We all know what the weeks before beginning your final year of school are like. They're exciting. They're stressful. They're full of your mates being excited to see each other again. They're full of your parents being proud (or disappointed) you actually survived this long. They're also full of everyone beginning to plan your life for you.

Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We all have at least one of those family members. While this isn't supposed to be a competition over whose expectations were worse and whose family traumas are greater, I would just like to take this opportunity to point out that I am the fucking PRINCESS of Lyriumia, DAUGHTER of the Amneris Topanga who just happens to be the most powerful Naiu'Idis to date, AND NOW I'm the Vessel of Time. Do you have any idea how hard that is to top? The entire PLANET has an idea of what my future should be!

Deep breath. Phew. Sorry, I really had to get that out of my system. The point I'm trying to make is that the weeks leading up to your final year of school, while filled with possibilities for the future, can also fucking suck when you're in certain positions. I won't lie to you, guys. I was scared shitless to go back to the Academy.

So that's where I'm going to begin.

*

It started out as a fairly normal morning, all things considered. I'd stayed at the Palace that night so woke up in my room there. It was nice and dark, my curtains blocking out the morning light. Even so, I was buzzed. I couldn't lay still. I couldn't get back to sleep. And I had no idea why. I'd just woken up with this feeling I couldn't place and it was bothering me like crazy. So I did the only sensible thing. I got out of bed, made myself decent, and went down to the dining hall to eat something.

Because food solves all problems in the morning. Either food or coffee. Sometimes both.

The thing about the Palace is that the dining hall is open access. Everyone eats there unless they order room service (which is an option, but people mainly use it if they're sick, really busy, or downright forget that meals are something you need to get through a day. I totally have not been a victim of any of these things). The dining hall can get pretty crowded, but in a fun way. There's always someone interesting to talk to, and there's always a lot of breakfast options. The joys of a multi-species society!

While normally I enjoy some scrambled eggs on toast, a decent hot chocolate, and catching up on all the Lyriumian gossip, I just wasn't feeling it this morning. Which, as you can guess, is a problem if you decide to go down to the mess hall—I mean dining room—for breakfast.

It was still early so there weren't many people there, just the first round of guards, soldiers and workers. And the following members of my family: Leo Inu (my overprotective non-biological uncle), Nikki Day (my awesome non-biological aunt), Jay Winston (my pain in the arse non-biological big brother), and Amneris Topanga. My mother.

Gods save me.

There was no way to enter the room stealthily. There was only one entrance. It was in clear sight of everyone. No possible way to sneak in and grab something to go without inevitably being dragged into a conversation where I would be asked how I was doing and if I was okay.

Ew.

I turned around to make a quick retreat to my room, hoping to do so without anyone noticing, but I failed miserably. At my mother's cheerful cry of, "Hathy!", I forced a smile on my face, turned awkwardly and made myself enter the dining room.

I headed straight for the breakfast buffet, grabbing myself a bowl of cereal and drowning it in milk before taking up the seat beside Nikki. She looked at me, at the bowl, then placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. Because that would obviously help me shake the weird feeling I'd woken up with.

"Rough night?"

I looked up at Jay, giving him a sour look as he shovelled blueberry porridge into his mouth. "I slept fine."

"You look like death, sweetie." Nikki pushed her coffee toward me with a finger. "This will perk you right up." I pushed the coffee back.

Mum smiled at me. "Don't mind them, Hathy, they're just showing how much they love you." She lowered her voice and leaned in to whisper, "But you really do look like death—"

"I am literally dead."

"Did you wake up feeling sick this morning."

I sighed and shook my head. "No, just this weird feeling." I looked down at my cereal, completely untouched. My stomach begun turning upside down. I pushed the bowl away.

Mum tilted her head and gave me her 'I'm concerned but trying not to show it so I don't worry you' look. "You should pay a visit to the hospital wing. Have one of the nurses take a look at you."

Like I hadn't thought of that already. Okay, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind. I was just glad to now have an excuse to not be today's morning gossip. I stood, excusing myself from the table. No one tried to stop me, but I did get a few 'have a good day's as I left.

Now, before we get to the extremely helpful conversation I got there, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the Lapide Palace. First off, it's huge. And I don't mean big. I mean fucking massive. It's the size of the cliffs surrounding Lapide, it's dug into said cliffs further than anyone realises, and its filled with a whole bunch of mini dimensions created through a seriously old spell. If you're not careful, you'll end up like the Minotaur in its maze. Trapped and lost forever. At least you get decent bars until you die of starvation or you're found.

I know my way around, of course. I have been living here part time for the last two hundred years. It's actually fairly straightforward once you get the hang of it. Besides, we have visitors all the time. There are little map ports everywhere. There's also this really cool GPS app you can get on your phone which I totally do not have. Why would I need it? I live here? Haha . . .

There are several Hospital wings throughout the Palace, but the main one is on the ground floor. Obviously. Why would you want to waste time climbing stairs or trying to remember the right floor on the hoverpads when someone is on the verge of death? That would be stupid.

One of my mum's Courtiers (another member of my weird family who is like my introverted, older, non-biological sister) works on the main Hospital wing. Her name's Kayla Far. I work with her sometimes. It's pretty fun and definitely interesting. While she's a bit over a hundred years older than me, she knows her shit. If you ever have a medical problem, Kayla and her Healers will take care of you in no time.

Wow, I sound like I have a crush on her.

When I entered the Hospital wing, I found it strangely empty. Usually there's a lot of people here, often through their own stupidity or accidently finding themselves a little too beaten up from training. Today there were maybe three others. And considering how the Hospital wing is also very, very, very, very big, it was very strange.

I said a quick hello to the people at reception (Delihla (Fae) and Asa (Plyna)) and found a seat to sit in while I waited for Kayla to finish with her latest patient in one of the private rooms. Since my issue wasn't urgent and I didn't need to lie down, I didn't mind waiting a few more minutes. I scrolled mindlessly through Trex until she was done.

Kayla looked surprised when she came out and saw me. She looked around, checking no one else was waiting for an appointment, showed her patient to reception (a Nightwalker man, going off his complexion), then gestured for me to follow.

I've always found Kayla's office to be cute. A reasonably sized square-shaped room with shelves on one side, a patient bed near another wall, and her large desk shoved into a corner and covered with papers, a holo-screen and keyboard, and a few personal belongings like pictures, and some books and herbs. I sat in the seat beside her desk, my feet tapping against the soft-looking carpeted floor. I had no idea why I was nervous. It was far from my first time doing this.

"Problem?" Kayla asked.

I shrugged. "Just had this weird feeling all morning."

Kayla gave me a flat look. "You know 'weird' hardly narrows it down. Most things are 'weird'."

Okay, that was fair. But I had no idea how else to describe it. "Weird is all I've got," I said. "Kind of like I'm anxious but I'm not anxious. I just feel . . . weird." Great job, Hathy. Way to make sense.

Kayla looked over me with a thoughtful frown. She opened her drawer and reached for her hand scanner. She led me to the bed and got me to lay down before running the scanner over me. Once she was done, I sat up on the bed while she looked over the results on her holoscreens.

Kayla turned to me. "When was the last time you used your power?"

"Which one?" I laughed.

Her blue-green eyes narrowed. "You know which one I mean."

I wriggled nervously on my seat. "Of course I haven't used it since . . . you know. I don't even know what activates it."

Kayla let out an oddly patient sigh. "Hathy, now that you have developed your power, you have to use it at least once everything three months otherwise you will get sick. You haven't used yours in a year. I'm amazed you can still stand."

Lyriumian biology is a pain. It's something we all learn about in school. If you have Lyriumian blood, after your power develops, you must use your power once every three months otherwise you start getting sick. I honestly thought the entire thing was bullshit. Not so much now. It had been almost exactly a year since the last time I used my power. The timeline, annoyingly, matched up.

Kayla stood, a pen in hand, and walked over to me. "If you don't start using your power, you will never learn to control it." She whacked my head lightly with the pen. "Don't be an idiot like your mother."

Ah, yes. Kayla is one of the few people who can get away with calling my mum an idiot and actually live to tell the tale. Don't mess with the Healers, guys. They are good at their jobs for a reason.

"How am I supposed to learn to use a power that's forbidden?" I asked.

"Not my department, but I recommend bringing it up with your teachers, mother or grandfather." Kayla returned to her seat. "I have the strangest feeling your weirdness will pass when you use your power."

So, all I had to do was figure out how to use a power no one had used in generations and which has been forbidden since before the Time of the Ancients. Great. No problems there. Totally not an impossible thing to do. Such a helpful insight I've been given, right? My teachers will obviously know nothing, my family might know maybe a teeny bit more but probably not, and I'll end up on ice for having Time magic.

Wow that took a dark turn.

Kayla must have seen the look on the face. She pulled a jar down from one of her shelves and held it out to me. I picked out one of the boiled candies and plopped it in my mouth. Oh, come on. Candy at the doctor isn't just for kids. Besides, I barely qualify as an adult. I'm hardly over two hundred years old.

"No one is going to lock you up for this," Kayla said, putting the jar back in its place. "We're well past the point of locking people up for their magic. You do not have control over the magic you develop. There are so many factors that determine it. We still have no idea exactly what the science behind it is." She sat with a small shrug. "This may one of those things we never get an answer to."

"You're researching it, though." I pointed at her holoscreens. "You've shown me the files before and we both know you have a lot of books on the subject."

Kayla laughed. "I also have a lot of books about cooking. It doesn't mean I am anywhere close to cracking it."

Now that was an understatement.

Kayla drummed her fingers on the table. "If you would like me to, I can set up an appointment for you with someone far more qualified on the subject of helping Bloomers come to terms with their new powers. It might help."

Uh, what? I mean, what? Now, don't get me wrong, there are definitely benefits to that sort of therapy, but no. Hell no. I don't care if getting mental, physical and magical assistance is free, I do not want to sit down with some random stranger and talk about my 'problems'. My only problems is developing a forbidden power. Now, if Kayla had offered me a solution to that—

"I'll put you down as an 'I'll think about it'." Kayla quickly printed a piece of paper and handed it to me.

Under the name Latifah Eir was the image of a woman. She had dark skin, bright pink-purple eyes, and long wavy white hair. She kind of reminded me of my aunt Xix Acheron (that would be the current Queen of Terpola, long-lost heir to the Terpolite throne, and mysterious younger sister of my mum and uncle). The resemblance was crazy.

"Latifah is one of our magic specialists," Kayla explained as I skimmed over the woman's biography. "One of the best in the business, and a personal friend of mine. Her phone number is at the bottom should you change your mind." My phone buzzed. Kayla then said, "I also forwarded it to your text and email."

Of course she did.

I folded up the piece of paper and put it in my pocket. "I doubt I'll need it, but thanks."

Kayla smiled. "Remember to sign out at reception."

*

After leaving the hospital wing, I did the only sensible thing to do. I raided the dining room (now more empty), grabbed a real breakfast (because I was actually hungry) and retreated back to my room where I immediately called my mates. Let me give you a quick lowdown on them.

I have five best mates. We share a dorm at the Academy:

Maddie Auge, one of the very few full-blooded Lyriumians I've ever met. She has short gold-blonde hair, pale purple eyes (she says the correct colour is 'periwinkle'), and tanned skin. Maddie lives on Iraliya, the floating city orbiting Lyriumia, with her many brothers and sisters. Oh, and her family is seriously fucked up. They're old school, stuck in the past, and have some seriously dickish thoughts about who the 'real' Lyriumians are and what they should be doing. Thankfully, Mads didn't end up like them and managed to escape to the Academy. Well, sort of.

Imogene Nura, resident Firebringer and party girl of my friend group. She has long fiery hair which changes colour with her emotions (it's normally orange), glowing pink eyes, and dark orange skin hot enough to burn (just like her hair). She has a sister and a sibling, both of who support her to the point of smothering and encourage her to follow her heart and accomplish her dreams. Unfortunately, Im doesn't seem to realise that knowledge is important on the God worlds and has this habit of flunking tests. It's so bad that her parents are actually threatening to pull her out if she doesn't up her game!

Isaiah Kai, Imogene's exact opposite. I mean that literally. He's a Glacis, beings made of Eternal Ice instead of the Eternal Flame. Isaiah is as pale as pale can be with a slight deathly blue tint, and his skin is cold to the touch. He has bright blue eyes, and short white hair that sometimes has little snowflakes that falls from it in flurries. He's introverted, quiet, freakishly smart, and loyal as fuck. He's got some brothers and sisters, though he's much closer to his sisters, and comes from a family a lot like Maddie's. If that didn't horrify you, just wait until you find out about the Aure. But that's more his story to tell.

Sky Hawkins comes from a mix of Water-Weaver and Fae blood and was born in a village with backwards views. Which really sucks because the rest of that planet is pretty good. Sky has short, curly dark green hair, golden eyes, and tanned skin. He's got a brother and sister, and some closed-minded parents. Well, his brother's just as bad. His sister was the only one who supported him when he came out as male and transitioned last year. Sky's a computer nerd. He can hack pretty much anything, is one of the fastest typers I've ever met, and has a creative side not many people see. If you ask him about his stories, he will deny everything.

Troy Davis is a Wolf Shifter. I think you can get a lot from that statement alone. I hate to stereotype, but Troy often does meet the criteria – he's loud, he's a pain in the arse, he gets violent, he howls at the moon, he makes a mess, and he will eat everything in sight. But he's also loyal, a sweetheart, a lot smarter than he acts, and someone you know will stand by you as a real friend when the moment comes. Which is incredible because his pack is full of dicks and his father is one of the biggest arseholes I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. He's siblings have a superiority complex (minus a few who are nice) and everyone thinks they can manipulate him. Poor guy. Sometimes we have to remind him we're here to help if he needs us. Sigh.

Anyway, when I got back to my room, I dropped my plate onto my desk, collapsed onto my pillow-stuff chair, and joined my group's currently active holocall. It was so weird to see everyone awake already. Especially Troy and Imogene. They're normally dead to the world at this time. Oh, sure, time is relative and all that stuff, but that doesn't mean it actually makes sense.

"Finally!" Imogene exclaimed when she saw me. "We've been trying to call you for ages!"

It was only now that I looked at my phone and saw all the missed calls and texts I had. Oops. "Sorry, guys," I said. "Had to find a way to escape the morning rush." A lie, of course, but not exactly untrue. Even if I had actually missed the morning rush.

"We're taking guesses at what our new dorm will look like." Maddie giggled adorably. "Do you think it'll be better than the old one?"

"Our dorm was not destroyed in the attack," Isaiah said. "Why would we be getting a new dorm?"

"Mum took the opportunity to glam up the entire Academy and add in a few new features." I kicked my feet onto the table, resting the plate on my legs. "Got approved by the Council and everything. Everything's all fixed. I thought you knew."

Isaiah frowned. "I suppose it has been a while since I checked Lyriumian news articles."

"Bars on Geldia suck," Imogene said with a solemn nod.

Troy gave her a confused look. "How the fuck would you know that?"

She shrugged. "I know shit."

I gulped down a mouthful of lukewarm toast. "You guys excited to come back?"

"Duh!" Imogene exclaimed.

Maddie grinned and nodded. "Literally dying here, guys. Can't wait to get out."

"Same." Troy made a thoughtful expression and muttered, "Holy shit, I'm looking forward to school. What is wrong with me?"

Maddie, Imogene, Sky and I laughed. Isaiah smiled, which is the closest thing he has to laughing unless something is actually hilarious.

Someone knocked at my door. I spun in my chair as it opened.

Mum stuck her head around the corner and gave me a little wave. "Sorry about the bad timing," she said in a quiet voice, having noticed my call. "Just wanted to see if you were still up for our shopping trip today."

I nodded. "Still good. Feeling a lot better now."

"I'm glad to hear." She leaned against the door. "Two hours?"

"Two hours," I replied. Mum blew me a kiss before leaving. I turned back to my friends. "We're picking up some stuff for going back to the Academy. Books and shit."

Troy shivered. "Ew. Try not to die from overreading before next week."

Maddie glared at him. "You can't die from overreading."

"But you can get one hell of a headache." Sky pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Speaking from experience."

The conversation went in a whole lot of directions from there. By the time my mates started signing off, I realised it had almost been two hours. Quickly, I said goodbye and hurried to get dressed for what would actually be a fun mother-daughter day out.