Xerxes spent the rest of the evening with the Swordmasters crew, never running into either Katayoun or Gandash.

In fact, it wasn’t until he was snug under the covers that he saw his friend. Gandash slipped into the dorm room shortly before lights-out, with a pile of books in his arms.

“Hey, Xerk.”

“Hey, Gandy. Have a nice day studying?”

“Yep.” Gandash set about organizing his belongings, folding clothing items and stacking the books neatly on the desk before wrapping them together with twine.

Xerxes eyed him. “Uh, what’s going on? You going somewhere?”

“The assessment results come in tomorrow. Remember, they said these were temporary quarters. Might as well be ready to leave.”

“Oh, good point.” Xerxes didn’t move.

A few minutes later, Gandash finished his work, turned the lamp off just as the bell rang, and lay down. “Xerk?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you… ever think about…?” He stopped. “You know. Gem. Rihan. Ap.” He hesitated. “And Bel.”

Xerxes’ eyes opened wide. “Of course I do. All the time.”

“Okay. It just seems like, sometimes, you’re so happy. Like you forgot about all that.”

“Gandy, I haven’t forgotten. But at the same time, I don’t want it to… you know, define me.”

Gandash nodded but didn’t say anything.

Xerxes slowly sat up in bed. “Gandy, I miss Bel a lot. I know you miss her more than me, but….” he trailed off, not sure which direction to take the conversation. “Anyway, I miss her. And us. The three of us at the Mage Academy, even on the road. Causing trouble. Having fun.”

The truth was that … he hadn’t been thinking about Gem and Bel much. Or about how Seer Fale had talked about going back to get Bel’s body. Or how Captain Ishki had promised to personally hunt down the men who’d killed Gem.

Fale and Ishki can handle all that, he told himself. I’ll visit Bel’s grave next time I’m back on Mannemid. Every day.

Except now, thoughts of blood and white tentacles occupied his mind. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Inhaled. Exhaled. But for some reason, the memories of the horrors on Mannemid made it difficult to say anything further.

Gandash turned in bed. “I just can’t stop thinking about how much Bel would’ve loved this place. It was her dream to leave Mannemid. But she never got to.”

“We all had that dream,” Xerxes said. “And… we can’t do anything to bring her back. But we can honor her memory. Maybe it’s stupid to say, but I think she’d want you to enjoy this time. Do well. Advance. Become an officer. All that.”

Silence stretched out a bit, and Xerxes lay back down on the pillow.

A minute later, Gandash spoke again, this time his voice muted to the point where Xerxes had to strain to hear him clearly. “I feel really lonely sometimes.”

Xerxes turned, and even in the gloom of the dorm, he could see his friend’s cheeks glistening. He’s crying? he thought.

“I’m sorry, Gandy,” he said. “I know you miss Bel.”

“It’s not that,” Gandash replied quickly. “It’s just, this place is so weird and new. I don’t know anybody. I mean, other than you.”

“I saw you talking to some people at the banquet. Who are they?”

Gandash shifted position in bed. “Just some people. But… I don’t really feel like making new friends.”

Wait, Xerxes thought, is he jealous because I’m making new friends? Not quite sure what Gandash was getting at, he said, “If you don’t want to make friends, then don’t. It’s fine.”

“You still like me, right?” Gandash said.

Xerxes resisted the urge to sit up again. “What? Are you kidding? Gandy, we’ve been best friends for years. Even before we were Sighted. Nothing can change that.”

“Right.”

“Don’t worry, Gandy. You and I are like brothers. And we always will be.”

Their conversation ended there. It only took a few minutes before Gandash was snoring. But Xerxes’ mind had been stirred into activity. All of a sudden, he was plagued with thoughts about Bel, Gem, Rihan, Goran, and even Ninsunu and Alwin.

He couldn’t banish memories of blood, gore, and the stench of Abhorrent.

And the worst of all was Bel’s scream as she fell to her death.

It took a long time to fall asleep.

It was Firstday, but the morning assembly was different. After the morning prayer, High Archon Kingallu said, “The time has come to announce the results of the assessments. Something we didn’t mention beforehand is that failure was a possibility. Anyone whose average results fell below a certain mark would be sent back down to the lower starisles.”

An anxious rustle went through the crowd, until the High Archon said, “Thankfully… no one failed.”

Sighs of relief could be heard everywhere.

“The purpose of the assessments was to identify which Seers have the most potential to serve as officers, and command other mages on the battlefield. They also served to inform us of your skillset and place you into the proper class groups. Of the two hundred and eight of you who came up from the starisles subsidiary to Ira, we’ve selected thirteen to receive immediate commissions and receive special training.

“If you hear your name called, please step up to the podium.

“Janoah of Dumusi.

“Danila of Al-Ga….”

Xerxes didn't recognize the names. It didn’t take long before he realized that only one person per starisle was being called. No, the High Archon named two mages from Ashlultum. Still, that fact made something else clear: the odds of both him and Gandash receiving officer commissions were slim.

I definitely outdid him in combat, Xerxes thought. They want warriors here, not scholars. There’s a good chance I’ll be the one—

“Gandash of Humusi.

“Shacharia of Ga.

“And finally Candraketu of Harmu. Now, will all the other Seers please give a warm round of applause for the newly appointed officers.”

Xerxes found himself clapping as Gandash threaded his way to the front of the crowd, and then climbed onto the podium with the other twelve new officers. In terms of the other eleven, a couple seemed familiar to Xerxes, but he hadn’t met any of them. That said, he wasn’t paying close attention. He was just looking at his friend, who was trying hard to not grin like a fool, yet failing.

Damn, Xerxes thought. His heart felt oddly empty. I was sure my fighting skills would push me to the top.

The applause faded.

“Now,” High Archon Kingallu said, “the newly appointed officers will come with me. The rest of you can return to your rooms and pack your belongings. You’ll be moving to the dorms in the west wing of the main building. You’ll find an envelope in your current rooms with your name on it. In the envelope are details of your new accommodations, your primary teacher, and the classroom to report to.

“Class schedule will be the same as before. Lectures in the morning. Practical training in the afternoon.

“And there’s one more thing. Before the first lecture with your new teacher, there’s an extremely important bit of confidential information to be revealed. In order to keep this information confidential, you must take a blood oath of loyalty to the Sin-Amuhhu military, including a vow of silence regarding the new information. And what that means is… don’t be late to class!

“You have one hour to pack, move dorms, and get to your assigned classroom.

“Good luck, Seers!”