“And that's it.”

“That's it?” Ariana Worler said after a slight pause, staring at Milius with a mixed expression of shock and amazement. Milius nodded. He was seated, once again, in the large, square building with the gleaming caduceus protruding from its roof, though this time in his own ward rather than the reception area. He had just finished recounting the events that had occurred since he had set out to obtain the clove of Amphitrice to the other three Knights (all of whom were decked out in their armour, though, Milius was slightly pleased to see, not with their helmets and visors) and all four Elders.

As Milius had imagined, Marlise had indeed informed them of his journey after about an hour of his leaving out. They had all rallied at the Healing Bay as quickly as they could, preparing to leave, at the same moment Milius had burst inside. He had thrust the flower into Marlise’s hands, ignoring the cries of shock and relief of his allies and their mentors, and sent her to concoct the potion that would revive Minerva.

Shortly after this, another of Marlise’s workers had appeared, apparently on her orders, wrestled Milius into bed, and forced him to drink a Soothing Draught so that he could settle down. The others had at least had the courtesy to allow Milius’s heartbeat to steady before they demanded that he explain.

Sirius’s look of outrage became more and more pronounced with every word that Milius spoke; Shakil’s mouth had fallen open when he explained how he had defeated Nash and was still hanging open when he had finished (and Milius was quite certain that he had stopped blinking at this point as well); and the Elders were eyeing him suspiciously, with the exception of Demus (whose expression remained quite impassive), and Calder, who was beaming brightly.

“Wow,” Ariana said, her eyes glazed. “Wow.” This reaction seemed to rouse the other Elders.

“I don't believe it,” Aaron said at once, his cold, black eyes glittering unpleasantly.

“No more do I,” Basil wheezed.

“You think I'm lying?” Milius asked, rather calmly. The Soothing Draught was clearly still at work, because Milius had meant to snarl the words.

“You expect us to believe that you — the youngest, most inexperienced Knight — was able to overpower three highly skilled warriors, each with their own special tools and abilities, best Phontus, his guards, and a monstrous squid, and then escape without even getting a scratch on you?” Aaron demanded. “Please —”

“Enough,” Calder said, and had the potion not been keeping him perfectly calm, Milius would have been greatly surprised, for it was merely once that he had ever heard Calder so angry. “Clearly the boy tells the truth — how else would he have procured an Orb of Triton? Am I to understand that you believe Phontus would have willingly given it away?”

“An Orb of Triton?” Ariana asked, as Aaron and Basil lapsed into silence, shifting uncomfortably.

Calder raised a bony finger and pointed at the large pearl propped on the bed beside Milius. “That is what it's called, yes. According to deep-sea lore, a certain number of these pearls were created by the water god Triton thousands of years ago. The Orbs allow the wielder to control the waters under Triton’s dominion. The legends say that he passed the Orbs around to his higher-ranking subjects so that they could maintain order under the seas before he disappeared — if he indeed existed at all and these pearls weren't simply manufactured by powerful sorcery.”

“Like our swords,” Shakil said, speaking (and blinking) finally, and raising Oceannerva.

“Indeed. All the same, Milius,” he said, turning to Milius and smiling at him again, “I am proud of you.” Milius smiled back.

“On the contrary, Calder,” Demus said unexpectedly, “I don't believe this is anything to be celebrated. We know Phontus is one to hold grudges.”

Palpatunde, which was resting across Milius’s knees, thrummed slightly, but Milius, still feeling entirely at peace, ignored it. “So what?” he said serenely. The sea king, as Milius had noticed before he flew off, had not been killed by Lumeus’s lightning bolt, but he still couldn't see what problem he could pose, even if he was alive. “They're trapped under the sea, aren't they? He said it himself, they need to stay in the water. It's not like they can storm up here and demand retribution.”

“Do not underestimate them, my young Knight,” Demus said. “You have no idea what horrors reside beneath the deep blue….”

A slightly tense silence followed these words, but thankfully, Marlise chose that moment to appear. “Feeling better?” she asked kindly.

“Feeling great,” he said dreamily.

“Wonderful, wonderful … I have to say, though, I'm impressed that you managed to get away with only minor bruises.”

“Uh —” Milius said, and somewhere beneath his blissful serenity, he felt a ripple of tension, for he had most conveniently forgotten to tell them how badly he was injured and how he had been healed, instead making it sound as though he had only suffered minor injuries.

“Yeah, so am I,” said Sirius, speaking for the first time so far as well. There was something accusatory in his bright blue gaze. Milius hastily turned away.

“Yeah, well, got lucky, I suppose,” he mumbled.

“Indeed — I can certainly make out the residual radiance of Lady Luck’s golden hues around you,” Calder said. Milius heard something rather curious in the way he said “golden” that made him look up. To his astonishment, Calder winked. How could he possibly know…?

Once again, Marlise broke an uncomfortable silence. “Well, Milius, your mother will be just fine. But she won't wake for a few more days, I'm afraid. I'm keeping her in a magically-induced sleep that will help to lessen the effects of … well, you know,” she said awkwardly. “But she'll be up and about in no time. You, on the other hand,” she added, suddenly stern, “will be needing a Healing Potion.”

“What — but — I said I was —”

“You may think you're fine, but there's no way to know for sure. I just want to be completely certain that there's nothing seriously wrong with you. You will take whatever I give you, Milius Manchester,” she said in a deadly voice, pulling a large and rather dangerous-looking rod-like object from inside her robes, as Milius made to protest, “willingly or otherwise.”

Milius fell silent with a meek expression. Even the other Knights and Elders looked apprehensive. Marlise bustled out of the room to fetch the potion, and as Milius watched the hem of her robes whip out of sight, he suddenly remembered something.

“That man!” he cried, startling the whole room. “The Councilman! I only just remembered! Where is he, what was he doing at the Cave, anyway?”

Everyone suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Councilman Roan,” Calder said, “yes…. He was at the Cave on the King of Halgaria’s orders, Milius, to … to inspect you four. That was the reason for your excursion into the woods. We were monitoring your progress for some time — magically, of course — but we didn't see everything that happened. Unfortunately, Councilman Roan seemed to think he’d seen enough. So when word of Minerva’s accident reached us and we sent the dragons to find you, he returned to the King with his report….”

“And…?” Milius prompted.

“And he wasn't pleased,” Demus said indifferently.

“Not at all,” Basil mumbled, as Aaron shook his head.

“And the King?”

No one replied, which was enough of an answer for Milius.

“But,” Calder said, his voice suddenly reinvigorated by a rush of fierce determination, “that was only a preliminary test. We still have time to get you in shape for your exhibition at the Royal Castle.”

“Wait, does that mean — ?” Milius said, his heart thumping in excitement.

“Indeed. It is time to begin your formal training,” Calder said, while the other Knights and Elders grinned or nodded. Milius grinned too, feeling as though his chest would burst from excitement.

Unfortunately, his good mood didn't last very long, as Marlise suddenly reappeared with a steaming, acid-green solution, which Milius suspected would somehow taste much worse than it looked.