She couldn't believe she was doing this. This was risky. Stupidly risky. But they were running low on options. The library could only hold so much information and at this rate they weren't even going to find it. Not when what they wanted was so specific and niche.

So she was doing this.

As the rest of the class gathered their books and pencils, Mal lingered in the back of the classroom, fiddling with her notebook.

"Hurry up," she groaned under her breath when two of her classmates stopped at King Milo's desk. "Hurry up."

Gods she hated people. If they didn't hurry up, she might lose her nerve to ask. And it was hard enough to convince herself to approach him in the first place.

Finally, finally, the others said their goodbyes and left. Grabbing her bag, Mal wove her way down to where King Milo was erasing the board.

"Profe-Your Majesty?"

With a soft laugh, King Milo set down the eraser and turned to face her. "Please, Mal, just call me Milo. On campus I'm just a professor. Truthfully, Kida handles all of the politics. I'm merely the man lucky enough to marry her."

"Right, um." Fingers tapping against her leg, Mal shifted her weight. "I just wanted to thank you for helping us."

"Of course. It was the right thing to do. And if you haven't noticed, I hunt for the truth in everything I do," Milo smiled.

Mal managed an awkward smile. "And I was hoping maybe I could ask you something. About something I read in the library."

"Certainly. I always encourage students to pursue knowledge. What can I do for you?"

This was it. Either she blew their cover, or she found a clue. Or neither. Better than blowing their cover, but not by much. Taking a breath, she said, "I was looking through one of the history books and it mentioned a fae named Morgana. There wasn't a lot about her, and I was wondering if you could recommend any books on her?"

"Morgana. Now there's an interesting woman," Milo nodded as he perched on the edge of the desk. "I admit I don't know the University's library as well as I would like, but I don't recall ever seeing any books dedicated to her. A lot of history has tried to forget about her because she walked a strange line of being responsible for some of the world's greatest miracles and greatest tragedies."

"Oh." Fuck. There went that idea. Back to digging through dozens of books for the smallest scraps of information.

"But," Milo continued, "I am teaching a class next semester on ancient Iterian history, and I will cover the Arthurian legends in the second half. If you take the class, I can look into my sources and see what I can find regarding Morgana."

Another class? Another class? She was already taking extra classes compared to the rest of her pack and it was driving her insane!

…

In the back of her head a voice that sounded a lot like Carlos pointed out that it was better than searching the library for scattered pieces of information. And if she was honest, taking another one of Milo's classes wasn't the worst thing in the world. At least he was more interesting than all of her other professors. Except maybe Genie, though she didn't think he really counted as a professor. His "classes" didn't even feel like class.

"Yeah," Mal finally nodded. "I think I'll take it. Until then, do you have any suggestions?"

"Well," Milo mused, readjusting his glasses. "A lot of her story is directly connected to Merlin, the wizard who worked alongside King Arthur. It might not give you too much more, but you're more likely to find mentions of her that way."

Merlin. That was an angle Mal hadn't really considered. He was a hero after all. But, he was the one who made the barrier itself. Maybe if they could learn more about him they'd find clues to how he made it or how he did his magic. It was probably a stretch, but it gave them something else to look for. Something else they could try to use to help keep her mother patient.

"Thank you, Professor. I'll try that."

"Happy to help, Mal. I'm always here if you have more questions."

With one last smile, Mal left the room and made her way back to the dorm. She finally had another potential lead. A shitty one, but it was better than nothing.

"Carlos," she called, opening the door to their room.

Curled up on the bed reading a book, their pup glanced at her. "Yeah?"

With a faint frown, Mal looked around. "Where are Jay and Evie?"

"Evie's in the bathroom and Jay went for a walk. Why?"

"I think I have another lead for the barrier."

Curious, Carlos set aside his book and sat up. "What is it?"

Dropping her bag on the floor, Mal said, "We can try researching Merlin instead of Morgana. And Professor Milo mentioned he's teaching a class next semester on Iterian history which will include the story of King Arthur."

"The king that Morgana was involved with," Carlos said, eyes lighting up. "Mal's that's genius! Merlin's a hero so there's going to be a lot more information on him. And now that we know it took place in Iteria we can focus more on their history which will narrow down where we have to look."

"Exactly," Mal smirked. "I guess taking this class was worth it."

"Speaking of classes," Carlos began, getting up and going to one of the desks, "we got our grades back from midterms."

Well fuck. She wasn't looking forward to that. But he was watching her and so, with a sigh, Mal grabbed the envelope with her name and tore it open. An F in Magic Basics. Not surprising. But now that she knew that the lessons weren't compatible with her magic she didn't care…Not that she cared in the first place. B in Math. B+ in Ancient History. A C in English and a D in Philosophy.

A glance at the rest of her packs' grades told her she at least did better than Jay. Evie stayed dead center in the grades and Carlos…

"Not bad, pup," she said, reaching out and ruffling his hair. A faint blush colored his pale cheeks and Mal couldn't resist a grin.

Slapping her hand away, Carlos stuck his tongue out, still blushing. Before she could say anything, Evie appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"Are we ready for dinner?"