“Riles, any progress on figuring out Cappy’s prank?”

  “Not really,” Riley responded. “I wanted to try and get more information about the auditorium, maybe see if the library has historical records on the building, but I haven’t really gotten around to it.”

  It wasn’t that Riley wasn’t interested anymore, she still wanted to know how Cappy had pulled it off, but the puzzle had lost some of its shine. She’d been more focused on thinking about what her future held.

  “Cappy’s prank?” Mar asked with genuine curiosity.

  “Yeah, remember the chaos at orientation?” Elliot explained, “Apparently Cappy orchestrated the whole thing.”

  “No way!” Mar said in disbelief. “You’re telling me that man-boy did all that? I mean he definitely has the personality, but I find it hard to believe he has the intelligence to pull something like that off. Last week I saw him try to break into Professor Talbot’s office by putting a stick into the lock. Just like a regular, off the ground stick.”

  “Why was he trying to get in there?” Riley asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s Cappy. He’s always doing weird stuff,” Mar replied. “Why do you care, you have a crush on him or something?”

  Riley felt her cheeks grow hot as Bruno laughed and Elliot suddenly grew very interested in his cup of tea. Why was everyone so intent on knowing how she felt about Cappy? Yes, he was undeniably attractive, but that truly wasn’t why Riley was interested in what he was doing.

  “No!” Riley blurted out, a little more forcefully than intended. “No, I just want to know how he did the orientation prank. At first glance it seems simple. Lights out. Release wet dogs into the crowd. Create panic. But the darkness he created… it dampened magic. He had to have some sort of item that did that, which would not be easy to come by. And at that magnitude? To cover the entire auditorium? It’s unimaginable that a student at a mid-tier adventuring college would have something like that. And to use it just for a prank? Something isn’t adding up.”

  “You’re kind of nerdy when it comes to magic, aren’t you?” Mar commented brightly. “I like that.”

  “Do you think he’s dangerous?” Elliot said, his eyebrows furrowing. “I mean I hadn’t really thought of it before, but someone who appears so harmless with magical tech like that…”

  “Oh, he’s definitely dangerous,” Bruno said as offhandedly, as if he were commenting on the weather. “But he’s got a good heart. He’s just playing around.”

  “How do you know?” Elliot questioned, his tone suspicious. “We just met the guy. We have no idea what he’s up to. He’s definitely hiding something.”

  Mar leaned forward in her chair, whispering conspiratorially, “Do you think he’s a spy?”

  “What would you need to spy on at Ms. Purple’s?” Bruno asked.

  “I don’t know!” Mar said, a light in her eye. “But that’s the exciting part, right? Oooh this is getting juicy!”

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  “I don’t know about all that,” Riley said uncertainly, a little overwhelmed by all the new theories being thrown out. It made her mind reel a bit to realise that maybe the thread she was tugging at was connected to a much larger tapestry.

  A image of her teacup sent from Herbert distracted her. Apparently Herbert liked lemongrass tea. She cleaned her pinky off with a napkin before dipping it into her tea again and raising it up for him. She hadn’t even gotten around to trying it herself, and now took a careful sip. It wasn’t really hot anymore, but the flavor was pleasant, tickling her tastebuds and making her realize that she was actually pretty hungry. Once Herbert was done tasting the tea again, she dove into her food.

  Mar and Elliot still were fixated on the question of who Cappy was, scheming together. Bruno, on the other hand, seemed more occupied by his food, like Riley was.

  “I mean with how close Ms. Purple’s is to the Albacian border, it would kind of make sense for it to be a target for Albacian spies,” Elliot speculated. “It could be some sort of testing ground for them. Maybe Cappy is a spy for Albacia?”

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Mar replied. “Cappy seems… he seems like he’s from our side of the border.”

  “That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be traitorous. Like he’s from one of the United Unions, but he could’ve gotten recruited,” Elliot said. “We know that he was supposed to be a third year student, but he got pushed back to the beginning and had to start over as a first year. Maybe that was somehow on purpose so that he could stay in the area longer. Maybe he hasn’t completely his mission yet.”

  Mar’s eyes grew wide as Elliot spoke. “You think so?”

  “I honestly have no idea,” Elliot admitted. “But it’s as good of a theory as any. You know, this may be a long shot, but back in Gavinston my family has a lot of ties. Riles said that Cappy’s full name is Capernicus, which isn’t a very common name. Maybe I could have one of our guards ask around, see if anyone knows anything about a Capernicus.”

  “Wait, you’re from Gavinston? Me too!” Mar exclaimed. “No wonder we’re so much on the same page. Gavinston has the greatest minds in the world after all.”

  Elliot laughed in agreement, “You are not wrong on that.”

  Riley felt far away as Mar and Elliot continued to talk, sharing experiences of growing up in Gavinston and their favorite places in the city. She wished she had something to add, but she’d never been to Gavinston, even though it was the closest metropolis to her hometown. Including Ms. Purple’s, she could count the number of places she had been on one hand.

  In contrast, Mar seemed like she’d seen it all, easily navigating the conversation as it turned to travel. Elliot was eager to ask her questions about the places she had been, soaking up her impressions like a sponge. The connection between Elliot and Mar seemed easy and fluid. Riley felt self-conscious, and the feeling lingered through the rest of lunch.

  Eventually, Mar left, saying she was late to meet up with some other students. Elliot excused himself to the bathroom, leaving the Bruno and Riley alone at the table. Riley felt comfortable in the silence that was left behind, but Bruno broke the quiet after a couple of minutes.

  “I’m glad Elliot was right,” Bruno said.

  “Right about what?” Riley asked.

  “About Skolton cheering you up. You’ve been…” Bruno paused as if searching for the right words, “...not you.”

  Riley frowned. She knew she’d been preoccupied, but she hadn’t thought it had been so obvious. Her brain had been consumed by the question that Headmaster Karasu had put before her: power or life? Riley had considered talking to her friends about it, but up until now, it had felt like a private thing. Plus, she was pretty sure she knew what they would say. Elliot would tell her to choose a longer life because that was the common sense choice. And Bruno would say to choose power, as any warrior would.

  But she hadn’t gotten anywhere talking to Herbert about the decision, so maybe it was time to talk to someone else, even if she already knew what they would say. And if she went at it from an angle, maybe she didn’t have to reveal everything.

  “Bruno,” Riley said. “If you were given the choice between being more powerful or living longer, which would you choose?”