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I roll my eyes. He’s right though. I’ve been struggling to keep up so far—how can I beat something that’s intentionally more difficult?

Chiron glances at Florentius, who’s hovering behind me. “Are you here to plead for him too?”

Florentius glances at me and lifts his chin. “I’d hoped he’d be leaving.”Tough nut to crack, this one.“Perhaps the prospect of the Crucible will change his mind?”

“Hardly. I’m not leaving until you’ve admitted you like me.”

He huffs, cheeks flaring with colour. “Rather wither away in the Crucible? You’re smarter than that.”

“See, you can be nice. You think I’m smart.”

Chiron halts our ‘nonsense’ and escorts me swiftly up the stairs and along the balcony.

Beyond the dark archway is a cluttered, dust-covered room with a stove and bench, a mat for sleeping, shelves crammed with jars, and a long, sturdy table big enough to hold a body.

Chiron ushers me inside. “Chamber pots behind that screen.”

I take a reluctant step into the room and the temperature immediately drops. I shiver and breathe in stale air with the mouldy taste of decaying herbs.

And I thought my windowless cell was bad.

“An intriguing case came to my attention last month,” Chiron says. “Took me three days to figure it out—” He glances past me and I turn to look—a body on a stretcher of ice, carried by a team of aklos. “Place the body on the table there. You may return in an hour.” They’re quick to leave, their footsteps fading as my gaze fixes on the preserved body—male, covered to his armpits in a white sheet. Folded clothing is stacked beside him.

“Investigate the corpse quickly—I suggest you write extensive notes; once the body is removed, I’ll seal you in here.”

I swallow. “The correct curative will open the barrier?”

Chiron nods. “How long it takes is up to you.”

“Can anyone else come in?”

“No living thing can enter, unless you or I unlock it.”

“No living thing... so, dead things?”

“Inanimate things can pass the barrier. How else do you think you’ll be fed? The chamber pots removed?”

“Wonderful.” I push back my sleeves and pointedly focus my attention on the body.

“With your limited education, you may be in here many months.”

“Mm.”

“You’ll fall behind. The winter examination will be virtually impossible for you.”

I steady my panicky breath and smile.

Chiron grunts. “As you wish.” He fishes out a roll of parchment from his cloak and passes it to me. “This is the wife’s statement of her husband’s doings before his death.”

I peel back the sheet covering the body. The man is in his late thirties. His arms and chest are blue, the skin shimmering and cracked. I shield my fingers and feel the smooth surface, the evenness of the cracks. They form a pattern.Scales.

I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. A man, turning into a... fish?

I seep magic into him, reading the state of his insides. His blood has coagulated deep purple, heavier than it should be. Something inside it stopped oxygen flowing through his body. I jot down my findings.

Suffocation.

But what caused it?