The meeting room had long since given up the pretense of being professional. Half-empty cups of restorative brew littered the table. One chair was definitely being levitated just a few centimeters off the ground out of sheer boredom. And Alex? Alex had his head buried in a list so long it looked like it might develop sentience.
Selena, the head of the servant staff, poked her head in briefly to refill the tea tray—moving like a breeze with a clipboard. Her disapproving look at the room's chaos was more effective than most disciplinary spells.
Trailing behind her, a younger servant named Cale (who had clearly drawn the short straw), nervously tried to balance a platter of biscuits without invoking a minor disaster. He offered Alex a crooked smile and immediately retreated before someone made eye contact.
"Alright," Alex muttered, tapping the page. "Back to reality. Let's run through the rest of the potential recruits."
"Aside from the Exiled Trio of Doom?" Jamie said.
"Yes, aside from them."
Aera raised her hand like a teacher's pet who knew she was about to start drama. She was the last of Alex's six official attendants—sharp-witted, always three moves ahead, and notoriously allergic to nonsense. Her specialty was tactical synthesis, which mostly meant she could read through bureaucratic sludge faster than anyone had a right to.
"First up, Theon Marwick. Lightning caster. Top percentile in combat spellwork. Generally considered a golden boy."
"Also already accepted an offer from the Stormfront Guild," Jamie added. "Signed a glowing parchment and everything. He might as well be wearing their emblem as pajamas."
"Right. Scratch him off. Who's next?"
Aera swiped the page. "Yvenna Shar. Focused enchantments. Quiet, focused, bit stabby with her rune work."
"Last I heard," Jamie said, "her grandmother's pulling her into the family warding circle. She's going full dynastic."
"So unless we want a very polite rejection laced with guilt, that's a no."
Pallen snorted from the window. "You can almost smell the old money."
"Galen Drest," Aera continued. "Illusionist. Very flashy."
"Taken by the Circle of the Fifth Veil," Jamie cut in. "They literally drafted him during lunch."
"Great," said Orin, sprawling across the couch with a book upside down. "We're building a team out of the ones who haven't already been sold to prestige cults."
"Better than ones who think they're prestigious," Marell muttered, chewing on a pen cap. "What about actual talent still on the ground?"
Aera's eyes skimmed. "Nell Virel. Still unaligned. Bit chaotic. Probably allergic to commitment."
"Chaos stable?" Jenkins asked.
"Stable enough to diagnose a flux fracture while painting her nails."
"Big maybe," Alex said. "Let's look at the fresh recruits."
"Vinya Relan," Aera began. "Array apprentice, focused on enchantment layering. Still clunky, but she's got the wiring."
"Brix Vandro," Jamie added. "Technomancer with spirit alignment. Barely knows he's talented, but the constructs follow him like puppies."
"Elsha Marr," said Marell. "Alchemist. Uses metaphors to describe reactions. Actually made sense once."
"Lorrin Seft. Nature magic and array synergy," Pallen threw in. "He made vines spell out someone's name once. Accidentally."
"That's kind of cute," Aera chimed from the corner, somehow already sketching it.
"Narek Zin," Jamie offered next. "Spirit master. Elemental resonance is sharp. Even got flagged for whisper aptitude."
"As in ancient whispers?"
"Yep. Talks to things older than textbooks."
"Tavi," Aera said, almost fondly. "Shadow and ice combo. Eccentric as a library cat with opinions. Socially sideways, but brilliant with control magic."
"Seena Vey," Jamie said. "Came in from a rural background. Shows a weirdly strong connection to sonic rhythmics. Thinks in pulses. Works magic like she's tuning an instrument."
"That's new," Alex said. "And useful."
"Riven Tol," Rahul said, finally joining from the corner with two cups of tea and no context. "Music-based caster. Good head. Weird vibe."
"I remember that," Alex nodded. "He was the one who turned a shouting match into a collaborative chorus."
"And unnamed gravity kid," Orin added. "Still no name. Probably an orphan. Possibly a demigod."
Alex rubbed his face, smiling. "They're still kids. Unfinished. But they've got spark."
"So did we once," Jenkins said. "Look how well that turned out."
There was a soft knock at the door, followed by it creaking open like it had better places to be.
Kael entered, calm as a glacier and carrying a sealed parchment packet that looked slightly more important than everyone was emotionally prepared for.
"You're late," Jamie muttered, half-smiling.
"I'm never late. Reality just adjusts poorly to my pace," Kael replied, setting the packet in front of Alex.
"What is it?" Alex asked, already undoing the seal.
"Compiled updates. Movement trends. Current alignments, whispered offers, mentor notes. The usual bureaucratic secrets wrapped in nicer parchment."
Alex flipped through the contents, eyes narrowing in thought.
"You've been watching this list. You know who we're circling."
Kael gave a faint nod.
Alex leaned forward. "Then consider this official: join us. I want you on this team."
Kael didn't flinch. He just blinked, slowly, as though watching a slightly underwhelming spell fizzle out.
"No."
"That's it? No explanation?"
"You're trying to build something with open hands," Kael said evenly. "But you left three people bleeding behind you and haven't gone back to check if they're still breathing."
The room went quiet. Jamie winced. Aera looked away. Even Pallen stopped bouncing his chair.
Alex frowned, not defensive, just tired. "They're not bleeding anymore. They're just... a mess. And that kind of mess needs a proper plan. Not another guilt-fueled rescue mission."
Kael held his gaze for a moment longer, unreadable as ever. "Then plan better."
He turned and left with the same measured calm he'd walked in with, like the room had barely been worth the detour.
There was a pause. The kind that made everyone hyper-aware of the sound their own breathing made.
"Okay," Jenkins said finally, drawing the word out like a reluctant sword. "Are we going to talk about how you just tried to recruit Kael like you were offering him a scone?"
"Was I not supposed to?" Alex replied flatly, flipping the packet closed.
"You just... did it," Marell said. "No prep, no build-up, no politics—"
"I was sitting right here with a cookie," Pallen added. "You could've at least warned us."
Alex sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Look, I've been watching Kael for days. He's powerful, disciplined, absurdly informed, and yet somehow always in the background like a decorative vase no one remembers buying."
Jamie blinked. "A vase?"
"You know what I mean. He fits in where he wants, disappears where he doesn't, and never leaves a trace."
"So you think he's being helped?" Aera asked, eyebrows raised.
Alex nodded. "Or he's just better at staying invisible than we've realized. Either way—I want to know."
He turned to Rahul, who had gone perfectly still.
"Rahul, quietly dig into Kael's history. No public archives—find the people who don't leave notes. And check if anyone in faculty or elsewhere is helping him stay under the radar."
Rahul nodded once, expression unreadable but already working through the silent math of where to begin.
"He's right, you know," Aera said softly.
"Which part?" Orin asked.
"The bleeding. We didn't really look back. We just... moved on."
Alex didn't reply. He just stared at the parchment still warm in his hands.