Yenni nodded and stepped through the arch. She soon found herself caught up in the crowd moving north from the docks, and the sights of the city around her drove all thoughts of the uncomfortable encounter with the guards from her mind. Cresh was so different from home. So much of everything was columns and rows. Rows of pastel houses—tall, skinny, and pointed. Rows of intersecting streets paved in slick, smooth stone. Rows of people, rows of carts. Rows of trees planted just so. Yenni longed to wander down the lanes and alleys, to peek into every glass window, to discover the source of that syrupy scent teasing her nose, but she had a mission. She fixed her gaze firmly on the tall, sprawling compound in the distance and soldiered on.

Excitement and nerves fluttered like bottleflies in Yenni’s chest. Creshen architecture soared around her, all height and pillars and hard, sharp angles. The Creshens had a curious habit of letting leaves grow on the surface of the stone, like animal fur, but it was pretty and exotic.

Yenni found she could hardly look up from her map without catching someone’s curious gaze. It must be her runes. White paint made swirling patterns all over her dark skin: strength runes on her arms, speed runes on her legs, water runes on the backs of her hands, and wards against pain down her spine. Once more Yenni glanced between her map and the academy grounds, searching for the bell tower. Straight ahead a long, white structure blocked her path—the entrance surrounded by thick columns.

She swiveled her head left and right, trying to get her bearings, and made eye contact with a man standing far off, across the grass. He squinted at her, but unlike the others, he didn’t immediately dart his eyes away. He continued to stare, unabashed, and Yenni squinted right back. She wasn’t about to let some brute intimidate her. From what she could make out, he was tall and well muscled. He wore his dark hair in a thick braid that fell over his left shoulder and his shirt was open, showing his chest. His skin was a few shades darker than the other Creshens around.

Whoever he was, she had no time for him. Yenni shook her head and focused on the building ahead. It was pretty in its way. True, it lacked the gold and tile embellishments so common back home, but it had many beautiful windows made of panes of colored glass. Sleek columns supported a stone awning above the entrance, which was engraved with words she couldn’t make out due to the loopy, stylized writing.