Because of his groundbreaking project, Susanna invited Adrissu that year to accompany her to the Council of Lords in Gennemont. It would really only be an opportunity to boast to the other lord representatives about Polimnos’ progress, Adrissu thought; but even that had a certain appeal to it, so he agreed.
“Are you sure you won’t consider a place on the city council?” Susanna asked him during their trip to Gennemont. “Arguably, you deserve it more than anyone else in Polimnos.”
“I am reconsidering my refusal,” Adrissu replied, bowing his head. “Let’s see how this meeting goes first.”
“Reasonable,” she said, smiling wryly, and did not press him any further on the matter.
The Council of Lords was just as insufferable as it sounded: twenty-two Lord Representatives gathered in one grand meeting hall, along with their retainers and honored guests, such as Adrissu. Rumors had spread of the massive undertaking Polimnos had started, so the moment they arrived, other representatives clamored to speak with Susanna about it. When she revealed that it was, in fact, Adrissu who was the mastermind behind much of the project, the attention shifted soundly to him. He wasn’t sure whether to hate it or to preen beneath it; but over the course of a week he explained the basics of the magic-fueled water pumps and filters, rejected multiple requests for the blueprints, refused several pleas to repeat the experiment in this or that city, and entertained an offer from a prominent Gennemont mage to come and assist on the project, but ultimately declined. What did he care about Gennemont or any of these other cities? Polimnos was his home; until he was reunited with his mate, it was all that mattered.
While a return to civic life and a position on the council once more continued to hold a certain appeal for Adrissu, the experience in Gennemont reminded him of everything that he had hated about being involved in governance—and besides, even he had his limits. His insistence on spearheading such a major project left him precious little time to himself; while that was all for the good, as it kept him from dwelling on his darker thoughts, he wanted to guard what remained of his free time zealously to rest and recuperate in the privacy of his tower. Susanna did not seem surprised by his refusal, but reiterated that he deserved a place there should he ever change his mind.
The further along the sewer project went, the less his direct attention was needed, and the more revenue the academy generated. Adrissu hired more instructors to teach more classes, so even as the project took less of his time, Adrissu kept himself busy by overseeing the changes being implemented at the school.
Eventually, the sewer system was fully excavated and attached to every building in the city: a boon not only to Polimnos, but to Autreth as a whole. Every major city was scrambling to implement something like it, Susanna told him with no small amount of pride. But it was a group effort, Adrissu said, so he took only partial credit for it. The name of the professor who had first come to him with the idea, Rylen Stone, was prominent on every piece of news and every diagram that was distributed regarding the system; Adrissu was happy to have his own further down the list.
By then, eighteen years had passed. His mate was somewhere in the world, now an adult, or near enough if he had come back again as an elf. That would be nice, Adrissu thought, to know that even if he did not agree to the soul transference, he would still have many years with his mate. Polimnos was too large by far now for him to simply walk about town looking for his mate—the way he had so long ago, when he’d found Volkmar. No, Braern had shown him that his mate would come to him. He had waited a hundred years before; he could be patient. He was a dragon. He had nothing but time.
Chapter Two
“Headmaster,they’rereadyforyou.”
“Thank you, Eris, I’ll be right there.”
With a sigh, Adrissu set down his pen and stood from his desk. In recent years, he had started the practice of giving a short speech to the incoming students on the first day of the new term: partly to welcome them, partly to thank them for joining the Academy, and partly to brag a bit about the school’s newest accomplishments to whet their appetites for what they could achieve.
He carefully smoothed his surcoat as he stood; he did not especially like the long, shapeless garments, but they were popular this year, and he always put forth an effort to keep his clothes in-fashion. Satisfied, he glanced back to the door, where Eris was still waiting for him. The slender human had been watching him, but averted her eyes quickly when he looked up, and kept her gaze down as he approached.
It was a shame her fondness for him had become so obvious of late. Adrissu had no interest in her, but she was a good worker, and he had no desire to remove her from her position as his secretary. But now she became so obviously flustered when they were alone that it was grating on his nerves. Of course, getting rid of his assistant at the start of the new school year would be even more inconvenient, so he resigned himself and put up with it for now. Hopefully, by the time he gave his next welcoming speech, she would be over whatever silly crush that she’d developed and moved on to someone else.
“Did you need anything else, sir?” she asked, holding the door as he strode past her.
“Will you follow up with the man from the city council who had those contracts—Darren or something like that? They were supposed to submit those to me for a signature a week ago,” he said over his shoulder.
“Of course,” Eris replied, her voice distant now as she remained behind.
The auditorium where the new students gathered was relatively recent, having been built where some of the academy’s initial classrooms had once stood. They had been demolished during the trial phase of the original underground sewer system, more than fifteen years ago now. But it was not the only new building; in truth, the academy and its layout had changed significantly since its inception, over two centuries ago. Sometimes the memory of that first three-room building felt as distant as a dream.
“Good morning, and welcome to the Polimnos Academy of Magic,” he said, his voice magically amplified as he entered the auditorium from the instructor’s side. Though there had been some chatter audible even from behind the door, the gathered students fell silent as he arrived, seventy-one pairs of eyes landing on him all at once. He paused, scanning the crowd, and a wide smile split his features as pride filled his chest. “I am Headmaster Adrissu, and I am pleased to see each one of you. Simply by being here, you’ve become part of something far greater than yourself. You’re now part of a driving force of innovation and education, not only for Polimnos, but for all of Autreth and the world at large. In its two hundred and fifty-four years, the Academy has educated and trained some of the most influential mages of their time. If your home has such amenities as enchanted iceboxes, self-stirring utensils, candles with everlasting flames—you have the Academy to thank. If your home is connected to our revolutionary subterranean sewer system—and if you live in Polimnos, it almost certainly is—you have the Academy and Professor Rylen Stone to thank. By being here, your names are now among theirs in the annals of history.”
He grinned wider. “And who knows? Maybe someday your name will soar even higher.”
A low murmur spread through the crowd as some students chuckled, others grinning and smirking in youthful self-confidence.
“I won’t keep you long, as I know many of you have your first classes shortly, but not all of you are lucky enough to have class in this very auditorium,” he said, answered with a few more laughs. “I just wanted to reiterate that—”
He stopped abruptly, a jolt of surprise shooting through his limbs as the world around him ground to a halt. Bright green eyes met his from a seat in the center of the crowd, eyes that he would recognize anywhere—the eyes of his mate.
That wasbad:his first coherent thought jolted him back into action, and he forced himself to look away before his attention on a student—why astudent?—became obvious. “I—pardon me. I just wanted to reiterate that your education at the Academy will enable you to accomplish that which the world has never seen before. Future innovations and breakthroughs of magic are now in your hands.”
Adrissu paused, breathing in a slow, controlled breath. The rest of his little speech was completely gone from his mind. His mate was here,herein this room, and there was nothing he could do about it. No, he told himself, his mate always found him eventually. He had waited this long. He could wait until the end of the day. Couldn’t he?
“All this to say, I welcome you again to the Polimnos Academy of Magic,” he continued, his voice as smooth and even as ever, despite his sudden turmoil. “I hope you each have an excellent, productive school term. Thank you.” He bowed his head slightly as a smattering of applause answered him, glancing surreptitiously in the direction where he’d spotted his mate. Green eyes met his once more, finding him easily, and this time he allowed himself to look for a beat longer.
The first thing he realized was that those verdant eyes were in a delicate, feminine face—and second, that they were absolutelyglaringat him. His mate sat motionless, face twisted with anger, even as the surrounding students clapped politely and began to chatter amongst themselves, some standing to leave and head to class.
The relief of finding his mate was far outweighed by his sheer confusion. Adrissu turned away before his stare could be noticed and exited through the instructor's door. The professor who would be lecturing in this auditorium said something to him, but it didn’t register until he was already turning down the next hallway. He had to get back to his office.
“How did it go?” Eris asked, glancing up as he strode into the room.
