Miel answered first.

  “You’re not leaving this city!” She sliced her hands through the air to emphasize her point. “Mavery might not be willing to collude with us anymore, but he’s not going to open the gates for the Primus to come in here and take you.” She motioned for Ether and me to stand up. “Come on, you two, we’re going to the dorms and we’re not going to leave this place until Klix figures out the best way to protect you.” She nodded at my father. “Trent will go fetch Pixie and his Hunter and bring them back here. He doesn’t need your help for that.”

  “There’s nothing to indicate that the Primus are aware of Atlas or what he and Ether are.” Trent waved his hand for us to sit back down. “All they know is that Rix and Pixie are part of my class and that I’m coming to get them.”

  “So the Primus don’t know. Why take that risk?” Miel shook her head. “I won’t allow—”

  “You aren’t the boss.” Trent cut her off. “And need I remind you that your mission is to go retrieve Pixie, which means you are the ONLY one of us who HAS to go to the Fane.” He nodded at the two of us. “If you want to watch over them, you’re going to have to take them with you.”

  “But…” Miel took a deep breath. “Fine. They’re special, but Mom is going to prioritize Pixie’s safety over Ether’s or mine.”

  “Good. Now, onto other matters.” Trent steepled his fingers. “Thanks to Lyssa, we know that there is a god-killer here in the Cathedral Ward and they are likely going to try to intercept us on our way to Iver.” Trent typed on his CB, then projected a map onto the table.

  “There’s a godkiller in Slece, so we can’t go that way.” He pointed south towards Jyscor. “We can get a ship from here to Atray, then to Iver.”

  “Won’t they be expecting you to go through Iver?” Ether pointed at the northwesternmost city in the Fane Ward.

  “That’s only if the god-killer wants to stop me from getting my students and considering that most people don’t know that I’m Tier Seven now or that Miel is going to be with us…” Trent smirked. “I’m not too worried about what they might throw at us.”

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  “If it was just you and me, I’d agree.” Miel shook her head. “If we start throwing down with some Tier Sixes or Tier Sevens…” She looked over at Ether. “I don’t know if I can keep you safe.”

  “We should be fine.” Ether looked between her mother and my father. “They are just going to want to stop you, not kill us. So they probably don’t even care about us, because why would they think that there are more than two godsired on a team?”

  “She makes a good point.” Trent stroked his chin. “But that means that they’ll see you as a bargaining chip or a good shield instead of a target…” He looked at me. “I can make you a decent return stone that will bring you back to an anchor point. I won’t be able to get a lot of range on it, but it’ll be enough that if we get attacked, the five of you will be able to get out of danger before someone can hurt you.”

  “You can make return stones?” Miel glared at the older man.

  “I’ve been brushing up on my enchanting for the last few decades.” Trent smirked as he shrugged. “I’ve picked up a thing or two.”

  “You’re telling me that I had to scour the city for an enchanter who would make return stones and you could have done it the whole time?” Miel fumed.

  “You didn’t ask.” The smirk on Trent’s face grew into a grin. “And you shouldn’t discount people just because they aren’t part of your elite circle.” He leaned back in his chair. “Even a pebble can start an avalanche.”

  “I don’t need your proverbs.” Miel huffed. “Just next time that we need something done and you can do it, let me know instead of making me run all over town.”

  “Of course.” The look on Trent’s face told everyone that he wasn’t going to let another teachable moment pass by for a little convenience.

  Justia cleared her throat. “Since we’re going to have the return stones, couldn’t we go east, then down the coast to get to Iver?”

  The mischief on Trent’s face vanished. “No. The return stones will send you to the closest Dungeon. If we’re too far from Jyscor, then they won’t work. And to use that strategy, we’d have to stop in either Juel or Slece to attune them, and there’s no way I’m taking any of you into one of those cities.” He nodded at Miel. “And she wouldn’t be allowed.”

  “More like killed on the spot…” Miel muttered under her breath.

  “Oh.” Justia lowered her head. “Sorry.”

  “No, asking questions is good and lengthwise, it’s a shorter distance, but it’s far more dangerous.” Trent stood up. “But we do need to leave as soon as possible, so go get something to eat from the cafe while I grab a few things and then meet me back at the RV.”

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