As we enter the Equinox, my lungs constrict at the memory of what happened in this room. “It’s okay. Everyone else was really supportive.”

Michael stops walking and puts his hand on my shoulder. It’s no big deal, the hand. I’m chill about it. But Michael looks really upset.

“Headmaster Bloche has assured me that the captain of the Avant Guard has been given firm instructions about what will be tolerated while they’re stationed in Arcadia.”

“Thanks.” He’s still holding my shoulder. Okay, maybe I’m not chill about it.

“I mean it, Ada. I will make sure you are always safe and treated with respect.” His eyes are fierce, and for a heartbeat I believe he could keep me safe from anything.

“Hi!” a cheerful voice interrupts.

Michael removes his hand from my shoulder and steps back. He turns to smile at Kaylie, who’s making her way toward us with her own beaming smile. “I didn’t see you downstairs,” she says to Michael. “I was coming to find you.” I hadn’t realized the two of them were friends.

“How are you acclimating?” she asks me. “I was just thinking I should send a pigeon to check if you had any side effects from your inoculations.”

“No. Everything’s great.”

“Wonderful. Let me know if anything changes.” Kaylie reaches over to Michael and straightens his cravat. “You forgot about lunch at the orchard, didn’t you?”

“Oof.” He palms his forehead. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry. We still have plenty of time.” She smiles affectionately, as if she’s used to this happening.

Are they going on, like, a date? Not that I care. It would make sense. Kaylie’s probably only one or two years older than Michael, and she’s sweet and pretty and smart.

“Thanks for putting up with me,” Michael says to her with a wink. “Can you find your way to the lab?” he asks me. When I nod, Kaylie loops her arm in his and they head toward the entrance.

This is fine. They would totally make a cute couple, and I am perfectly capable of navigating my way to the Sire lab on my own.

Blech.

I am apparently not actually capable of navigating to the Sire lab on my own. First I go up too many staircases and end up in a cavernous astronomy observatory. When I backtrack, I find a lab, but it’s the wrong one. A group of journeys are mixing a viscous slime in a foul-smelling cauldron, and they helpfully point me in the right direction.

When I finally find the right lab, a woman in a hijab welcomes me and introduces herself as Master Hayyan. “This is where you can safely experiment and learn to stretch the potential of your Sire abilities,” she says.