I suddenly open my eyes and quickly sit up in bed. The moonlight filters through the stained glass windows, casting a cold blue hue on the unfamiliar room. I clear my head, shaking off the last traces of sleep. Not the most pleasant dream. At that moment, everything falls into place. I'm currently in my assigned room at the House of Knowledge.

Falling onto the cozy pillows, I wear a smile and gaze dreamily at the canopy that hangs over the bed. I've never slept on pillows like this in my life. I've never had a mattress so soft that I wish I could stay in it forever. Oh, and the room is the size of like five or six of my rooms. It's huge for me and insanely beautiful. As well,... there's so much magic in here.

The rumbling in my stomach is a reminder that I haven't eaten since yesterday's lunch. My lunch was meager as well, as my mother punished me for going to the river to meet Lua.

Lua, how are you doing over there? Were you able to find a place to lodge for the night?

I'm really worried about my friend. Yes, I helped him change his appearance, but my magic won't last long. If only it was enough to get him to leave the kingdom and go to another. Since Lua has no magic, he can't travel through portals. It'll take him a month to get to his destination. I have to stay here for a month, and then everything will be fine.

My stomach reminds me of hunger again, and I stand up from the bed.

"Mother of Everything, it's so beautiful here," I whisper enthusiastically.

My room is lovely. The walls are crafted with precision from white stone, resembling the majestic peaks of snow-covered mountains. In the niche across from the windows overlooking the Meditation Garden, there is a large, imposing table made of dark cherry oak. As I open the closet, I see my new uniform and Lua's clothes, reminding me of the new chapter that awaits me in this place. I have a stunningly enormous bed that could easily fit two more students. A fireplace sits opposite the bed, ready to fill the room with the comforting sound of crackling logs in the colder months. A small sofa, two armchairs, and a bookcase are arranged a little farther away. It's empty right now, but as it says in the introductory parchments, I can borrow any books I like from the library. I even have my bathroom and it's got hot water. I don't have to wash myself with ice water again in the morning while everyone is asleep. I don't have to conserve water. Now I can bathe in a big, marble bathroom with gold patterns. It's unbelievable.

I approach the door, where my class schedule and the main hours for faculty appointments, dining hall, and permission to visit the city glitter in gold. I've never seen anything like it. It's all written right on my door and it's constantly changing. I watched today's lessons disappear as they finished and were replaced by others. Right now it's lit up with tomorrow's first alchemy lesson and the number of the classroom.

I look out into the corridor and see no one, only torches burning on the sides of closed doors. I have only a half hour to run to the dining hall and get something to eat. It's a good thing I got a map of the House of Knowledge, because it's huge, even the map is complicated. I've been taught reading, counting, and etiquette by Lua, and sometimes we fooled around, but I can't read maps. Sure, I can see the layout of the rooms, but the map is so big. It's torture.

Running down one flight of stairs, I ignore the beauty of the walls and the way the moonlight plays on them. I rush down another hallway and down again, then turn around and again sadly ignore the glittering particles in the moonlight. They're so beautiful. I wish I could touch them, but not tonight. Turning the map this way and that, I stop at the fork. I have so little time, and these corridors are unbearably complicated. I sigh angrily because I have no idea where I'm supposed to go. I've been there. I turn down the leftmost corridor, thinking that if it's the exit to the mazes, it must be the dining hall. But I think I'm in the wrong place. I'm spinning in these corridors: I walk, then turn back, then go on again.

"Uh-oh, Mother, you're cruel," I mutter as I come to a dead end where the door to what is apparently a classroom is located. I'm definitely not eating today. I'll have to walk back to the fork and try to at least get back to my room. I hate maps. They're so stupid.

Suddenly, I hear a rustling sound. I freeze and turn around, but the dark corridor, only lit by torches, is empty. I look ahead and swallow. I know there are lost souls, but do they exist here, too? According to the others, they are in the Dark Lands, where dark mages and necromancers live. They feed on energy, unable to venture too far from their source. But the rustling repeats, like some bird beating its wings and flying.

I throw my head up sharply and gasp.

"Unbelievable," I whisper delightedly. There are little gargoyles perched above the ceiling. Two of them push themselves off the ceiling and start spinning around in a dance, giggling. They're so small, a little bigger than the palm of my hand. Their bodies are dark gray with pink tummies, their hair is black, short and disheveled, small fangs peek out from under thin lips and wide mouths, just as their large dark eyes are very expressive. They also have two dark gray wings and small hands.

I've never seen anything like this in my life, and it's wonderful. I smile as I watch the six gargoyles descend lower and stop in front of me. Reaching out with my hand palm up, I decide that maybe they're like birds, and they'll prefer to perch on my palm. But one gargoyle flies up and yanks my finger with its little hands, then flies down and whacks my head, making the others giggle.

"You're amazing," I laugh. They bow to me playfully and start flying around me as if studying me. And I watch them. They sniff me. One pulls at my hair, another lifts the cuff of my shirt and tries on the silk like a dress, making faces and sending me air kisses. I'm laughing out loud. I like them so much.

"What's going on here?" A sharp and rough voice makes me jump up on the spot. The gargoyles quickly soar in terror towards the ceiling. I freeze in awe as I feel an immense power, similar to when I'm near the headmaster.

The man stands surrounded by a halo of darkness, like a living embodiment of the night. His black hair, thick and lustrous, flows over his shoulders like streams of darkness, emphasizing the atmosphere of mystery that surrounds his person. Underneath the darkness of his hair, fire flickers like stars in the night sky.

His eyes, brown and deep, like gold in the darkness, emit a mysterious light. When our gazes meet, the dark gold eyes penetrate to the very depths of my soul, as if unlocking ancient secrets and magical currents that make my blood run faster through my veins and my pulse rise.

I immediately realize that I'm looking at a demon. His body emphasizes his demonic nature, strong and pumped, as if poured from the gloom of the darkest realm. He stands where light gives way to darkness, a black cloak framing his sturdy figure. The black cloak behind him, fringed with darkness, creeps across the floor as if to emphasize his presence in every corner of the room.

I can't take my eyes off the creature, feeling his power and magic descend upon me. With every movement of the demonic creature, the majesty of his appearance is emphasized by the invisible hands of darkness, enveloping everything around him with incredible power.

The demon stares at me from top to toe, as I do, and I blush.

"I'm sorry," I whisper and lick my lips, causing the demon's gaze to linger on my lips, and then he looks into my eyes. "I...I think I got lost. I was looking for the dining hall, hoping I'd have time for dinner. I haven't eaten since yesterday and I'm starving madly. I'm very sorry if I've disturbed you... uh... Dark Lord?"

The demon lifts the corner of his lips in a sneer, and one of his sharp fangs gleams in the torchlight.

"Only Nock, or rather the headmaster, is addressed that way here. We only address each other by our first names, even if it's your teacher. My name is Seraphus. Who are you?" He comes closer, towering over me a little. Okay, I believe he can instill a sense of dread, just like the headmaster. I mean, he's dark, saturated with gloom and night. Even though he's only half a head taller than me, and I'm still growing, he seems to take up all the space and looks much taller and bigger.

"I'm Lua," I blurt out. "I mean...I'm Luappo Isengard. I just arrived at the House of Knowledge today. Tomorrow begins my studies."

"Yes, yes, I heard. I've been informed. So you are the duke's youngest son," Seraphus snorts, stepping around me and stopping in front of me again.

"Yeah. It's me."

He hasn't seen Lua, has he? He won't know I'm not Lua, will he?

"That's what I thought."

I'm holding my breath in fear.

"The rumors are false. That makes me happy. But unfortunately, you won't be able to have dinner tonight. The dining hall is closed, and you took a wrong turn. This is the teachers' wing. This is where all the teachers' rooms are."

"Oh, sorry," I bite my lip and sigh heavily. I'll have to wait until tomorrow and eat breakfast. But how can I sleep on an empty stomach? And in confirmation of my hunger comes the loud rumbling of my stomach.

How embarrassing.

I place my palm on my stomach and wrinkle my nose.

"I'm sorry. I'll... try to find my way back," I whisper, stepping back.

The demon raises a hand with black, sharp fingernails and snaps his fingers. Little gargoyles instantly appear around him and start chirping. I smile involuntarily as I watch them, and then as the demon croaks and silences them with a second snap.

"So cute," I say.

"Excuse me?" The demon raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"I'm talking about the gargoyles. They're cute." I raise my hand and two gargoyles land on my palm, eliciting a quiet laugh. "So pretty. And so loving the attention, aren't they? You love attention."

I tickle two gargoyles on the tummy and instantly the other gargoyles fly up, shoving each other off and setting their tummies up.

"Really love the attention," I laugh, stroking each one's soft, slightly hairy tummy. They look like hedgehogs. They have tummies like this, too.

"Do you see them?" I raise my gaze to the demon and nod. The gargoyles scatter, studying me again.

"You are filled with light. I can feel it, and it's quite a lot of light. Usually, those like you can't see creatures of darkness without special skills in the first year of study."

"Yeah? Well, I don't see them then." I immediately press my lips together and straighten up, ignoring those pulling my hair. "I don't see them at all. I have a good imagination. There's no one here but us. And who are gargoyles? I've read about them, but I've never seen one. No, I haven't."

The demon chuckles and shakes his head.

"Luappo, you don't need to hide how your powers show up here. The fact that you see creatures of darkness only shows that you have more than light in you, you have darkness in you as well. Magic is categorical only in pureblood and royal creatures."

"So I can see them and no one will scold me for it?" I clarify. "And no one will say I'm bad or that there's something wrong with me?"

"No, of course not. You came here to study, not to hide."

It depends on how you look at it. The second one's the priority.

"No one's going to punish you for showing your magic," my stomach rumbles again at the wrong time, and the gargoyles point little fingers at me and giggle, covering their mouths with their palms. "Hunger, on the other hand, can kill you."

"Hunger could kill me here?" I'm horrified. "But I used to starve for more than one day, sometimes several days, using only water or herbal infusions. Sure, I've lost energy, but I wasn't on the verge of life and death. Am I going to die now?"

Seraphus frowns and steps closer to me. He brings a sharp fingernail to my chin, just like the headmaster, and lifts my face higher. I gulp as his irises begin to move, as if a fire is simmering there and shifting, drawing me into the darkness. I've heard about how demons can suck out your powers, that they're scary and unworthy of life. It must be the reverberations of a war that ended over two hundred years ago. But some people are still against the peace agreement between the dark and light powers, including my parents and Duke Isengard. But looking into the demon's eyes, I don't feel my power going away. On the contrary, I feel a surge of strength, energy and I even like it. I'm not scared at all, even though I have a demon in front of me and he's my teacher. I feel the heat from him, and I want to bathe in it, like in the scalding sunlight. I unconsciously move closer, as if I'm drawn to press myself against this powerful demon. My pulse echoes in my ears and makes a strange noise, my throat drying up with excitement and... turn-on? Oh, no.

The demon lets go of me and takes two steps back.

"Stay here," he barks harshly. Could he see my reaction to him? But I'm a goddamn virgin. Yes, I know about the delights of sex, but I find it disgusting. I've seen it, and it's painful, humiliating and gross. But in private, sometimes I jerk off and now I have the urge to do it again.

Blushing thickly as the demon reappears in front of me, I beg my body to stop setting me up like this. This isn't right.

"Here, take this." Seraphus holds out a basket filled with fresh bread, sliced meat, and fruit to me.

"All the students in the first grade make the same mistake, trying to bribe me with food or gold to treat them more gently. But it just makes me think worse of them. And I usually take the food to the dining hall. I got a basket again today. You need it more."

"Are you really giving me food? You're sharing food with me? For free?" I ask him, perplexed. No one ever shares food; there is little for the servants, and if you don't have time to eat, you starve. But Lua was the only one who brought me food and shared it with me. My father punished me often when he found the delights of the ducal kitchen hidden in my place. He and my mother thought I was a thief. And I couldn't tell them the truth.

"Take it," the demon slams the basket against my body and I have to take it.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. There's so much food here. I don't need much, just bread, that's all. I'll last until morning."

"Luappo..."

"Kan," I whisper. "I don't like my name. I prefer to be called Arkan. Or Kan to my friends. Though I realize you're not my friend, you're my teacher. But please call me Kan when no one is listening. Lua...it's not mine, it's foreign here."

"Kan, I'm giving you the whole basket. And you'll take it, then go back to your room, have a good meal, and go to bed. Understood?"

"Yes. Thank you," I smile and break off a small piece of bread with my hand. Throwing it in my mouth, I let out a groan. It's so good. Oh, Mother of All Living Creatures, it's so good. Spiced bread. I've only had it twice in my life.

"Now go to your room," Seraphus orders.

"Um, can you tell me how to get to my room? I'm confused by this map. It's really complicated. I don't want to meet anyone else or I'll get kicked out of here for it, but I can't leave. I have nowhere to go. And I..."

The demon rolls his eyes and snorts. He beckons the gargoyles over to him and looks each one over.

"They'll walk you to your room, but don't you dare feed them. They're brash and fat, they won't be able to fly." the demon points a finger at me as if he knows I would.

"I can't feed them at all? What about just a bit? Just a drop?"

"Get out of my sight, Kan! Now!"

"Okay... I'm going now. Excuse me, Dark Master... I mean Dark Lord, I mean Seraphus... or should I say, teacher? Or..." the demon's eyes turn gold, and I shut up, realizing I'm about to be killed. I rush down the corridor, following the gargoyles. I think one of the teachers already hated me. Why couldn't I just shut my mouth?

Oh, Mother, when will I learn to leave on time?