Due to Alvis’s direct intervention, news of Nathan’s expulsion spread throughout the school in an instant. Alois was put on an even higher pedestal than before, and he did not hesitate to complain about it. Their entire faction, in fact, had begun to be treated differently as news of everything that happened during the second semester began to circulate.

  “I can’t wait until the break starts,” Alois told them over jabber jewel one night, “I am going to get as far from Nobility as I can before Alvis can stop me.”

  “Do you want to visit Yuki’s place?” Cassandra offered, “I was going to try to summon Mich- Mickey there during break.” She had been going to mention the summon’s real name but thought better of it. Even if she could trust her friends and Nero, it was best not to openly speak the name of a summon whose summoner had recently passed.

  "Where exactly is Yuki's place?" Alois asked, making Cassandra realize she also had no idea.

  Luckily Caleb did. "It is a nice place by the ocean," he told them, "The magic there is stronger than even the magic of the Pavilion which is why it is so secluded."

  "I guess I assumed it would be near the Archmage's headquarters," Cassandra admitted.

  Then again, even if everyone in Tethia grew up hearing legends of the two immortal founders, their whereabouts had always been top secret. The founding archmage was said to be taking a long nap, and the founding headmaster was a wanderer at heart and could never stay in one place. Now that she had met both of them in person Cassandra realized how close the legends were to reality.

  "Make sure to save some time to accompany me to Beraud," Alvis broke in.

  Cassandra knew for a fact that no one had given Alvis a jabber jewel, but he had not only been listening but able to join the conversation. Perhaps it was bold to assume they could ever have a private conversation when it came to the founder and creator of Tethia's greatest artifacts. Caleb seemed to agree as he replied in a resigned tone.

  "Would you like me to send you a jabber jewel, Sir Alvis?"

  "There is no need," Alvis refused, though he seemed more amused than anything, "However, if you would like help improving them consider asking Yuki. He is a master of telepathy."

  Yuki had turned into a boy once, but since he lived the majority of his time as a fox. It was hard to imagine a fox helping create magic tools, and the image Cassandra did come up with almost made her laugh. She did feel a bit bad for Alois. It looked like his summer was doomed to be packed.

  "I wonder if I should visit home while I have the chance," Cassandra mused.

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  She had kept her parents up to date with letters, but it wasn't the same. Then again maybe she should keep her schedule free. She wouldn't mind taking the chance to visit Beraud herself.

  "I am also heading to the coast for a medical survey," Keane reported, "Maybe we should travel together."

  “I wish I could come,” Maximus complained, already feeling left out even though he had just barely left, “I need to settle some things in the castle, and after I am done with that I need to check up on Dyment. If we leave it alone, chances are the past will only repeat itself. I miss Wayde already.”

  “You can always talk to me over jabber jewel,” Wayde supplied, showing he had also been listening to the conversation from wherever he was.

  “Yes, but it’s not the same,” Maximus sighed.

  “Perhaps it is time you learn to work on your own without shoving everything you don’t want to do onto your friend,” Nero chided.

  He hadn’t said much since he had been given a jabber jewel, but he would sometimes scold Maximus for slacking off. Cassandra was more and more grateful every day that she had chosen Princess Rosalind for her mentor. Nero, Osmond, Alvis, and even Koko constantly kept their apprentices busy. She wasn’t sure about Reginald since Caleb never complained about it. She wasn’t even completely sure Caleb was officially the archmage’s apprentice since no one had mentioned anything about it. He hadn’t moved to the special tower for apprentices either.

  “I am interested in seeing Yuki’s place,” Caleb said, as if sensing she was thinking of him, “Mind if I tag along?”

  “Of course. The more of us who are there when we summon Mickey, the better,” Cassandra told them.

  “What happens if we don’t summon her?” Autumn asked, “If we don’t tell her anything, she won’t be able to make that game. Will that break the timeline somehow?”

  “Let’s not find out,” Cassandra stated, not wanting to poke something as dangerous as a timeline if she didn’t have to. It wasn’t that hard to tell stories and give cookies. In fact, it sounded kind of therapeutic.

  With the break coming up, they weren’t the only ones discussing what to do during their time. Cassandra heard plans that went from sleeping all day to working hard to secure apprenticeships, to even spending the time working to earn some spending money. Marcus fell into the last category. The mercenaries had apparently liked him so much, they had invited him back to Merk to see what things were really like there.

  Lily would be headed home, as would Elliot. Elliot had actually been offered an apprenticeship from one of the shadow maidens but he hadn’t really been sure of his goals from the start so he hadn’t given his answer yet. Rena was packing her break with so many things there was no way she would have time for them all. Despite the faction system ending up being pointless in the end, Cassandra was glad she had the chance to get to know everyone in hers.

  Before they knew it, everything was packed and it was time to say goodbye. The break would last two months, with two more weeks where they could attend the annual entrance exam. Cassandra couldn’t help but be incredibly curious how Alvis would handle that, but even if she did attend, she wouldn’t be able to see much.

  Cassandra’s group decided to meet at the castle so they could head to the coast right away. They had barely all gathered in the castle courtyard before Alois dragged them towards the exit.

  “Come on, let’s go before he changes his mind!” he urged.