A full day and night after I had nearly blown Spring Tana's cheek to shreds, Precept Zetta let me participate in class again.

Tana had stood in the center of the room and held her werelight whole against the appropriately violent blows of the other new moons.

I had not been given a turn since my outburst.

I knew it was intentional, and thought that it was for the best. Both for my body and the longevity of the honey haired underwitch.

We broke for lunch all at once, when Precept Zetta told us to, and only had a small amount of time to return lest we face her wrath.

I made it back first on our third day.

The others had waved me over to sit with him, but I had taken my fried potatoes and eaten alone. I wanted to share a meal with them, to watch Plia gorge herself on whatever was in front of her, and to listen to Mallory try to seduce everything that was within her grasp, but Tana was there.

She had taken up wearing a bandage on the place that I had struck her and for some inexplicable reason, I had the feeling that the two of us sitting together would not end well.

So, I stood with my back against the wall like I had done for most of the meals I had eaten in the dining hall and watched all of Lun's moons that were in the room.

The underwitch that wore nothing but her cloak, and the one who walked around with a blindfold over her eyes were my favorites. They stood out from all the others, but no one seemed to treat them any differently.

I left the dining hall when I was finished with my food and made the short walk back to Zetta's classroom. Alexei took up his post in the hall, and I went inside to find it empty.

The same moment that I settled into being alone, my teacher came striding through the door and nearly scared me to death.

"It's not bad to have such strong reactions, Ire, but it's better to be vigilant. You would not have gotten scared if you had heard me coming down the hall." She said as she stopped in front of me and crossed her arms.

I did not like being alone with the jagged Sorceress. Her sharp hair and features gave her a cutting stair that made me feel like all of me was being judged down to the smallest detail. I had no way to know if that was true, but it felt like it all the same.

"Yes, Precept Zetta. I will do better." I said and tried to ignore the sudden impulse to straighten my uniform.

She did not release me from her gaze. "You did not go to the medery the other day like I ordered you to. Either you are hiding something, or it is in your nature to be rebellious. Are either of those correct?"

I missed Precept Seram.

"Yes, Precept Zetta." I answered as honestly as I could. Lying to her directly would not feel good and I seriously doubted she would believe me.

She gave me a short nod and a sharp smile. "I will not press you, Seram spoke highly of you and I will trust her word."

Her sapphire eyes narrowed. "Listen."

I did as I was told and brought all my attention to my hearing.

"What do you hear?" Precept Zetta asked quietly.

"Footsteps? The others are coming back?" I guessed. That was what I heard, but I did not know if that was what she wanted me to hear.

She nodded. "Well done. What order will they come through the door?"

"I don't know." I answered in honest confusion.

How could I tell that? The sound that echoed down the hall was a tangled mess of footsteps, not a series of notes that I could follow like Caerulus's lullaby.

"There is no shame in that. You can't learn if you wont admit what you don't know. Close your eyes and listen as I speak," Zetta instructed. "The loudest steps are the quickest. Rake is the most high spirited out of all of you, that means she is in front."

I did as I was told and found that her words made sense to me.

She continued. "Bones barely weighs as much as a bag of dust, if you listen closely, you can hear her quiet steps at the back."

I listened closed and nodded in agreement.

"Which leaves Puddles and Gentle in the middle. What do you know about them that could help you?" She asked.

"Tana is the worst person I have ever met." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could consider if I should say them.

Precept Zetta chuckled. "That is even more reason to know what her approach sounds like. Know your enemy, Ire. Know them better than they know themselves."

What did I know about Tana?

That wasn't a good question.

What did I know about Tana that could help me pick her out of the mess of footsteps? She was not in the front or the back, I knew that. She was taller than Vanda, skinnier too, but Sam was right in calling her the arrogant child. Every room she entered, she walked in like it was her own quarters.

Even with all those things, the sound of them all approaching made me feel like there was not enough time for me to make a decision.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "She will come in third, before Plia."

Precept Zetta chuckled again. "We will see."

A few moments later, the two of us watched Mallory literally skip into the room, her light hair swinging from side to side at her jaw. "Ire, you're gonna have to tell your guard that if he keeps standing around in the hall that I'm gonna get tired of just looking."

Vanda came in next. She bowed her head to Precept Zetta and gave me a pleasant smile as she passed. Tana did indeed come in before Plia, but only because she was pulling the little underwitch along by her arms.

"Ohh," Plia moaned. "I ate too much."

Mallory gasped. "The impossible has happened! Lock her up in glass and spread the word that The Mother in Blue now has seven treasures! This insatiable monster has been sated!"

Precept Zetta leaned in close and whispered to me and me alone. "Was that a guess?"

"Kind of. She's too arrogant to ever willingly be last." I whispered back.

"Not bad, Ire. Not bad," She said and patted me on my back rather roughly. "Since you aren't doubled over in pain, I assume you are able to train again."

She went to her place in the center of the empty classroom, and class began again. "Ire, Rake, and Bones, it's just you three we are waiting on, so we are going to cycle through this until you get it right. Puddles and Gentle, sit back and watch. See if you can find any fault in your sister's workings."

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"Why does she get called by her real name and I still have to be Puddles?" Tana begged as she sat down in a huff.

"Because sometimes, you don't get what you want, Puddles," Precept Zetta said without looking at Tana. "Rake, Ire, you are up first."

Mallory and I took up our places opposite one another. She pointed at me with her other hand resting on her cocked hip. "Don't try to kill me, alright? We are friends, and I'm too pretty to die."

"Alright. We are friends." I agreed.

"But no one is too pretty to die," Precept Zetta corrected Mallory. "If that were true, then I'd still have both my arms."

All of the new moons, myself included, turned and stared at our teacher all at once.

"What? Am I not supposed to talk about it? Did none of you notice until I said something? My apologies, I should have considered how my mentioning my missing limb would make all of you dandelions uncomfortable." Precept Zetta gave a feigned apology that made me feel silly for looking at her.

"What happened to it?" Mallory asked aloud.

"Mallory! What a terribly rude thing to ask!" Vanda shouted from where she had sat next to a Tana.

"Why were you wearing those colored bands at the new moon ball? You said you would tell me if I was on time to your class." I asked, feeling safe that my question would be received much better than Mallory's was.

"Why do I still have to be Puddles?" Tana joined in and asked for a second time.

Precept Zetta raised her hand above her head and snapped. The cracking crystal sound she was somehow able to make stopped the stream of questions and brought all of our attention back to her. "Listen. How about a little wager, huh? Some light gambling never hurt anyone. If each of you can hold your werelight on your first try, I'll answer the question you asked. Bones, you'll stand in for Puddles. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal!" Mallory agreed.

I did the same. "Yes, Precept Zetta."

"Do we have a choice?" Plia asked through a heavy sigh. Her eyes were halflidded, and her arms were wrapped around her stomach.

"No. You're up first, Ire. Let's see that pretty blue you have." Precept Zetta said as she stepped back and waited for me to make my werelight.

I really did want to know about the colored bands.

I really wanted Precept Zetta to like me. It had been very uncomfortable to be alone with her at first, but by the time she had told me to close my eyes, I had begun to enjoy her guidance. She taught Conflict and Resolution. I hoped that there was not a violent future in store for me, but if I paid attention and learned from her, the next Mother that tried to fight me would have a much harder time than Ali did.

With those things in mind, making the werelight was easy when I brought my mind to the memory of what I had crafted in the darkness of the drowning cave.

"Remember, we're friends." Mallory reminded me before she stepped forward and hit me right in the center of The Mother's seal.

It hurt, but not nearly as bad as it had a few days before.

My bruises had turned from black and purple to sickly greens and yellows. I did not double over, I did not feel like my lunch would be making a quick reappearance. I took the hit, stood firm, and kept my focus.

The little Azure light that shone up from my left palm did not flicker or blink. There was no sign of it dimming or turning to dust. It held its shape and brightness without fail.

"Looks like you can focus when you aren't hurt, well done. I will answer your question once we are finished, but before it's your turn, Bones," Precept Zetta as she went and put her hands on Mallory. "Widen your stance, sit in it lower. Lower. There you go. Push off with your back foot, let your power come through your hips, and keep your arm straight. Give it a go."

Mallory did as she was told, feeling out each movement, and throwing several strikes at the air before she looked back at our teacher.

"Are you blushing? Mothers help you, girl. Hit her one more time now that you know how to put some power behind it." Precept Zetta commanded.

Mallory met my eyes and I nodded to tell her that I was ready.

The second time she hit me hurt far more than the first.

It seemed that Precept Zetta was a good teacher.

Still, my werelight remained.

When I was able to unclench my stomach, I found a small amount of joy in that.

"Your turn, Rake. Light it up." Precept Zetta said as she took my werelight from where it hung above my palm and crushed it in her fist.

Mallory's werelight rose up from her right palm. It was nearly the same icy shade of Our teacher's half cloak, but not nearly as dull. If I looked at it for too long, it left bright spots in my eyes and reminded me of how it felt to look at Sam's lightning

Fortunately for Mallory, she was not Tana.

I did all the things Precept Zetta had taught her to do to make her hit harder and waited for her to give me a nod.

"Don't let me down, Rake. You learned all of this last year," Our teacher turned her eyes to me. "And don't hold back because you want to know what happened to my arm. I can tell if you pull your punch."

"Yes, Precept Zetta." Mallory and I said together.

Without wasting another moment, she nodded and I stepped towards her.

Her middle was much harder than I thought it would be. I felt the ridges of the muscles underneath her dress as my knuckles cracked against them, and sharp pain streaked through my wrist.

Mallory fell to the cold stone of the floor.

Her face pinched together as she held her breath, but the too bright blue of her werelight continued to cast its color over her. She threw it away when she began to breathe again and held her arms out to me for help off the ground.

I helped her up and she tapped her finger against the center of my chest. "I was right, we are friends. I know what you're capable of, Lank. Thanks for leaving my guts inside me. I owe you one."

She really was the most flirty soul I had ever met. Nearly everything she said to me made me blush, but I did not mind. She was my friend, and if warmth in my face was the cost of that, I would pay it gladly.

"Stay there, Ire. Bones, it's your turn.One more pass and you all get your questions answered." Precept Zetta said as she pulled Mallory out of the middle of the room.

Tana had her hand resting where her unneeded bandage was, but she raised her head when Plia came to meet me. "Plia, if you don't screw this up, I'll let you pet Auden tonight."

Plia sighed and sent her pallid werelight floating up from her navel. "I'll try."

The little underwitch would not meet my eyes.

"Plia, are you well?" I tried to ask quietly.

"Just get it over with. I don't feel very good." She muttered without looking up at me.

It felt wrong preparing to hit her when she was in as bad of a state she was in, but everyone was waiting on me to do what I was meant to do. Maybe she had eaten too much, but she had been acting strange towards me since the first day of Precept Zetta's class.

I would ask her what was the matter when class was over. I could not stand the thought that I had done something to upset her.

If Precept Zetta could tell that I had pulled my punch, she did not bring it up.

I hit Plia, and her werelight crumbled the moment that I made contact with her.

"I have to," She gagged, and began running for the door. "I have to-I'm sorry."

Precept Zetta laughed as the little underwitch left the classroom. "Listen. This is a good lesson. Fighting is hard. Fighting with a full stomach is even harder."

There was truth in that, a whole lot of it.

"Alright, give us our answers. Sorry, Puddles, I guess you don't always get what you want." Mallory said with a playful glance at a very angry looking Tana.

Precept Zetta nodded in agreement. "I know, I know. I wouldn't cheat you. What was first? The bands right? When you are a soldier in the armory enclave and you do something impressive, you get a band. Each color means something different."

"But you had a whole armful." I said, wondering if some should go check on Plia.

"That should tell you how impressive I am, and how lucky you are to have me as your teacher." Precept Zetta said with a wink.

Mallory literally ran over to our teacher and stood far too close to her. "I want to meet your knight!"

Precept Zetta poked the tip of her finger into the middle of Mallory's forehead and pushed her back. "I do not have a knight. I was a knight. The only sorceress to ever earn that title. Which again, should impress you."

"Well, then, what happened to your arm?" Mallory crossed her arms and demanded.

Precept Zetta smiled her sharp smile and a mischievous light shone in her eyes. "I lost it."

Mallory frowned. "Obviously. How?"

"Ah, that's an entirely different question isn't it, Rake? Now that I know it works on all of you, you'll have to make another wager with me if you want another answer." Precept Zetta chuckled, her voice dipping down into its raspiest range as she spoke.

Mallory looked so offended that our teacher might as well have just spat in her face.

"Don't worry, there will be a chance for it tomorrow, but someone go and check on Bones, I would rather we move on from the werelights today."

I turned to go, it was the perfect opportunity to ask Plia why she was upset with me, but Mallory was in the hall and bothering Alexei before I could take a second step.

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