, but she never showed. I even went to her office to see if she was there." She shrugged. "Nobody answered."

"Where did she go, anyway?" Plink inquired.

Rowan shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I wish I knew."

Then Auvernine said, with slightly veiled awe, "Professor V is so mysterious."

"Didn't you say she had a boyfriend?" asked Plink, tossing her notes aside and giving Rowan her full attention.

"Yeah, his name's Jace. He's really nice."

"You've met him?" Auvernine was beside herself. "When? What does he look like? I'll bet he's gorgeous."

"He is," Rowan confirmed. "He's also, like, a total Quandrix nerd."

The girls giggled, and then Auvernine said, "Figures Professor V would like a Quandrix guy. Totally not her type." She lowered her voice then, and said, "You know, she was sleeping with one of the deans?"

Gasps resounded. Then Plink asked with a grimace, "Valentin?"

"Eww, no!" said Auvernine. "No, it was that handsome Silverquill one. I don't remember his name. You know…? His son was in one of your classes freshman year… He's, like, the top of his class at the college of Silverquill…"

"Oh, that one!" said Plink. "Yeah, he's gorgeous. I can see where she'd be interested."

"I always knew there was something going on between them," said Rowan with a sense of pride. "I saw them together once, early in the morning when I couldn't sleep and went for a walk. You know, I like the glowing plants here on the Witherbloom Campus…"

"It's called bioluminescent flora," Auvernine corrected her.

"Right," said Rowan, caring very little about the correct academic term. "So, anyway, I heard voices and I ducked behind some trees, and I saw them…you know, kiss each other after saying goodbye."

More gasps resounded.

Then Plink asked, "Wait, but…isn't he married?"

Auvernine shrugged. "So?"

Plink wrinkled her mouth and cast a gaze toward Rowan, who shrugged helplessly. Then Auvernine said, "Ro, if you knew about it before, why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know. I shouldn't have even been there, you know? They thought they were alone, and I shouldn't have seen anything. But anyway, that was a couple years ago. It's in the past."

"Not this Jace guy, apparently. Do you think that's where she's gone? Is she with him?"

"I…don't know," Rowan lied. "She didn't tell me where she was going. Only when she'd be back."

"You're so lucky," said Auvernine. "You're not even Witherbloom, but you spend more time with Professor V than any of us. I mean, you've got, like, nothing in common with her."

"Yeah," Plink agreed. "What's with that, anyway?"

Rowan shrugged and tucked a flaxen lock behind her ear, wishing she could just 'walk away to avoid answering their questions. "I don't know. She's like a…mother to me, I guess. I wish she was my real mother, instead of…"

"The witch who tried to sacrifice you and your brother so she could live longer?"

"Auvernine!"

"What? It's just a fact. I mean, she told us about it, so it's not like it's some big secret."

"Still!"

"No, it's okay," said Rowan. "Really, I'm fine. And yes, instead of the…witch. Professor V would have been an awesome mother."

Even though she made a demonic contract to stay young and live forever, Rowan thought to herself. Nevertheless, she concluded, that's still not as bad as murdering your own children, though…

"Yeah but, isn't your stepmom pretty cool?" asked Plink.

"Of course," said Rowan. "She's been wonderful. I just…never mind. It's stupid."

Auvernine snorted. "Maybe Professor V and this Jace guy will adopt you."

Within seconds, a wave of fury had risen inside Rowan. It took all her strength of will not to lash out with one of her Prismari spells that Auvernine so often liked to mock. Instead, she lifted the pillow again and hit Auvernine hard enough that she tumbled off the bed.

"Whatever," said Rowan, getting up and stuffing her notebook into her knapsack. "I don't need this. I've got two tests tomorrow. Catch ya later."

Then she stormed out with her knapsack slung over her shoulder, ignoring their calls. As she walked out of the dormitory and passed by the faculty building, with its twisting roots and glowing vines, she noticed a brief flash of purple come from a window that appeared to be one from Professor Vess's quarters. She gasped and ran inside, winding her way through the corridors until she had made it to the door, labeled in gold: Liliana Vess, Professor of Necromantic Arts.

LILIANA

Everything was just as she had left it. Liliana looked around her office; at the ticking grandfather clock standing against the wall; and the golden headdress she had left behind. The owl skeleton was perched on a shelf, surrounded by musty leather-bound tomes, and her desk was cluttered with skulls and crystals and candles and quills… She smiled in satisfaction. It was good to be home.

Then she noticed one of Jace's cloaks was still tossed over the arm of a chair and, while it might once have infuriated her, she felt a tug at her heart. Without thinking, she brought her hand to her abdomen. Then, catching herself being sentimental, she scoffed and scooped up the misplaced cloak, heading for her bedroom to tuck it away in the dresser Jace had been using during his stay. Leave it to one who was so obsessive about the organization of his books to be so careless when it came to his clothes and housekeeping in general. Liliana rolled her eyes. She would soon have her home back to its normal state of chaotic orderliness.

She realized then how remarkable it was—this was home to her. And she knew then that, when all this insanity with the Phyrexians was over—provided it ended well for her and everyone else—this was where she wanted to return. But would Jace want to live there with her? How would that work, if he wanted to stay on Ravnica? They could, of course, live in both places depending on the time of year… Jace had become quite enamored with the Biblioplex and the Mystical Archives, after all. She could probably convince him to join the faculty there, in fact. She giggled at the thought. He would definitely be Quandrix.

Just when she was about to walk to the bedroom, a frenzied knock sounded on the door. Liliana raised her eyes to the ceiling and cursed under her breath. Not even back for more than a few minutes, and already someone was knocking on her door. What were the odds, really?

Heaving a sigh, she walked to the door and swung it open, ready to tear into whoever had the audacity to come knocking on her door this late at night—and, indeed, it was late. She had chosen to 'walk at that time for that purpose—to avoid being heckled the moment she arrived. But when she saw Rowan Kenrith standing there with girlish eagerness and her characteristic grin, all her necromantic fury melted away.

"Professor Vess!" the girl squealed, throwing her arms around the necromancer's waist. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Liliana felt queasy from the force of the embrace—she was already feeling nauseous from 'walking there when she was still not all that well. Jace had suggested she take another day to rest, but she had insisted she couldn't wait yet another day when she had so much that needed to be done. She couldn't admit that she had also grown restless, having so little to do on Ravnica, since she was without a job there and had to stay cooped up inside Jace's house all the time. In truth, while she had desperately needed a break from teaching, she was glad to be back to what had become her new normal.

When the girl pulled away, Liliana asked, "How did you know I was back? I've only just arrived, less than ten minutes ago."

Rowan's blue eyes examined her closely, and then she explained how she had been walking back from the student's dorms and had seen the purple flash. Liliana watched Rowan casually come inside and plop into an easy chair without even waiting for an invitation, while explaining the whole story in more detail than her patient listener cared to hear.

"I must say," said Liliana, "you have impeccable timing, Rowan."

She went to pour herself a drink.

"Yeah, well, we were literally just talking about when you'd be back, so I guess I just got lucky."

"Mmhm," Liliana hummed, filling a glass almost to the top with wine. Then she kept her back to the girl and took a long sip, while Rowan continued.

"I thought you were coming back yesterday, but then you didn't show, and I thought maybe I'd gotten the days mixed up. Then I was afraid you'd, you know, forgotten about us or something bad had happened…"

"Seriously, Rowan?" said Liliana, turning to face her and tilting her head. "You think I'd forget you?"

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda dumb…"

She was about to take another sip of her wine, but suddenly her stomach churned. She grimaced and set the cup on the table.

"Are you okay, Professor V?" Rowan asked suddenly, getting up and coming toward her.

Liliana held out a hand to stop her from coming closer, and said, "I'm fine. Really. I just…shouldn't have wine when I just 'walked here. Case in point: never drink alcohol right after 'walking, or you'll be sicker than you've ever been before. Especially if you were already not feeling well, in the first place."

"Is that why you didn't come sooner?" She looked like a puppy, gazing forlornly at its master. Liliana almost laughed. Almost.

"Look, don't worry about it. I'm here now and I said I'm fine. I just…need time to rest."

"How's Jace?" asked Rowan, returning to her chair. Apparently, she didn't get the hint.

"Jace?"

"Yeah, you know…your boyfriend?"

Liliana heaved a sigh and collapsed into the chair opposite Rowan, leaning her elbow on the arm of the chair and resting her forehead in her hand. "He's…not my boyfriend."

"Oh! What happened?"

"He's my husband. Or…something like that."

Rowan gushed. "Oh! That's so exciting! I…wait, when did that happen? You've only been gone a little over a fortnight."

"Yeah, well, when the Multiverse is under an imminent threat and all that…we thought, why the hell not?"

"Okay," said Rowan. "Wow, so like, he's your husband. And you're like, his wife?"

Liliana lifted her hand from her forehead briefly. "Obviously."

"Yeah… Right," said Rowan. "That's like, really sweet. I guess. I mean, it's not as romantic as I'd hope my marriage would be, but…I mean, I guess I should just shut up and say congratulations."

"Thanks," said Liliana, looking at her with a meager smile. She felt like death, but she knew Rowan was happy to see her and meant everything she said. It meant a lot, even if Liliana didn't have the energy to say so.

An awkward silence fell between them, until Liliana decided to make an effort. Rowan was tragic, really, and she knew she wasn't being a very good hostess at that moment. "So, what have you been up to since I've been away? Studying for your finals, I hope?"

"Yeah," said Rowan, looking down at her feet. "I mean, I'm totally not looking forward to taking them, but…at the same time, I can't wait to get out of here and join you guys and the Gatewatch."

"Good," said Liliana. "We leave in three days."

"Why didn't Jace come with you?"

"He's got his own work to do."

"Okay, well, I'll let you rest. I need to finish studying for my finals. I've got two tomorrow and three the next day—and then I'm done!"

"Relax and you'll do just fine." It was the best encouragement she could offer at the moment. She hoped it was enough.

When Rowan was gone, Liliana locked her door and went to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable. Wearing only a thin robe, she stood in front of the mirror and closely examined her form. Then she heaved a sigh and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge, listening. The silence was wonderful and yet…dare she admit, she felt kind of lonely.

She rolled her eyes. That was ridiculous. She had been looking forward to this for days. She had spent all of two weeks basically imprisoned inside Jace's house. And she loved the Gatewatch, but sometimes they were just too much. Too noisy. Too rowdy. Too…alive.

The dead usually didn't talk. And when they did, they didn't talk much. Well, there was that one zombie she raised back in her early days on Innistrad. He would never stop talking. Incessantly. About nothing. One of those stream of consciousness ramblers, in undeath as in life. That was, until she removed his tongue. Then he was finally silent. She made it a point after that to remove tongues or sever vocal cords if there was even a possibility they might be too talkative. In fact, that's why Kollema never talked—when she first reanimated him, he wouldn't stop lecturing her on some Lorehold nonsense or other. It was incredibly tedious, and she was far from interested. Now, without a tongue, he was perfectly silent and perfectly obedient.

Speaking of Kollema… She wondered how he was getting on since she left Arcavios. She would have to make a point to check in and see if he'd made any progress on their research. He couldn't talk about it, of course, but he kept copious notes. Thankfully, he still had decent handwriting.

Releasing a sigh, she looked down at her hand resting in her lap. Maybe she should pay him a visit tonight, before going to sleep. He probably hadn't made any progress on their research—he seemed to have stalled a few months back and she was on the verge of abandoning the whole thing altogether. Nevertheless, even a glimmer of possibility was worth making the jaunt across campus. She considered 'walking there, but decided she was far too exhausted for that. It would be easier just to walk the natural way. And even if there was nothing new, nothing promising, at least she could return to her quarters and go to sleep, knowing that it was going to end as it always had. And that sense of knowing—for the good or the bad—brought her a sense of comfort and even relief.

JACE

It wasn't so bad. Once he stopped dwelling and got to work, three days went by more quickly than he had at first anticipated. Lovesickness was unbecoming of him, after all. For only a day, he had been rendered useless. After Lavinia observed he seemed out of sorts and Chandra and Kaya both made teasing comments about him missing Liliana, he finally decided enough was enough and he put her absence out of his mind. Of course, there were moments of missing her—he would almost call it pining for her, but he didn't want to be that sentimental.

Overall, he kept himself so busy that he hardly noticed she was gone. Then after the second day, it almost came as a relief—so he had convinced himself. After all, his productivity had gone down considerably since their reunion. All it took was a single gaze, a tilt of the head, or a smile and productivity went out the window. Without her there to distract him, he was soon back to his old ways. It was refreshing.

Of course, when she returned, he was glad to see her. On that day, Jace was in his sanctum, perched high on a latter by one of the bookshelves, reading with a fountain pen tucked behind his ear in case he needed to take notes. His fingers were covered in ink stains and his hair was in its typical state of uncombed. Liliana was probably not in the least surprised to see him this way when she appeared in the sanctum, followed soon afterward by the twins—first Rowan and then Will, mere seconds apart.

Not noticing Jace up on the latter, the twins looked around in awe. Will was especially keen to see all the shelves of books—nothing compared to the Biblioplex, but still a considerable collection. Jace proudly had a few things on his shelves that even the Biblioplex didn't have. Jace also had a sense of almost fatherly pride as he watched Will walk up to one of the shelves and start examining the titles with immediate interest.

He hoped he might one day have a son just like Will—just like himself, really. Or a daughter. Either one would be…well, nice. His eyes drifted to Liliana, who watched the twins with a faint smile. As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned her violet gaze to find Jace on his perch. He smiled in turn and closed his book to hop down, saying, "You're finally back. And I see you've brought our new recruits."

"Jace!" Rowan exclaimed, running to enclose him in a tight embrace. This, he was not quite expecting.

Will, on the other hand, walked with an earnest step to shake his hand. Passion was all in his sister's half of their spark, that was for sure.

"It's good to see you both made it here safely," said Jace, when he'd gotten himself back to…himself. He had to smooth out his already wrinkled tunic after Rowan finally released him.

Liliana chuckled and strolled toward him in her catlike way. "Yes, they've managed to complete their finals and will soon graduate from Strixhaven at the top of their class."

"When is the ceremony?" Jace inquired.

"Will you come?" Rowan asked hopefully.

"Wouldn't miss it," said Jace.

"Next week," Liliana answered his question. "The administrators need time to put everything together once all the faculty finally turns in final grades. I turned mine in this morning, of course. Didn't want that weighing over me all week."

"Look at you, not procrastinating," Jace teased as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Then, keeping his arm around her but turning to the twins, he said, "So, you're both at the top of your class?"

Rowan released a sigh of frustration. "Will's the valedictorian, naturally."

"So, that makes you salutatorian?"

The girl rolled her eyes and looked down at her feet, shifting her stance. "I'm…fourth."

"Out of a class of more than…what? One-, two-thousand?"

"That's about right," Liliana confirmed. "That's a lot of competition, Rowan. Placing fourth in a graduating class with more than a thousand students is incredible."

"I'll bet you were valedictorian in your day," said Rowan.

Liliana laughed. "I was definitely not valedictorian. Not that I couldn't have been, had I wanted to be. I just didn't want to work that hard. I was in the top of my class. That was good enough for me."

Jace looked at her with a smile, and said, "Why does that not surprise me?"

She turned and met his gaze, returning his smile. "You know me well—I'm nothing if not protective of my time and energy."

"Then I consider it an honor that you like to spend so much of it with me," he replied, before bending in for a kiss.

They were interrupted by a loud, boisterous entrance by Chandra, who exclaimed, "Are you guys seriously gonna do that right in front of these poor kids? Gross. Nobody wants to see that!"

"Greetings to you, too, Chandra," Liliana teased.

"So, are these the twins? Wow, you guys look…like…so much alike. I mean, you don't look the same or anything—definitely not. But, I mean, the family resemblance is definitely there." She stopped before them and extended a hand. "I'm Chandra Nalaar, Pyromancer."

"You use red mana, too?" asked Rowan excitedly.

"You do, too?" asked Chandra, her mouth agape.

The two basically fell into a red mana lovefest, in the way only two young women who have found a new best friend can. Meanwhile Will, Jace, and Liliana stood there awkwardly watching. Liliana leaned to whisper in Jace's ear, "Somehow, I knew this was going to happen."

"Did you?" Jace whispered back. "Because I had no idea."

Liliana met his gaze and rolled her eyes at the girls, who were both talking about a hundred miles-per-second. When, at last, they came to a natural pause, Jace quickly stepped in to introduce Will.

"Chandra, this is Rowan's brother, Will."

She stopped to look him up and down, then said, "Hi, Will. Do you use red mana, too? No, wait—let me guess… Blue. I'm totally getting Jace and Teferi vibes."

Will rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. "Uh…yeah. Good guess."

"So, is it true you share the same spark? Like, that's so weird—I mean, not in a bad way. Like, totally awesome. I think it's the most amazing thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah," said Rowan, standing with her head held high and her hands on her hips. "We're two sides of the same coin, our step-mom would always say."

"Oh, that's right!" Chandra gasped. "Your dad is, like, a king or something?"

"High King of Eldraine," said Will, injecting himself between Chandra and his sister with an unusual air of confidence. He ran his fingers through his short golden hair and gave Chandra a charming smile.

Jace coughed into his hand and whispered to Liliana, "Oh no, I think Will has a crush."

Liliana stifled a laugh and gave him a look that suggested what they were both thinking.

"Well," said Jace, "why don't we get the whole group together, so Will and Rowan don't have to explain themselves over and over to everyone individually. Chandra, would you mind informing the others of their arrival?"

"Yeah, sure," said Chandra. "I'll catch you guys sooner rather than later."

While she hurried off, Jace turned to the twins. "Okay, Chandra is sometimes a bit much…"

"I thought she was pretty cool," Will said with a casual shrug that looked forced.

"Yeah, she was totally awesome!" Rowan enthused.

"She's wonderful," Jace agreed. "An old friend who will soon become a great mentor for you, Rowan. I mean, Liliana's been a great mentor to you as a 'walker, but now you'll have a mentor with whom you share the same… mana type."

"Yeah, Jace," said Liliana, "we got that. Nobody's feelings are hurt, so don't worry about it."

She gave him a wink and he chuckled somewhat awkwardly. "Okay, well…good. Anyway, why don't you guys make yourselves comfortable. You can sit anywhere at the table except at the head."

"That's where Jace presides over us," Liliana said in a mock-whisper.

Rowan grinned and Will sniffed in apparent amusement.

"Yes," Jace agreed, giving her a look. "And Liliana sits at my right hand, where I can keep an eye on her. You know, so she doesn't cause trouble."

She met his gaze with a challenge and smiled. "Yes, keep telling yourself that's why you keep an eye on me, Cloak Boy. We all know what you're really thinking."

Rowan giggled, and then said, "Can I just say, it's weird hearing you call her 'Liliana'. Like, she'll always be Professor V to me. And before that, she was Professor Onyx."

"Well, now that you're no longer students," said Liliana, "you're welcome to call me whatever you like—within reason, of course. Don't give me a nickname, though. I hate nicknames."

"Unless you come up with them for somebody else," said Jace.

"Precisely," she answered with a wry smile. "You learn fast, Cloak Boy."

"Well, I have had years to study you."

He knew what she was about to say and placed a finger to her lips to stop her, reminding her that they were not alone. The poor twins now stood there awkwardly, as if they were trying to pretend not to be intruding on this very private, playful moment between…newlyweds? Is that what we are? Jace wondered. On the one hand, it seemed perfectly natural—as if he and Liliana had been a married couple for as long as they'd known each other. On the other hand, the term seemed oddly out of place for that same reason.

Too sentimental, he thought, finally.

I agree, he heard Liliana in his mind. I've been your wife since our earliest days together, really.

Does that mean we're remarried, then?

We were never not married, my love, she thought back, before planting a kiss on his cheek. Then she walked to the table to take her seat.

Wait…so, does that mean we've been unfaithful to each other?

He asked this while moving to take his seat. The twins closely followed, completely unaware of the conversation going on between their hosts, as they sat to his left and across from Liliana.

We were on a break, Liliana insisted. Now, we're serious.

Ah, okay. I guess that makes sense—and lets us off the hook.

Their mental conversation was broken when the rest of the Gatewatch began filing into the sanctum. Liliana was right, Jace thought, picking up on her feelings just then—they were a noisy bunch. But, just like her, he still felt a sense of companionship with them that made the noise all seem somehow worth it. He met Liliana's gaze and she smiled at him, apparently aware that they were sharing the same thoughts just then. And then, clearing his throat as he always did, he prepared to lead the meeting, the main purpose of which was to introduce and welcome the Kenrith twins to Ravnica.

LILIANA

Everyone was fascinated by the twins. Once the initial introductions had passed, most of the conversation turned to the topic of their shared spark and the unique nature of twin planeswalkers. Then came the topic of their family history, during which Liliana felt the annoyance and discomfort of all eyes on her, when Rowan explained the story of their birthmother killing them as infants in order to maintain her youth.

Jace seemed to pick up on her annoyance, and she heard his voice in her head. Hitting a little too close to home? You can't blame them, really, for thinking of you.

There is nothing even remotely similar between my demonic contract and a mother murdering her children to stay youthful. She sat with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

I don't know, darling, Jace projected back to her. There are more than a few similarities.

NOT the same thing, she insisted. And if you think you're going to enjoy our first night together in three days, you can forget it!

It took every ounce of willpower not to get up and storm out at that moment. Thankfully, everyone soon stopped giving her uncomfortable stares as the twins moved on to other things. Everything was all going well, until Rowan said, "So, that's when Kasmina brought us to Strixhaven and our time studying there has changed everything for the better—and I don't even like studying."

Liliana's eyes shot open, and her lips parted. She looked at Jace, who was trying his level best to remain calm, though even she could pick up on his stress at the realization they had forgotten to prepare the twins for the need to keep the name and location of the school a secret. So much for Stixhaven being a safe-haven for the infamous necromancer. Oh well, she thought finally. It was bound to get out, eventually.

"Strixhaven?" asked Chandra, turning to Liliana. "So, that's where you've been teaching? I think I've heard of it, actually."

Jace cleared his throat, and explained, "Jaya…studied there once, a long time ago."

"Jaya? As in Jaya Ballard? My mentor?"

"The one and the same," Jace confirmed.

"She never told me about it."

"If you've heard of it, she probably did," said Jace. "You just never listened."

Chandra folded her arms over her chest and made a sour face. "You sound just like her."

"So," said Teferi, steering the conversation back to where it left off, "tell us about Strixhaven."

Liliana sank further in her chair as Rowan and Will regaled everyone about their time at Strixhaven, and their first year which was also Liliana's first year, when she was still going by the name of Serafina Onyx. When the topic turned to the Oriq invasion, however, she felt somewhat less fearful as Rowan went on and on about Liliana's role in protecting the students and the school. Rowan certainly made Liliana sound a great deal more heroic than she actually was, but she decided that was a good thing. She'd allow Rowan to speak for her this once.

"Without Professor V," Rowan concluded, "Strixhaven would've been destroyed. Not only that, but without her, I would never have realized my full potential and been able to save Will. So, I kinda see her as not just my mentor, but like my real mom, because she risked her life to save us, and that's what moms are supposed to do."

Aaaand it just got awkward. Liliana was touched, truly, but now she was certain everyone at the table was about to burst into laughter. She didn't know what would be worse—them laughing at Rowan or them laughing at the thought of Liliana as a self-sacrificing mother figure. Her jaw tightened as she groaned on the inside.

Rather than laugh, however, the table burst into an applause. It started when Teferi began a slow, steady clap. This was soon followed by most of the rest of the table. Nissa, of course, did not clap—but clapping was more of a human thing, probably not something she had ever done in any circumstance, so Liliana couldn't take it personally. The quiet elf just sat there, looking thoughtful but otherwise expressionless.

She's probably thinking about a tree or something…

Rowan, too, seemed surprised by the applause but she smiled at Liliana almost like a child hoping for their mother's approval. Even though she was horrified by all the attention, she reached across the table to clasp Rowan's hand and forced a smile. Then, as the applause ended, Liliana said, "Rowan gives me too much credit. She and Will saved the day. I really took on more of a supporting role this time."

"Even so," said Teferi, "you should be proud, Liliana. It sounds like you've, indeed, been working very hard to live up to Gideon's vision of you."

Silence. What could anyone say, really? Finally, Liliana pushed herself to speak up. "Well, I think it's time for Rowan and Will to be offered a place with us in the Gatewatch. They've definitely earned it."

"The question is," said Jace, "are they still interested in making it official?"

Rowan jumped up from her seat, and said, "Heck yeah! Can I take my oath first?"

"Sure," said Jace. "Unless Will has an objection?"

The boy shrugged. "She can go first if she wants to. I'm still trying to think of what I'm going to say."

"Understandable," said Jace with a nod. "Then, Rowan, we offer you a place with the Gatewatch. Will you swear an oath to keep watch with us?"

She grinned from ear to ear and gave a nod. Then, under Jace's direction, she held up her right hand, and said simply: "For those who are unable to protect themselves, I will keep watch."

"Is that all, Ro?" asked Will, incredulous.

"Yeah. What more needs to be said?" Then she turned to Jace and Liliana. "Was it okay? Did I do it wrong?"

Jace and Liliana exchanged glances, amused. Then Jace said, "No, Rowan. You did just fine. It's nothing super formal. You can say as much or as little as you want, as long as you end it with the part about keeping watch."

Rowan turned to Will with a satisfied grin, and said, "See. Now, it's your turn. Don't mess it up."

Will wrinkled his brows at her last comment but stood tall and waited for Jace to give him the go ahead. Once all was prepared, Jace had him raise his right hand, and he began: "We, as planeswalkers, have a responsibility to use what we've been given for the good of others."

He stopped and suddenly the room became awkwardly silent. Will looked at all the faces watching him. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Liliana heaved a sigh and looked away, as he quickly and awkwardly stammered, "To that end, I promise to keep watch."

His cheeks flushed and he quickly sat down.

It started out strong, anyway. At least he didn't completely muck it up…