The moment I felt Alexis’ touch on my shoulder I raised my hand and placed it over his own, gently taking it off me. He was a nice guy, but we weren’t close enough for that kind of unprovoked contact. I was also still wary of him. I had my mana sense activated, but I didn’t spot anything irregular.

He didn’t mind my actions.

“It’ll be fun, Unice and a few others from our class are going.” Alexis beamed.

My head perked up at his words. I’d wanted to get closer to my classmates, and this might be my chance to get to know them better.

“I can’t guarantee anything.” I spoke. “But it sounds like a fun idea.”

Alexis and his two friends made their way out of the room, wanting to explore the castle, and I walked towards the lower floor

The walls around me reverberated with the sounds of my footsteps clomping down the stairs.

I came out onto the first floor and made my way towards the sofa that Amanda and William were chatting on. I felt a wave of relief over my heart as I saw they were having a good time.

I was worried I would walk into an awkward silence.

“What’s the topic now?” I raised my hand in greeting.

The corners of Amanda’s eyes crinkled upwards as she saw me. She moved over and made room for me, and I dropped onto the sofa, ripples swimming across the furniture.

William was similarly content, and he shot me a smile.

“Dodgeball tactics. We were discussing how to beat a certain person in the exercise.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Apparently, sophisticated tactics won’t be needed because she has it in the bag.”

I looked at Amanda and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s not just because she couldn’t understand them?”

Amanda huffed and folded her arms.

“Says the person that spins out every ball he gets his hand on.” She countered. “I don’t think you can tell a speck of earth mana from an open flame.”

“Those are fighting words, and I don’t intend to take this insult lightly.” I looked over at William. “Can you teach me some of these advanced tactics?”

Our conversation quickly devolved from there. William knew quite a few tactics, but he didn’t play using elemental manipulation.

He manipulated the same material he used to fight.

“It's the same principle.” He explained. “Except because it’s an onze I have full control over it, and it has no will.”

He flexed his arm and part of the material appeared in front of him, swarming across his sleeve. It formed a sword and he slashed it at the empty space in front of him.

“That’s pretty cool, I’m trying to make a regent myself.” I poked the side of the sword.

It was icy to the touch.

I could feel it radiating cold, and my breath was turning icy by being near it.

“That feels weird.” Amanda’s voice called out from beside me.

I could see her hair crackling as it fought the chill. William spotted it as well and the regent disappeared. The atmosphere returned to normal, and Amanda breathed in deeply.

“Sorry.” William’s head lowered sheepishly. “It has an ice array inscribed into it. It kind of gathers cold around it.”

I remembered that effect from when we had fought each other. He had even been able to form ice that destroyed my stone and created layers above the door for him to step on.

I’d thought it was some kind of spell at the time.

There was a shimmer in front of my eyes, and I looked up and smiled as I saw the tell-tale blur of Gerial’s body.

He had his arms crossed but I could see from his posture he was excited.

“I decided to come.” He pressed a finger against his lips.

I could hear his words against my ears, brushed softly into them as though carried by the wind itself. The others didn’t hear a thing.

I was glad he’d decided to gatecrash the party.

“Okay, new topic.” I held up my hands. “You can pick one skill to get. Any element or speciality. What do you pick?”

“An easy question with an easy answer.” William responded immediately. “I want a skill that allows me to receive any other skill. It’s the wisest decision.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good one.” Amanda agreed.

Gerial was nodding his head too.

“You can’t just grant yourself more wish- I mean, skills.” I rubbed my temple. “Okay, aside from that skill, which do you want?”

The night flew by as we spoke and in the blink of an eye the moon was high above the castle. Amanda and I waited in the garden for William’s portal to arrive,

Gerial’s body shimmered next to us, but I could see he was happy. I didn’t know how much he usually got to go out, but I was sure it wasn’t much, and definitely not with somebody there to listen to him and talk to him.

He waved goodbye to me, and I gave him a small wave back as William and Amanda spoke to each other.

I didn’t worry about his trip home, he had more than enough protection.

There was a chime in the air and a portal grew into existence around us. This one didn’t have a door, and instead of the nexus corridor it opened up into a purple sea. Purple crystals hung from the sky and the middle of the water, jutting out in all directions against the will of gravity and physics.

A boat floated towards us, and I could see one of Master Wilhelm’s staff members guiding it.

“That’s my ride.” William turned towards us. “Today was really fun, thanks for inviting me.”

“Anytime.” I grinned. “Tell me when you’re ready to join our arena sessions.”

“I think you’ll be able to keep up with me with a few more years of practice.” He gave me a pat on the back.

Then he stretched out his hand towards Amanda.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a hug. “Friends don’t shake hands.”

William grinned and with a final wave he was gone, the portal closing behind the boat as it waded through the waters.

We stood silent as the purple faded away and the world returned to normal. Soon there was just the moon and Amanda’s hair dimly lighting up the garden around us.

“He dropped his spoiled kid act.” Amanda nudged my arm. “I don’t think he noticed.”

I hadn’t noticed either. To me William was the same as always, but that was because I knew his normal side.

“Are you changing your opinion about him?” I jerked my thumb towards the spot where the portal had appeared. “He's a pretty awesome dude when you get to see the real him.”

“Yeah, I knew I was right not to judge people.” She swirled around to face me. “I think you should go to my brother's thing.”

I had told her about her brother's offer during the course of the party. She hadn’t said anything at the time, but now I realised she was waiting until we had some privacy.

“I am going to be spending high school with these guys. It’d be nice to get to know them a bit more. Especially if other class members are there.” I rubbed my neck. “Honestly, the only thing making me hesitate is that I haven’t talked much to any of them except for Unice.”

“It’s at our place so I’ll be around.” She shrugged. “If you feel awkward or bored just text me and I’ll grab you to read a book.”

“Sounds like a great plan to me.”

There were plenty of other students leaving the castle in a steady stream. I hadn’t explored the third and fourth floors because I was having too much fun, but Ouros had joined us for a while towards the end and let us know there was nothing special up there.

“Alexis and his friends are going to stay over here tonight.” Amanda pursed her lips. “I bet they get to sleep on the bouncing furniture.”

We turned towards the entry gate and made our way down the garden path. My entire journey was watched by the earth seekers, their flowers and leaves following my every movement.

“These plants kind of freak me out.” I tucked my hands into my pockets. “Can’t they watch the castle? Unice and her parents are inside and those two are silver masks.”

“You’re the nearest earth attuned person, so you get the creepy stares.” Amanda laughed.

She was revelling in my discomfort.

“I’m going to find an entire garden of these things but for fire and freak you out.” We passed by them quickly. “Then we’ll see how funny it is.”

“Find out how to make those bouncing cushions, that’ll really teach me a lesson.” She beamed.

That wasn’t a bad idea. I had enjoyed the furniture as well, and I knew that Gold would get a kick out of it.

We took our time walking back to Amanda’s estate and I could tell Amanda was slowing us down deliberately, her concentration drifting as we drew closer to her estate.

“I can tell you’re dying to ask me something.” I broke her out of her thoughts. “We’re going to reach your place soon. What’s up?”

She stopped as I finished speaking and looked from side to side.

She gestured with her thumb towards a nearby spot, a small grove of trees that lined the wall, and I followed her there.

We walked along the wall, taking a slight detour on the way towards her house. I could see confusion crossing her face, and her eyebrows furrowed.

“Who was that in there?” She held up her hand. “The invisible person.”

A jolt of surprise ran from my toes to my head. I turned to face her while still walking, and the tip of my shoe hooked onto the ground, making me stumble.

A hand pressed against my chest, stabilising me.

“So, you did know that they were there.” Amanda helped me up. “That’s been bothering me for the last few hours.”

She took her hand off me once I’d regained my footing. I could feel a headache coming on, but I pushed it aside and focused on her.

Amanda didn’t look happy, but she wasn’t unhappy either. She folded her arms in front of her as she waited for me to speak.

“I’ll answer, but if you don’t mind me asking, how could you tell?” I frowned. “If it’s a skill you’re not comfortable telling me about, then you don’t have to.”

It was the most basic common courtesy in this world that skill information was given, not asked about.

Amanda held up a finger and it transformed into flames.

“I’ve been able to do this since I can remember. Others don’t notice it, but the flames move in different directions depending on the breeze and airflow. Even a single breath can cause a few changes if it’s near enough.”

She waved the finger in front of my eyes, and I could see the flames swishing through the air, shooting out in different directions.

I recalled she’d transformed them a few times during the party, but never for long. Gerial must have drifted near her during one of the rare times her skill had been activated.

Amanda had spotted Gerial because he had been breathing.

There wasn’t much he or I could do about that.

Hopefully there was a spell for him to learn to fix the issue in the future.

“After that happened the first time, I started looking out for it. Small noises here and there that didn’t come from anyone nearby, and even the odd muffled laughter. If I wasn’t looking out for it I’d have thought it was the other people at the party.” Amanda’s nose scrunched up. “Then I saw you looking out towards empty space every now and then, so I kind of put two and two together.”

She fell silent, and we walked together along the path against the wall. I was grateful that she wasn’t forcing me to talk, but I knew that she deserved an answer.

From her perspective I was hiding information about a person that had been listening to her private conversations the entire evening.

“I’ll tell you, but if you don’t mind I’d prefer to do it somewhere more private.” I could see her estate entrance gate not far from us. “Can your parents overhear us at your place?”

I didn’t want to talk about Gerial in public. I didn’t know who might be listening.

“My mum and dad won’t be home until sunrise.” Amanda exhaled, and I saw a faint smile touch her lips. “He messaged me earlier. He really loves making connections with other nobility and I guarantee he’s forced a group into a nightlong magical or religious debate.”

She added a skip to her step after I’d confirmed I’d tell her. I followed along, but I brought out my texting regent to send Gerial a message.

If he told me to keep it a secret, I probably would.

He was very particular about his anonymity; especially given the past experiences he had alluded to.

The replies came in an instant later.

‘She seemed cool.’

‘I felt bad for not being able to participate properly.’

‘If you tell her then we can hang out with William as a full group.’

‘But you know her better than I do.’

‘What do you think?’

‘Is she trustable?’

Gerial was a chain texter. Each little message that could have fit inside a paragraph was instead sent one after the other into my regent.

His last message stuck in my mind.

He was right, I knew Amanda better than he did. He was willing to let me make the final decision on whether to tell her or not.

I could see Amanda peeking at my regent from the corner of my eyes. My body turned towards her, and her head swiveled away, trying to look innocent.

“He says I can tell you, if I trust you.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “I'm not so sure now that I’ve caught you peeking at my texts.”

“Oh please, the decision was made the moment they handed it to you.” Amanda put her hands behind her back and gave me a cheerful smile. “Thanks.”

We reached the gate to her estate and her hair brightened as the gate resonated with her bloodline, swinging open and letting us through.

The moment we stepped through the gate I heard wings flapping in the night sky. I looked up and one shadow and one light crossed my vision, blocking out the moon and the stars.

“Hey there, buddy.” I held my arm up for Gold to land on it. “Did you have a good time?”

To my surprise Gold landed by my feet, and the sound of rain pattering across the ground entered my ears. He bobbed his head up and down and chirped happily.

“That’s my father’s suit you’re trying to get him to land on.” Amanda’s hair flared as Agni nestled into it. “Thank you, Gold, for not letting his bad memory get in the way of fine tailoring.”

Gold squawked in agreement and tittered at my expression.

He kept up with us easily, his talons digging into the ground. He occasionally stopped to peck at the grass, and I chuckled. It was nice to have him around me again. Even if he had only been gone for a few hours.

We walked through the entrance, and I took my shoes and socks off.

“I’m going to shower and get changed.” I brushed off stray dust from the sleeve of the suit. “Then we’ll talk.”

Amanda nodded. “Meet me in my study.”

Fire mana had risen to greet me as I walked through the guest room, and it dispersed into the ground as I made my way into Amanda’s study.

The floor in the study room was one of the only places in the house not affected by the automatic heat spell that was in place.

Gold let out a low squawk of relief. He didn’t mind the heat, but he preferred the cool air. He was perched on my shoulder, not caring about damaging my pajamas.

I hadn’t realised the spell would still be active even when Amanda’s dad wasn’t home. The air in the study was pleasantly warm, a side effect of the mansion being heated.

Amanda wasn’t in here.

I walked past the bookshelves and ran my fingers across their covers. There were a lot of books with the word ‘reincarnation’ in the title. It gave me a strange feeling to know others had written about something I was experiencing personally.

I stopped at the section that housed the books on Marked ones.

If Amanda had read all these books, how would she react to knowing she had been next to a Marked one for the whole party?

No. Not one. Two Marked ones.

I stopped at the end of the room. Amanda had a seating area for reading, with a sofa and chair set up opposing each other, alongside a lamp.

I hadn’t used the seats last time, but it was more comfortable than the floor.

Now that I’d visited a couple of times, I was feeling a little less self-conscious about walking and sitting around the house without permission.

I sat down on the sofa and Gold jumped up, flying to the edge of the chair opposite me. He stared at me, and I rolled my eyes. I had explained the situation to him on the way upstairs, but he chose to betray me by distancing himself.

He knew exactly who had been invisible at the party and he was playing innocent.

The seating area lit up before I could turn on the lamp, and I turned my head to see Amanda walking towards me.

Her hair was damp, but I could see embers lighting up within it, sending out a small wave of heat towards me as they carefully dried the strands of her hair.

I wondered what would happen if she transformed it all into flames while it was wet.

Agni flew next to Gold and both of them stared at me. It felt like they were trying to psyche me out.

“Is it working?” Amanda giggled at their antics. “If they keep staring like that, I’m going to spill my own secrets.”

“I’ve seen worse interrogators.” I gave her a lopsided smile.

Amanda took a seat next to me on the sofa and laid back, stretching, and letting out a yawn. She grabbed a nearby book, ready to rifle through it until I spoke.

I waved my hand and she lowered it.

“I’m starting to feel like this is a bigger deal now that we’ve taken so much time to get to it.” Amanda poked my side. “Spill the beans.”

“It’s not that big a deal.” I waved my hand dismissively. “I have a friend that’s really shy and can’t go outside without becoming invisible.”

She shot me a skeptical look.

“No, really, it’s true.” I held my hands up defensively. “He does it wherever he goes. It’s not a creepy thing, I promise, he’s just… pretty wary of other people and strangers.”

“Really?” She sized me up. “Does he go to Koshima?”

Before she’d spoken, I was sure that Amanda suspected it was Gerial. He was famous in the academy, and everyone knew he could turn invisible.

From the way that she leaned towards me with curiosity in her eyes, and her book at her side, but without the expectation of something huge, I realised I was wrong.

Nobody suspected the living divine of hanging out at parties.

“It was Gerial, the Marked one of Crijik.” I inhaled. “He and I are really good friends, but he's super shy. Also, he says people freak out around him.”

Amanda blinked as she took in my words.

Then she raised her arms and sprung her book towards my face.

One moment my vision was clear, and the next it was filled with the title words, ‘Grand Throne Adventure Vol 8’.

I flinched but her movement was too quick to react to.

Then she brought back the book and I touched my nose. It was perfectly fine.

She had only moved the book close enough to spook me, but she’d stopped it before it touched skin.

I looked at her and she rolled her eyes. I could see from her smirk that she was happy to have surprised me, but then it was replaced with a frown.

“You pit donkey, I really thought you were going to tell me who it was.” She leaned back. “You’re going to need to learn when a moment is serious, or I’m never going to believe your words.”

I took a deep breath.

“Then you’re not going to believe the next words out of my mouth.” I coughed. “Because I’m going to say it again.”

I glanced up. Her exasperation was transforming into confusion.

“Just promise not to hit me with the book this time.”