“You’ve been building up the courage to knock for the last fifteen minutes Julian, if you were going to leave you’d have already done so.” The black-clad sorceress finished off a signature at the bottom of a letter, looking over the parchment worth more than a peasant earns a year at the farmlands. “You stand there any longer and I’ll just read your mind for the message instead.”

The mage opened the carved Blackwood door, his face bright red under his pale hair.

“I’m sorry Grant Enchantress, I didn’t mean to disturb-“

“I haven’t got all day, Julian. Can we skip over the parts where you shit your robes and to the message?” The cold bored voice of the sorceress filled the room as she sealed the envelope and placed it in the beak of an astral raven which flew off to deliver the letter, after which she finally stopped to look at Julian. “Well get it out.”

“Right, sorry.” The mage couldn’t maintain eye contact, staring at the expensive carpets as he spoke. “The Sorcerer of the Highest Order wishes to speak with you. Immediately.” The sorceress blinked. After a few seconds of silence, she stood up picking up a pendant off of the table and left the mage staring after her.

•

“Dahlia. You came early.” The greying man draped in deep royal blue kept his back to the sorceress as he stared up at the statue of the College’s founder. “I didn’t expect you to actually show up.”

“I happened to be between projects when your pet mage showed up.” Dahlia let her heeled boots echo across the large marble room as she made her way across it. “But my time is precious so why am I here Tobias?” The Sorcerer’s eyes slid to the side as Dahlia stopped next to him instead of the respectful distance that was customary to his rank, as she stared up at the statue too.

“The Grand Sorcerer-“

“I couldn’t care less about your titles Tobias. You told me you’d leave me alone until you found the origin of the enchantment last time we spoke.” The pendant grew warm in the pocket of her black fitted robes, as if it knew they were talking about it. It probably did. “Did you?” There was a pause in which the far older sorcerer took a deep breath, as he often did when he talked with Dahlia.

“If you card about that title it could be yours, you know.” Dahlia rolled her eyes walking a few steps further to stand in front of the floor to ceiling window overlooking the night city lit up with thousand torches beyond the walls of the college.

“You know I don’t care to clean up peoples messes as a job. What would I gain that I don’t already have besides even more people wanting to control what I do?” Dahlia hugged her arms as she talked. “I can feel your thoughts aren’t on the pendant why am I here Tobias?”

“You know why you’re here.” His voice was sterner now. “Do you know how much effort it cost me to stop the nobles from demanding that the Empress burns you at the stake from the last ball? And you go ahead and threaten the Empress on her own throne?”

“She has the enchantment in her vault Tobias you know it!” Dahlia whirled at him, annoyed at the sign of disapproval in his voice. “Was I to roll over and beg her for a hint of respect after everything I’ve done for her?”

“Everything you’ve done? If she were to list everything you’ve done you’d have been burned a hundred times over Dahlia!” The usually composed sorcerer half shouted at her. “Most Mages die or spend the rest of their lives in the towers of our prisons for what you’ve done. You can’t use everyone to get your way.”

“Can’t I?” She titled her head, letting her wild black curls fall across her shoulder. “Because I’ve been doing it for decades and I’m still here.” The Grand Sorcerer stopped shaking his head in a mix of disbelief and disappointment.

“You could do so much, Dahlia. There’s so much potential in you. Blessed Adriana, I’ve never met anyone like you before.” Dahlia’s face showed nothing but cold resolution.

“You should be grateful for that.” She turned away once again, starting at the window without truly seeing anything.

“You know, I never believed that before. But I truly am.”