Kael Dawnmore wiped the sweat from his brow and stared at the closed gates of the provincial academy one last time. Two months of scrubbing floors, hauling water, and sleeping in the storage shed had earned him exactly nothing. No unofficial classes. No recommendation. Just callused hands and the same weak gray flicker on every Aether test they let him take.
Today the head steward had finally said the words he had been dreading.
"You are no longer needed, boy. We have enough hands for the new term. Pack your things and be gone by noon."
No explanation. No severance. Just a small sack of dried bread and a shove toward the road. Kael's luck had always been shit, but this felt personal.
He slung his worn pack over his shoulder and started walking. The road back toward Caldmere stretched long and empty under the afternoon sun. His shoulder still ached from the rat bites in the labyrinth, and the cheap bandage on his forearm itched. Every step reminded him how far behind he was falling while Aldric and Mira rode wagons to the capital.
By the time the sun dipped low, the road had narrowed into wooded stretches. Kael kept one hand near the hilt of his old short sword, eyes scanning the trees. He had heard stories about bandits getting bolder near the provincial borders.
He did not hear them until it was too late.
Three men stepped out from the underbrush, rough cloaks and drawn blades. The leader had a jagged scar across his cheek and a grin that showed missing teeth.
"Well, look at this. A lone traveler with a pretty face and no escort. Hand over the pack, boy, and maybe we let you keep your fingers."
Kael's heart slammed against his ribs. He drew his sword anyway, stance low like he had practiced in secret. "I do not have much. Just let me pass."
The bandits laughed. The biggest one lunged first, swinging a heavy club. Kael dodged, but the second man slashed low and caught his thigh. Hot pain flared as blood soaked his pants. He countered wildly, his blade nicking the leader's arm, but the third bandit slammed a fist into his kidney.
Kael went down hard, vision blurring. Boots kicked into his ribs. One cracked. Pain exploded white-hot. He tasted blood in his mouth as a boot pressed against his throat.
"Pretty enough to sell, maybe," the leader muttered. "Tie him up."
A fourth voice cut through the trees, calm and dry.
"Leave the kid alone."
The pressure on Kael's throat eased. He gasped for air and rolled to the side, blinking through tears of pain.
A figure stepped out of the treeline carrying a long walking staff. Long brown hair tied back loosely, slim build under simple traveler clothes. From a distance the person looked almost like a girl, soft features and delicate jawline framed by the longer hair. But the voice was unmistakably male.
Eren Voss.
The bandits turned, weapons raised. "Another one? This road is getting crowded. Take him too."
Eren sighed like this was the most annoying thing to happen all week. He moved without hurry. The staff cracked against the first bandit's wrist with a sickening snap, bone breaking clean. The man screamed and dropped his club. Eren followed with a precise thrust to the solar plexus that dropped him wheezing.
The leader charged. Eren sidestepped, tripped him with the staff, and brought the end down hard on the back of his head. The bandit crumpled.
The last one tried to run. Eren hurled the staff like a spear, catching him between the shoulder blades. The man stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt.
Kael pushed himself up on one elbow, ribs screaming, blood running down his leg. "Eren… what the hell?"
Eren retrieved his staff and wiped it on the grass. His hair had grown out a lot since Kael last saw him in Thornfield. It fell past his shoulders now, making his face look softer, almost feminine in the fading light. He looked tired but completely unbothered by the three groaning bandits.
"Bad luck follows you like a lost dog, Kael," Eren said flatly. "Come on. Can you walk?"
Kael nodded, grimacing as he stood. Pain shot through his side with every breath. Eren offered an arm for support and they started limping down the road together, leaving the bandits behind.
They walked in silence for a while. Kael's head spun from blood loss and confusion. Eren had always been the quiet twin, the one who wanted nothing to do with any of this. Now he moved like someone who had trained just enough to stay invisible but effective.
"Why are you out here?" Kael finally asked.
"Delivering herbs for Mom to a village nearby," Eren said. "Heard there was trouble on the road. Figured I would check."
Kael almost laughed, but it hurt too much. "Lucky for me."
Eren gave him a sideways look. "Luck has nothing to do with it. You look like shit, by the way. Academy throw you out?"
"Fired from janitor duty. No recommendation. Nothing." Kael's voice came out bitter. "Aldric and Mira made it to the capital. I am going back to the farm with nothing to show for two months of scrubbing floors."
Eren was quiet for a long moment. Then he spoke carefully.
"There is a rich noble in Caldmere right now. Lord Edran Cassiver. High House. He arrived yesterday looking for servants to take back to the capital academy. Personal attendants for his son or something. Pays well. Room and board included. He is setting up interviews at the old merchant hall tomorrow morning."
Kael's steps faltered. "A noble? At the academy?"
"Yeah. Powerful one. Connections everywhere." Eren's tone stayed neutral, almost bored. "If you want a way in, that is probably your best shot right now. He is taking a small group back with him in two days."
Hope flickered in Kael's chest for the first time in weeks. A noble servant position could get him inside the capital academy grounds. Close enough to keep training, maybe even eavesdrop on real lessons. It was not perfect, but it was something.
"I will go," he said immediately. "Thank you, Eren. Seriously."
Eren shrugged. "Do not thank me yet. Lord Cassiver has a reputation. He likes pretty young things. Especially girls from good families he can separate from their parents. Offers them 'opportunities' and then they disappear into his household. Boys sometimes too, if they are good-looking enough. Just… be careful what you sign up for."
Kael nodded, jaw tight. He had no illusions. The world was not kind to farmboys with empty cores. If playing servant for a shady noble was the price to stay close to the action, he would pay it.
They reached a small crossroads where Eren's path split off. Eren stopped and handed Kael a clean rag for his bleeding thigh.
"Get that looked at in the next village. And Kael… if you go with Cassiver, keep your head down. Do the job. Learn what you can. But do not trust him for a second."
Kael took the rag and pressed it to the wound. "I will not. Thanks again."
Eren gave a small, tired nod, his longer hair shifting in the breeze. For a moment he looked exactly like the background character he always claimed to be — quiet, unremarkable, already fading into the scenery.
"Try not to die before you get there," Eren said, then turned and walked away without another word.
Kael watched him go for a moment, then started limping toward the nearest village, pain flaring with every step. His luck had been horrible today. Fired. Beaten. Almost killed.
But tomorrow there was a door. A dangerous, ugly door guarded by a noble who collected pretty young people like trophies.
Kael was going to walk through it anyway.
Because staying ordinary was no longer an option.
The capital waited. Aldric and Mira were already there. The real story was moving, and Kael refused to be left behind in the dirt.
Even if it meant serving a monster to get there.