The first semester of my final year at Mythos Academy had come to a close. One more neatly boxed chapter in a long academic saga. I was still Rank 1, still ahead of Lucifer, and still handling the weight of expectations with the quiet steadiness people had come to expect from me. I'd finished every assignment, attended every evaluation, and still carved out time for the people who mattered—Clara, the girls, and Lucifer himself. It was, all things considered, a successful term.
And yet, the countdown had begun.
Just one semester left. After that, I would step out of the artificial structure of Mythos and into something much less forgiving.
But before that—winter break.
A misnomer, really. There would be no break, no rest. This winter, I was headed west.
To the Ebony Tower.
