It probably wasn’t safe in Elantra either, but it wasn’t an immediate death sentence there. Tax laws and the ownership of property were built into Imperial Law, which didn’t exist in the fiefs. Kaylin wondered, briefly, if these new buildings had landlords, if the Academia owned them, or if squatters had moved in, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed and evicted. She wondered how long it would take for petty criminals to become those squatters, becoming in the process de facto landlords to people who had no recourse.

People like Kaylin and Severn in the streets of Nightshade in their childhood. She was certain that children very like them still existed, struggling to find shelter, food, and a safe place to avoid Ferals.

In that bleak mood, Kaylin lengthened her stride; Severn had no trouble keeping pace with her. He was accustomed to the small burst of speed she gained whenever something annoyed her, and if he wasn’t annoyed himself, he knew her well enough to accept it.

The streets passed by, and turned at last into what she thought of as the main campus of the Academia itself: multiple large buildings, arrayed around a circular road which encompassed a green park. Students between classes occupied that park, lying out on the grass beneath the clear sky, some alone and some in small—and louder—groups.

Kaylin wasn’t terribly surprised to see Serralyn. She was alone, and she rose the instant Kaylin came into view, making a beeline toward the two Hawks.

“Yes,” she said, before Kaylin could ask. “Sedarias wanted me to keep an eye on you.”

“How closely?”

“I have a class in two hours. If you take longer than two hours, you may have Valliant—but Terrano might show up instead. Technically, he’s not supposed to, but the chancellor mostly ignores him. Killian—the Academia’s Avatar—likes Terrano, but Killian sometimes gives him the boot if Terrano’s in his experimental how does this work mode.”

“Why doesn’t he apply as a student?”

“It’s Terrano. He gets hives—is that the right phrase?—being confined to someone else’s schedule. Among other things.” She cringed. “He got into a really long argument with one of the newer teachers here; I thought they were going to burn down the class just to shut him up.”

“A class you’re in?”

Serralyn nodded. “Mostly he just listens in through either Valliant or me—but if he hears something he thinks is ridiculously stupid, he just...ports in.”

“I’m amazed Killian lets him do it.”

“Killian’s really quiet, but he has opinions. And...it’s hard to keep Terrano out.”

Kaylin felt a pang of sympathy for Killian.

“So where are you heading first?”

“The chancellor’s office,” Kaylin replied. “Oh, no, wait—I’m supposed to sign in, I think?”