The next morning, she woke with purpose. The servant let her know that Fugue's room was unlocked and ready to investigate. "If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to tell us and the queen will make sure it is taken care of," they added. When they were showing her to Fugue's quarters after breakfast, she spotted Nahara striding down the hall in the opposite direction. Noticing them, Nahara smiled pleasantly.

"Morning, Gemini," she said as she approached. "Off to an early start, are we?"

Gemini grinned back. "What can I say? I'm eager to begin. I'm actually off to Fugue's room now."

Nahara frowned and slowed her pace, turning to walk alongside Gemini. "I'll accompany you. It might be dangerous." Gemini looked up at her curiously. "If I remember correctly, the guards that searched the room last time walked into a nasty surprise of magical traps." She hadn't thought of the possibility that the room might be booby-trapped, but it didn't surprise her with how slippery the man had been. Appreciating the company, she thanked Nahara as they walked on.

They came to a corridor of what must have been the royal court's wing; a few familiar faces from Nadia's events greeted them on their way to start the day. A guard was stationed by the door to what Gemini assumed was Fugue's room. Upon seeing Nahara, he snapped to attention.

"Your Highness," he said. "I advise you not to enter, it's dangerous."

"At ease," she replied. "I am accompanying Gemini. We'll be fine."

"But Your Highness, I was stationed here to protect the Sibyl should anything happen. You don't have to do that."

"I want to. Besides, I can't say I'm not curious about this investigation myself."

The guard looked reluctant, but he gave no further protest. With a nod from him, the servant reached for the doorknob but hesitated. Gemini fidgeted. Was whatever happened last time that bad? After a deep breath, they pushed the door open and bowed, quickly excusing themselves. Gemini watched them go, mildly concerned, before peering into the room before her.

She stepped in, followed by Nahara and the guard, and scanned her surroundings slowly. She was tensed for anything, but her brow furrowed once she completed her sweep. "These were his living quarters for the past few years?" The guard replied in the affirmative. "I thought he left in a hurry. Why is it so empty?"

Besides a bed, a desk, a walk-in closet, and a bookshelf, the room was barren. If she hadn't been told otherwise, Gemini would have assumed it was a guest room. Not a single thing was out of place; even the desk was devoid of paperwork or books. It was too clean. Even the room she sometimes stayed in at the palace back in Vesuvia had some of her stuff in there.

There goes my plan to find something useful here. Focuses were immensely helpful when trying to track someone down, and she had hoped to find something with a strong enough connection to Fugue that she could use for that purpose. If he'd come back and taken anything at all, there was unlikely to be anything like that left. Still, she wouldn't be defeated and started to stroll around the room. Thick magical energy blanketed the air, almost overbearing on her senses as she moved. It felt familiar in the sense that she might be able to figure out what kind of magic was affecting the room; for that reason, she didn't think it was dark magic.

"Did you have any magicians in the room when it was initially searched?"

Nahara answered that no, they hadn't. "Our magicians were away on other business at the time, and we didn't want to delay the search. Why?"

So I might find more surprises as we look around. Thinking about it more, she realized that even if Fugue had managed to return to his room before he left, he can't have taken much with him if he was going to be on the run. She looked down at her feet and sensed that there was something off about the floor. She walked over to the desk and placed her palm on its surface. The magic isn't affecting it, huh? She clambered on top of it, her suspicions confirmed when she couldn't sense the magic as strongly once she was no longer on the ground. The rest of the furniture got the same treatment, much to her onlookers' confusion if their expressions were anything to go by.

Facing them, she placed her hands on her hips. "Something is going on with the floor, but it's not affecting anything actually touching it." The reasoning for it or the nature of the spell was beyond her, but she thought she could dispel it. "I'm going to try removing the spell."

"W-wait!" the guard said quickly. "What if it's a trap?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" she said with a deadpan expression. When the color drained from his face, she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring grin. "I'm kidding. Relax."

She turned away and closed her eyes. Reaching out with her magic, she sensed an invisible thread that led to a large bundle of energy. There was some resistance when she tugged on it at first, but eventually, a release of tension washed over her. The spell was undone. When she opened her eyes, Gemini heard a few things drop around the room.

"He must have inverted gravity on select parts of the room," she mused. Given his skills, she figured it wouldn't have been much trouble for him to selectively apply the spell's effects when he cast it. That would explain the lack of magic on the furniture, likely done to avoid suspicion. It was easily discovered by anyone with magical knowledge, though, so that also confirmed her theory that his actions were done in haste. "Let's split up and look around to see what fell." Gemini took the closet, Nahara tipped the bed onto its side, and the guard investigated the desk. Some items were spread haphazardly on the floor under some of the closet's shelves that were low to the ground. She sat cross-legged after gathering everything in a pile. As she started working through the items, she found nothing of note—a few memos on Nasmira's magic training, various baubles and chachkies, and some tools for potion-mixing. None of it stood out to her as potentially having any real significance to Fugue. The last item she picked up seemed promising; it was a golden arm bracelet with an intricate design etched into it. "With love, Nas" was engraved on the inside. Curious, Gemini crawled to the door.

"Hey Nahara?" she said, waving the jewelry in her hand. Nahara looked up from the small group of items she'd found under the bed. "Ever seen Fugue wear this?"

Nahara cocked her head and came over to squat next to her. Taking the bracelet in her hands, she said, "I've never known the man to be much for jewelry, but this looks like the gifts Nasmira handed out around Winter Fest last year."

"Gifts?"

"Yes, she gave everyone in the family a piece of gold jewelry that she made herself." She reached into her vest to pull out an elegant gold necklace of similar craftsmanship proudly. Looking back down at the bracelet, though, her eyebrows knit. "I wasn't aware she gave them to others. I suppose she was closer with Fugue than I thought." Gemini remained silent, unsure how much of what Nasmira told her was meant to stay a secret. "Anyway, I haven't found anything of merit under the bed. Looks like the guard struck out as well. How about you?"

She handed the bracelet back to Gemini, who turned it over in her hands. "I thought nothing as well, but maybe I can use this." She closed her eyes and focused on the bracelet; in a few moments, what must have been Fugue's magical energy flickered like candlelight in her mind. It was too faint for her to use it to properly track him, but it seemed to be significant enough to him that she might be able to use it for divination. When she shared this with Nahara, she seemed relieved.

"I'm glad, this isn't a total loss then."

Gemini stood. "Let me take another look around, just to make sure we haven't missed anything." She spread her magic throughout the room but was unable to sense any lingering spells or other bindings. Nahara scooted the items she found to the side before pushing the bed back in place. Gemini examined each item herself just to make sure, but it appeared to just be more miscellaneous items. Her attention returned to the desk, and the guard eagerly moved out of her way. The wooden seat was uncomfortable to sit on; she couldn't imagine Fugue spent much time there. Each drawer she opened was empty, but she expected this given that it had been examined before. The final drawer she opened, though, contained faint traces of what she now recognized as Fugue's magic. She stared at it closer and pressed her hand to the empty bottom.

"There's a cloaking spell on this drawer, but it feels a little old," she announced. She'd just barely noticed it, so she figured Fugue had set the spell some time ago and put a little more effort into it. Gemini called her magic forth and rolled it around in her palms before blowing it inside. The illusion lifted and revealed what appeared to be a false bottom. She dug her nails around the sides until she found purchase and lifted the bottom away. There lied an envelope addressed simply to "Fugue," the seal already broken and the letter still inside.

Her nerves tingled with anticipation at her find and she held it gingerly in her hands. Two pairs of eyes looked at her with interest as she made her way to the center of the room. Removing the letter, she found blocky script written in unusually blue ink.

"We do not forget," she read aloud as the others came to stand behind her. "Betrayal will not go unpunished. The Sword will have its vengeance—we are coming for you." That was all. She flipped it over, but there wasn't anything else written. The letter wasn't even addressed to her, but she still had chills. At the bottom was a symbol stamped onto the paper: three interlocking circles in a row with a sword running through the middle.

"I know that symbol," Nahara said, her tone grim.

"As do I," Valdemar added. As soon as she heard them and that melodic, yet haunting, timbre that always kickstarted her heart, she joined the others' shouts of surprise and hopped away to gawk at them. Valdemar, of course, stood there like nothing was wrong and they had been there the whole time.

She shut her eyes and looked away, running her free hand through her hair. "Why are you here?"

They cut their eyes to the side like it should have been obvious. "Why, I came by to see if you needed my protection."

Stepping closer to them, she got up in their face and dropped her voice to a whisper. "You're only still here because of Nasmira. If I had my way, you'd be on the next fruit boat back to Vesuvia." Preferably with your unripe kin, Mx. 'Do I look like a banana?'.

Nahara stared at Valdemar warily. "I thought you were to leave this morning."

They shrugged, bumping their shoulder against Gemini's as they passed. "I decided to help her with her investigation."

The other two looked at Gemini like they couldn't believe it. Gemini could only reply with a sullen look, lips pressed firmly into a thin line. "Anyway," she said, attempting to get back on task. "You were saying, Nahara?"

"That marking at the bottom of the letter… that's the insignia of the terrorist group Daum."

Gemini didn't know where to start with the myriad of questions she had—she could only parrot Nahara dumbly. "Daum?"

"An abbreviation of the group's full name," Valdemar said. "They call themselves The Sword of Damocles, after the famous tale."

"You know of them?" Nahara asked.

"Yes, they have been around for hundreds of years. The moniker was chosen as a threat based on the overall message from that story; the group represents the Sword, and the powerful that know of their existence have been nervous about whom that sword will fall on next."

Nahara took the letter from Gemini. "They deal exclusively in dark magic, and they're masters at it, tripling the danger they pose. Over the years, they have carried out various abductions, ransoms, and assassinations of noble elites and royalty alike of seemingly indiscriminate nature. People who have committed many war atrocities, people who led their states with kindness… it doesn't matter to them. All power is the enemy in their world." Betrayal blazed in her eyes. "The fact that you've discovered something linking Fugue to them is extremely concerning. We've been housing a terrorist and putting our family—no, our very kingdom, in danger for years! Who knows what he's been telling them while he lived here?"

Nahara's increasing distress put Gemini on edge. She thought back to the fond way Nasmira spoke of him; she may not know her very well, but she didn't seem the type to be led astray by a false character. "Hold on," she said, hoping to put Nahara at ease. "The letter mentions betrayal. Doesn't that mean that whatever affiliation he had with them is over? Maybe he never compromised anyone, and that's what earned him this threat."

Nahara shook her head. "That's a nice sentiment, but we don't know that. And even if that's true, it doesn't explain why he attacked Nasmira."

"Well, maybe he didn't."

"No? Then who did? There was no one else at the scene!" Nahara crossed her arms, and Gemini bit her lip. She shouldn't reveal too much.

"I don't know," she said, swallowing. "But whatever happened, I'll find out for certain." Nahara still didn't look convinced, but she gave her a short nod in reply. Gemini took the letter back. "At any rate, we've found some useful information here today. Perhaps I should look more into Daum's influence here in Prakra."

"Careful," said Nahara. "Remember what we discussed. They're a dangerous bunch that won't take kindly to anyone snooping around, least of all a courtier."

"I'll keep that in mind." The stakes of the job had just gotten bigger—first, it was a missing person case and now she might have a centuries-old terrorist group to deal with. On top of that, they're expert wielders in the ominous craft of dark magic, an area where Gemini's knowledge was severely lacking. Can I really do this? She couldn't help but wonder if she'd bitten off more than she could chew. However, it wasn't in her to back down from a challenge, so she shook off her doubts and headed toward the bookshelf, the last place she hadn't inspected.

Skimming the titles of the few rows of books didn't reveal anything that stood out to her. She stood back, looking the bookshelf up and down. Something was sitting at the top, but she couldn't tell what it was from where she was standing. Her fingertips swiped at air when she stretched onto her tiptoes; she wasn't tall enough to get it.

"Allow me," said Nahara, delicately placing her hands on Gemini's waist and lifting. With her help, Gemini could see that it was a crossbow. Oh. Well, I guess I'll take it since she went through the trouble. She grabbed it, and Nahara set her back down and watched her struggle with its weight.

Laughing, she took the weapon from Gemini like it weighed nothing and looked it over. "Hm. Looks like a fine crossbow."

Gemini studied it too as if that would help her see what she meant. "Is it?"

"Yep." Nahara gave her a grin. "If you want, I could show you how to use it."

She opened her mouth to decline, but reconsidered. Maybe I ought to up my danger-level too if I'm going to be dealing with people who mean business. "I'd like that," she said, grinning back.

Nahara placed a heavy hand on Gemini's shoulder and squeezed. "Alright, if you're still around after dinner tonight, I'll send for you."

"Are we done here?" Valdemar crossed their arms and looked pointedly at the two. Gemini rolled her eyes. How do you appear uninvited and then complain like you were forced?

She thanked the guard and Nahara and exited the room with Valdemar following behind closely. She threw a questioning look back at them, but they said nothing. The pair walked all the way back to Gemini's room without exchanging words; once they stood in front of the door, she turned to face them again. They blinked back at her.

"Yes?" they asked innocently.

She stared at them. They can't be thinking they're coming in. "I'm going in my room."

"I assumed so."

"Nothing is going to jump out and eat me, you don't need to go this far to babysit."

They raised their palms, offering a short shrug. "I have nothing better to do."

She decided to change tactics. If being straight up with them wouldn't work, maybe saying something suggestive would get them to go away. Definitely not because she was flirting with them or anything. "But Quaestor, what would people think if they saw you entering a lady's room? The servants will be scandalized."

"You did not seem concerned about that when you entered my room. Besides, I see no lady here. Just you, and I would not dream of sullying myself by making any disgusting advances on the likes of you."

"Oh, fuck off." With a huff, she shouldered open her door roughly and stomped inside. Do whatever the fuck you want, see if I care! There was the rejection she had been anticipating. She ignored the pang in her chest and slammed the letter onto her desk. Valdemar, aloof as ever, traipsed into the room as she snatched a sheet of paper and a pen. They stood over her, irritating her further while she traced Daum's symbol onto the blank sheet. Once she was done, she rolled the letter up and stuffed it into her bag. On her way out the door, she hip-checked them, muttering, "Move." She didn't give them a second glance, but she was glad to hear the annoyance in their voice when they spoke.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Surely you are not thinking of waving that drawing around in people's faces. That would be remarkably stupid, not to mention reckless."

She stopped walking, causing them to run into her back. "Do you have any other ideas?" she demanded. "This is my only lead so far." They didn't reply, only frowning down at her and shaking their head with a sigh. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She resumed her purposeful strides to the main hall, trying to block out their presence from her mind.

However, they refused to let her be. "Someone seems testy."

"Whose fault do you think that is, bud?"

They chuckled. "Don't tell me I insulted you earlier. You, who called me, what was it? 'A demonic void in a meat suit.'"

She tsked, unable to come up with a reasonable response. I said one thing, but you're always rude for no reason! No matter—she would not allow them to interfere with her investigation. Resolving to work around the nuisance, she hailed a carriage. "Take us downtown, please."

#

Gemini lobbed her stress ball against the wall forcefully. Her foray into town earlier had been unfruitful. No matter where she went or how she phrased her questions, most people had no information to offer. A few clammed up suspiciously and some even adopted a hostile attitude toward her. She hated to admit it, but Valdemar was right—not only did she not find any new leads about Daum or what Fugue might be up to, but she may also have made some enemies out of those friendly to the group. At least Valdemar was gracious enough to keep their smug comments to themselves.

She paused in her angry throwing, instead tossing the ball between her hands. Sure, Fugue could just be running off to go hide somewhere. She wouldn't exactly blame him if he was only trying to dodge a pissed off gang. However, something told her there was more to it than that. Maybe she was reading too much into what Nasmira said about how he promised to fix things, but she just had a gut feeling that looking more into Daum would bring her to him.

Oh well. At least my belly is full of more delicious Prakran cuisine. The queen seemed pleased that Gemini had uncovered more information during her probe of Fugue's room, albeit disturbed by what she heard. Training was what would really buoy Gemini's spirits, though. As if in answer to where her thoughts were headed, a knock sounded at her door.

A servant entered, bowing gracefully. "Princess Nahara has invited you to join her on the training grounds."

Gemini hopped up from the bed. "Yes, I'm ready." She was looking forward to this after the day she'd had. Training with Nahara always put her in a good mood, and she was happy to be doing it somewhere besides the abandoned coliseum in Vesuvia, where they usually sparred during her visits.

Just as she stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her, Valdemar's door opened and they poked their head out. "Going somewhere?"

She kept her expression neutral as she turned to the servant, whose cheeks were pink. I knew it. They're gossiping about us. Goddammit, Valdemar! "After you," she said, gesturing for her to lead the way. Valdemar shut their door and walked beside Gemini.

"I was just thinking of taking a stroll, but I think I will join you instead." When she looked up at them morosely, they were practically beaming at her from behind their mask. They were making her miserable and they knew it. Internally, she cursed their contrarianism. When she had wanted to talk to them and get to know them better, they seemed to barely tolerate her presence and threatened her to stop. Now that she wanted the least amount of interaction possible, suddenly, their prime interest became sticking to her and following her around everywhere.

If that was how it was going to be, she'd just have to work on being less bothered by their antics. Once she did that, they'd lose interest. As the trio walked in silence, she was really curious as to whether they noticed the blush that had spread to the servant's ears.

They were led outside to a large field, where the light from the sun still lingered. As promised, there was a row of targets lined up some yards from where Nahara stood. She was frowning down at the crossbow when they approached.

"Your Highness, Sibyl Gemini and Quaestor Valdemar," the servant announced. Nahara's face contorted in confusion as she stared at their uninvited guest, then at Gemini. Gemini stared back glumly.

"Thank you," Nahara said finally, and the servant left. "Well, I wasn't anticipating you Quaestor, but welcome anyway. Did you want to learn as well?"

"No, I am merely spectating," they said. "Please feel free to ignore me." They found a stump and wiped the dirt off before perching atop it.

Gemini offered Nahara an excited grin. "Are we ready? What are we starting with?" She looked around but didn't see any arrows nearby.

Nahara went back to frowning at the crossbow. "Well, I have some bad news. I didn't realize earlier, but this is an M-class weapon."

"M-class?"

"It means that it's enchanted, and you need magic to use it. I'm not as well-versed in that category of weaponry, so I'm afraid I won't be much use to you in giving you proper training."

Gemini's heart sank. "You're kidding…" If Nahara didn't know how to use it, then she'd best put it back where she found it. She'd only cause harm trying to operate it without any practice, especially since it was a magic weapon.

Nahara propped the bow onto her shoulder, holding up her other hand. "Wait wait, don't make that face! Maybe we can… figure it out."

"Figure it out?" Gemini repeated. "Is that safe?"

"Why not?" Nahara's self-assured smile did not ease Gemini's worries, but she followed her to the targets anyway. Once they were a good distance away, Nahara unloaded the crossbow into Gemini's arms, helping her when she had trouble with it. Maybe I should resume my push-up regimen. "At the very least, I can show you how you're meant to hold it. Bring it up to your shoulder." Gemini did as she was told, hefting it up with both hands and pointing it at a target. Nahara stood behind her and kicked at Gemini's ankles. "Widen your stance. Move your shoulder back a little." She then helped her adjust her grip so it was more firm. "Slide your hand back from in front of the cable, you'll lose a finger like that." Finally, Gemini started to feel like she was holding it properly. "Memorize this. That's the proper form." She nodded, and they spent some time making sure she had it down pat.

"That's enough for now," Nahara said eventually. Gemini dropped her arms, already knowing they would ache in the morning. "The good thing about this being an M-class is that it might actually be of some use to you in a sticky situation. The crossbow is traditionally a slow weapon because of the care needed to prepare each shot correctly, but since you're using your own magic, it can be just like shooting a regular bow if you get good at it."

"Nice. I think I'm pretty far off from being that good, though."

"We'll see." Nahara winked. "Keep practicing and who knows? You've been a great student in everything else I taught you, and I don't expect this to be any different." Well, it is different since neither of us really know how to use this thing. Gemini kept her thoughts to herself and listened to Nahara's next instructions.

"Now, since the weapon is magic and not a physical arrow, you'll have to channel your energy into the bow in its place. How good is your offensive magic?"

"Good enough." Asra was hesitant to teach her any of it and she suspected he was still holding out, so she could only do so much. She handed off the crossbow to Nahara and closed her eyes, cupping her hands. After a few moments, she felt the familiar tingle of electric charge. Gemini liked elemental magic for offense but still wanted to be different from Asra, so she had focused on learning lightning magic. She opened her eyes to see a bright white ball in her palms, small branches of lightning spiking out from it. Nahara's eyes flickered behind her before focusing on the light; Gemini didn't bother turning around to see whatever Valdemar was doing.

"Good," Nahara said. "Are you able to shape it at all?" Gemini spread her hands apart, and the ball stretched into an oblong shape. Nahara chuckled. "Okay, challenge for you: can you make it into an arrow?"

Gemini furrowed her brow and gave it a shot. For a few moments, the energy flickered as if going out and didn't change shape at all. However, after more gentle encouragement from Nahara, the ball slowly began to flatten and stretch. Gemini reached out with one hand as it continued to elongate until she held something resembling an arrow, though the form was unstable.

Nahara beamed at Gemini with wonder. "You're doing it!"

"Don't get too excited," she mumbled. As soon as said that, the energy dissipated, but Nahara was quick to urge her to try again. She kept at it, bringing forth her magic again and again until she was able to create a steady lightning arrow on command.

"Now make it shorter. Crossbows take smaller arrows." With a flick of her wrist, the arrow was gone and replaced with one more appropriately sized. "Perfect! I told you that you were my star student." Nahara clapped Gemini's shoulders, and she allowed herself a small smile for the first time since they started. Maybe there's hope for me yet. Nahara's expression became serious. "How are you feeling? Tired?"

Gemini flexed her fingers and shook her head. "Nah, summoning these are nothing."

"Alright, so far so good. And now, the final step: putting it all together." She handed the crossbow back to Gemini, who shouldered it up and slid her finger onto the trigger. "Ah ah ah, put it down! Not yet! Even if it's your own magic, don't nock your arrows like that, it's dangerous. At least look at it when you do it." Gemini dipped the bow lower and watched as her magic materialized into an arrow once more. Concentrating, she guided it into the bow's track and pulled it against the cable—it didn't budge. She tried again with similar results.

"Heavy fucker, isn't it," she said under her breath. Immediately, her cheeks flared and she glanced up at Nahara. "Uh, sorry."

Nahara laughed, waving a hand. "I've heard worse language on the battlefield, you won't offend me. Besides, I have to assume all of Natiqa's friends curse like sailors." She knows her sister. "But yes, you need to put in more force when loading these."

Gemini focused on pulling the arrow back with more strength, but was careful not to snap the cable. Finally, she felt the arrow connect with the spring, and she let out the breath she'd been holding. She shrugged off Nahara's repeated question about how she was feeling and held the weapon up again. They were starting to lose the light, and she wanted to at least shoot once before they called it a night. She took aim at the target in front of her and leaned her cheek against the stock.

The air seemed to still, her slow intake of breath the only sound ringing in her ears. She shut one eye and steadied her grip. Willing her knees to stop wobbling, she forced herself to focus on the target instead of her nerves. She'd never handled an actual weapon besides her knife before, so she was highly concerned about hurting herself or someone else. Focus, Gemini. Slowly, carefully, she exhaled and started to pull back the trigger—

CRACK!

The wind whipped her hair into her face as she flew back, her heels digging tracks in the ground. The force with which she was pushed had her tipping head over heels, and the bow flew out of her hands as she tumbled. The world rotated at a dizzying pace until she landed on her back with a soft "Oof!" As soon as she was stationary, she shot out her hand hoping to prevent the bow from a harsh drop. She looked around wildly once she could see straight, and her shoulders sagged in relief once she spotted it hovering a couple inches off the ground a few feet away. It thumped harmlessly into the grass once she dropped her arm.

Nahara's worried face came into view as Gemini rolled onto her back. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," she said, thankfully unhurt—just surprised. "That trigger is sensitive, huh?"

"Goodness, what was that? You took down a tree!" Gemini's breath caught in her throat. No way. She leaned up onto her arms and, sure enough, there was a tree on fire in the distance. Guards rushed past them with water buckets in hand, and they could only stare after them in awe. She watched them attempt to put it out with poor results before she snapped out of it and conjured a wave of water, sending it hurtling towards the fallen tree. The guards tripped over themselves trying to dive out of the way before it splashed down, effectively killing the fire.

"Whoops," Gemini said, still in shock as she flopped onto her back again. She was so frazzled, she'd summoned more water than she intended.

"You're not taking that bow anywhere until you pare down your energy. Forget killing your enemy, you'll incinerate an innocent bystander like that." Gemini agreed. She didn't want to kill anyone in the first place, she only wanted to shoot to disarm and incapacitate.

Someone snickered behind them. Nahara's head snapped up as she glared at the offender with intense ferocity. "You! You were standing right behind her, you could have caught her! Why didn't you?"

Gemini tilted her head back to see Valdemar with their hand clamped over their mouth and shoulders shaking with laughter. "I could have, couldn't I?" they managed to say before turning away, flapping an arm dismissively. She started to grin before she caught herself. It is funny. But they don't need to know that.

Nahara shook her head and stood to help Gemini up. "Alright, that's it for today."

"No, come on, I think I've got it!" Nahara looked at her skeptically, but Gemini wasn't ready to quit just yet. She knew what she'd done wrong; she'd overestimated how much magical energy she needed to make the bows, so it created too much force when she shot it. "There's still a little light left, and I'm your star student, remember? I will personally replant any additional forestry I destroy. Please don't take the bow from me yet."

She looked like she wanted to tell Gemini "no," but instead relented with a sigh. They ran through the exercise until the sun set fully. As promised, Gemini did not repeat her earlier explosion of power, but she over-corrected; the arrows fired normally but dissolved into static bursts once they landed. When servants began to approach with torches, Nahara marked that as the end of their session.

"Well, despite the end taking a bit of a turn, I'd say this was a great exercise considering we didn't know how it worked!" Nahara mussed Gemini's hair as they started to walk back, causing her to giggle.

"Only because I had such a great teacher," Gemini said, ducking away from her hand. "You said you wouldn't be any help!"

"I meant that I wouldn't be able to help with any of the magical parts. Luckily, you're such a gifted magician, you were able to get it by yourself. Here, I'll carry that." She took the bow from Gemini's exhausted arms. "Too bad we couldn't get the arrows to stick though."

Gemini had been thinking about that—perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. "No, I think that works, actually. When I checked the one target I did hit, there was a puncture mark there."

"I see. Then I guess you'll have the added benefit of shocking your opponents… I don't envy them." She whipped out a notebook and pen from within her robes and started jotting something down. "I won't be around for the next few days, but if you want to practice actually hitting the targets—" This prompted a "Hey!" from Gemini. "—I can have my chief marksman help you. I'll make sure we get you a carrying case for this as well."

Nahara walked with them back to their rooms even though Gemini insisted she could carry the crossbow herself. She showed Gemini how to collapse it before placing it on her desk and stepping back into the hallway. For some reason, Valdemar hadn't gone into their room yet; they were leaning against their door, looking like they were up to no good. Nahara looked between them for a moment before giving her a strange look and walking away. Not you too, Nahara! She gave Valdemar her most unimpressed look when they started to approach. She turned and slammed her door shut, but they caught it with their foot. Gemini sighed with her whole body as she sank onto her bed. "What do you want?"

They smirked at her. "Although you have been training with the Satrinava family's strongest daughter, you still have more to learn it seems."

Gemini narrowed her eyes. "That was new for both of us. It's not that wild for me to have made a mistake."

"Well, if you are ever in need of a new sparring partner, I might be willing to oblige once."

"Please. I'd kick your ass. Now stop tormenting me and go to bed, or whatever it is you do at night."

Laughter crinkled their eyes. "I would love to see you try." They entered and made themselves comfortable in her desk chair. "And don't be dramatic. I thought you wanted me to take more of an interest in you?"

Not like this! Or rather, not now! "I was speaking generally when I said that. Anyway, beat it. I'm tired and need to think."

"I'm sure you do." Valdemar folded their hands in their lap, eyes betraying a grin that was likely anything but friendly. "After all of your useless endeavors today, I imagine you have quite a bit to ponder. How will you move forward, I wonder?" She wordlessly fell back onto the bed. Am I a masochist? Why am I interested in them, again? "Your little forest fire was something else, thank you for that."

She thought to retort, but figured it wouldn't matter what she said—they'd come to gloat, so they would gloat. "You know, if you actually contributed, we'd be able to separate sooner." She was mostly complaining to herself but they may as well hear it.

Surprisingly, they seemed to take that into consideration. "Hm," was all they said, crossing their arms while deep in thought.

Gemini rolled onto her side and stared absentmindedly at Fugue's bracelet on her nightstand. Maybe if I start changing into my pajamas, they'll go away. She was half tempted to do it, too. The bracelet seemed to glitter in response, and she got another idea. Grabbing it, she sat up on the bed. I took this so I could try divination on it… this might give me something more to work with. Gemini had been studying it on her own for the past few months. This would be her first time trying, so she hoped for something good and closed her eyes, letting her magic flow into the jewelry. Valdemar asking her what she was doing barely registered in her mind, but she tuned them out.

I need to find Fugue. Where can I do that? Something in the air stirred in response to her probing, and the bracelet grew warm. Fugue's energy was responding to her. Her magic brushed up against something solid; she tried to push through but wasn't getting anywhere. She recalled reading about blockages during divination representing either weak magical ability, inexperience, or the subject's resistance to the ritual—she suspected it was a mix of the last two. It would be dangerous to brute force it, but she kept at it anyway, determined to get something.

Finally, a foreign force seeped into her mind and stoked her magic. She gasped, having never felt anything like it. It was a gentle caress of energy, creating goosebumps down her arms and clearing her thoughts. The room fell away into nothingness. Sound didn't exist. Blank white flooded her mind—

She was suddenly staring at the bed, cheek smarting. Valdemar stood over her looking just as shocked as she felt; their hand hovered in the air awkwardly before they straightened and leaned away. They had slapped her.

"You were not responding," they said, looking away.

Gemini was still in a daze. "Oh…" That's not good. I lost control. "Thank you." If they hadn't been there, she could have quite literally lost her mind.

"What were you doing? You kept muttering under your breath."

The fog in her brain cleared immediately. "I was? What was I saying?"

They traced their bottom lip carefully as they hummed. "It sounded like 'acacia.' I believe that was it."

"Acacia," she repeated in amazement. So it did work! "Ha! This is great!" Sure, it wasn't Fugue's exact coordinates, but it was something she'd gotten from his energy. It was at least a step in the right direction.

Valdemar couldn't look more perplexed, but they slowly smiled back. "You seem optimistic. I suppose this is better for the investigation than having sour spirits, so I support it."

"Glad you see it my way." She hopped up and gently began pushing them toward the door. "To keep my spirits from souring, please leave. Good night!" Their shocked expression was the last thing she saw before she slammed the door shut on them a second time.