***
The archives occupied the eastern tower's lower three floors, protected by wards that would kill unauthorized intruders and preservation spells maintaining texts across centuries. The ward-keeper's eyes widened when Damien presented his authorization token.
"Her Grace gave you unrestricted access?" The old man looked genuinely surprised. "All sections?"
"She did."
"That's... most heirs don't receive that until they're formally designated successors." He stepped aside. "Be careful in the restricted sections, young master. Some of that material is considered dangerous."
Dangerous usually just means 'inconveniently correct.'
The archives were temperature-controlled through environmental magic, silent except for the faint hum of preservation spells. Damien headed directly for the restricted section on advanced mana theory.
Most of it was exactly what he expected—mystified descriptions of phenomena the authors didn't understand. "Divine essence" translated to electromagnetic field excitations. "Meridian channels" meant neural pathways. "Bloodline gifts" were just genetic predispositions for specific resonance frequencies.
But some texts were closer to truth.
He found a treatise by Archmagus Cornelius Ashcroft from four centuries ago—"Observations on the Unified Nature of Elemental Forces."
Damien opened it and started reading. Ten pages in, he started laughing.
The old Archmagus had gotten tantalizingly close to quantum field theory without having the mathematical framework to express it properly. He'd documented wave-particle duality in mana behavior. Had observed entanglement effects. Had theorized all "elements" were manifestations of the same underlying force.
The Academy had declared him heretical and suppressed his work.
Of course they did. Can't have people questioning whether magic is divine mystery or just misunderstood physics.
Damien spent six hours reading, cross-referencing Cornelius's observations with Vikram's knowledge. The matches were perfect. Everything the Archmagus had documented aligned with field theory—he'd just lacked the conceptual tools to understand what he was observing.
But Damien understood.
I can optimize everything. Advancement, combat applications, artifact design. Everything they're doing wrong because they don't understand the mechanics.
The question was how to use it without becoming a target.
By the time he emerged, he'd missed lunch and the sun had shifted to afternoon. His mind buzzed with possibilities.
Victoria found him in the training yards an hour later.
"You're late," she said, already in combat stance with practice sword drawn.
"I was reading."
"Must have been fascinating." She watched him draw his own blade. "Think your new perspective means anything real, or just theory?"
Good question
Damien's body had eighteen years of sword training—muscle memory that didn't require conscious thought. But now he had Vikram's analytical framework overlaying it.
Victoria attacked without warning—testing, probing his defense. She was faster, stronger, more experienced. Arcanist 5th Circle versus his 2nd meant she could enhance her physical capabilities far beyond what he could match.
But Damien could see the mana flows now. Could watch how she enhanced muscles, strengthened strikes, accelerated movement. And more importantly—could see the inefficiencies.
She was burning three times more mana than necessary to achieve those effects.
Brute force because they don't understand optimization.
He couldn't match her power. Not yet. But he could be more efficient with what he had.
Twenty exchanges in, Victoria stepped back, breathing slightly harder.
"You're different," she said. "Technique hasn't changed, but you're reading my attacks better. Responding faster."
"I'm watching your mana flow. How you enhance your strikes."
"That's..." She lowered her sword slightly. "Most people can't maintain that kind of analytical awareness mid-combat."
"Maybe I'm just focused."
She studied him, then smiled. "Or your mysterious overnight transformation actually taught you something useful." She sheathed her practice blade. "Keep developing that. Reading opponent mana flows in real-time is a significant combat advantage."
"I intend to."
"Good." She walked past him toward the manor, paused. "Dinner's at sunset. Don't be late."
***
Damien spent the remaining afternoon testing mana manipulation in private. Instead of traditional meditation, he applied quantum optimization. Increased coherence through constructive interference. Suppressed decoherence through conscious observation. Treated cultivation as field engineering rather than mystical practice.
The results were immediate. His mana core stabilized, refined, achieved higher resonance in an hour than traditional methods should take days to accomplish.
The advantage is real.
Dinner that evening was casual—just Damien, Victoria, and their mother. Duke Kaelus was at the capital, Edmund still gone on inspection.
"You spent all day in the archives," his mother observed.
"Found interesting material."
"Which material?"
"Archmagus Cornelius's work on unified force theory. He was right about more than the Academy credited."
His mother's expression shifted to genuine interest. "You understood it?"
"I understood what he was trying to express. His observations were accurate. His theoretical framework was just incomplete."
"Incomplete how?"
Can't explain quantum mechanics directly. But I can hint at applications.
"He documented patterns in elemental behavior. Suggested they're all manifestations of the same underlying force at different energy states." Damien met her eyes. "If that's true, elemental specialization is artificial. We should be able to manipulate any element if we understand fundamental mechanics."
Victoria set her glass down. "That would completely change how cultivation works."
"It would," Damien agreed. "Which is probably why the Academy suppressed it. Can't have people questioning whether specialized elemental training is necessary or just traditional control."
His mother was smiling now. "Your father will have fascinating conversations with you when he returns. He's never fully trusted Academy orthodoxy."
"They teach methods that maintain hierarchical control," Damien said. "If advancement requires specialized instruction from approved masters, the Academy controls who advances. If aIf advancement is just understanding principles anyone can learn..."
"The Academy loses its power monopoly," Victoria finished. "That's genuinely revolutionary thinking, little brother."
"It's just logic applied honestly."His mother raised her glass. "To my son, who apparently decided to become dangerous overnight.
"Victoria laughed and raised hers. "To Damien finally waking up."
They drank, and Damien felt warmth of genuine family affection that Vikram had never experienced in either life.
I can work with this. Family support, resources, knowledge nobody else has.
The conversation shifted to lighter topics—Victoria's training schedule, upcoming social obligations, duchy administration that would fall to her while their father was gone. Damien participated enough to maintain presence without dominating, still processing everything he'd learned.
His mother watched him throughout with that subtle attention that never quite looked like watching.
Evaluating.
Trying to understand what had changed in her son overnight.
Let her wonder.
The truth would sound like insanity, and partial truths invited more questions than they answered.
When dinner ended, Victoria caught his arm before he could leave."Walk with me," she said.
Not a request.
They walked the manor's eastern gardens in comfortable silence, evening air carrying the scent of night-blooming flowers.
Victoria didn't speak until they were well away from potential listeners."I'm serious about the Academy," she said finally. "It's dangerous in ways that don't show up in official reports. Houses that want to eliminate competition do it there because training accidents are plausible and investigations areperfunctory."
"I'll be careful."
"Careful isn't enough." She stopped, turning to face him. "You're talented, Damien. You always have been. But talent makes you a target, and whatever changed in you today made you more dangerous." Her expression was serious now. "That makes you a bigger target."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Be unpredictable. Don't let anyone figure out your capabilities completely. Keep something in reserve." She reached up and adjusted his collar—unnecessary gesture, but her hands lingered.
"And if someone comes for you, make sure everyone knows the cost of trying."
"Victoria." He caught her wrist gently. "I'll be fine."
She searched his face. "You really are different. The old Damien would have said 'I'll be careful' and meant it passively. You're saying 'I'll be fine' like you're already planning how to turn threats into advantages."
"Maybe that's what I needed. To stop being careful and start being effective."
She smiled slowly. "Good. Just don't get so effective you forget you have family who want you back in one piece."
"I won't."
She started to turn away. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow you start recruiting—"
Damien caught her waist and pulled her back against him. "Victoria."
"What are you—"
He kissed her. Not the brief, affectionate gesture she'd given him that morning, but something deeper, more deliberate. His hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back, and for a heartbeat she went still with surprise.
Then she kissed him back.
Victoria wasn't passive about anything in her life, and she wasn't passive about this. Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, and when his teeth caught her lower lip she made a sound low in her throat that went straight through him.
But Damien kept control. When she tried to deepen the kiss, he pulled back just enough to make her chase it. When her hands started to wander, he caught her wrists and pinned them against his chest—not restraining, just controlling the pace.
"Damien," she breathed against his mouth, and there was something in her voice he'd never heard before. Not the confident heir, not the skilled warrior. Just Victoria, wanting.
"You said I developed a spine," he murmured, lips trailing along her jaw to the sensitive spot below her ear. "Was this what you had in mind?"
Her laugh was breathless. "Not exactly, but I'm not complaining." Her pulse hammered against his mouth where he kissed her throat. "When did you learn to—"
"This morning, apparently." He bit down gently and felt her shiver. "I'm full of surprises now."
"I'm noticing." Her fingers twisted in his shirt. "This is—we shouldn't—"
"You started it," Damien said, pulling back to look at her. "This morning. That kiss."
Victoria's eyes were dark, pupils blown wide. "That was supposed to be affectionate. This is..." She trailed off, breathing hard.
"This is honest." He traced her lower lip with his thumb. "You wanted to know what changed in me. This is part of it. I stopped pretending I don't want things."
"And you want..." She didn't finish the question.
"You."
He watched emotions flicker across her face—surprise, consideration, heat, and something more complicated underneath. "Among other things. But definitely you."
Victoria stared at him for a long moment. Then she laughed—real laughter, surprised and genuine. "You really are different." She pressed her palm against his chest, not pushing away but establishing space. "This is insane. I'm your sister. I'm the heir. There are about seventeen political reasons this is a terrible idea."
"I know."
"And you don't care?"
"I care about results, not propriety." He released her wrists but didn't step back. "You've always been beautiful, Victoria. I just never let myself acknowledge it. Now I'm done pretending."
She studied his face, searching for something. "The Academy is in six weeks."
"I know."
"If anyone found out we were—" She gestured vaguely between them. "—whatever this is, it would complicate everything. Your position, my inheritance, family politics."
"Then no one finds out." Damien smiled. "I can be discreet."
"Can you?" But she was smiling too now, sharp and considering. "Because you're being pretty direct right now."
"We're alone. That's different from public." He finally stepped back, giving her room. "But if you want me to pretend this didn't happen, I can do that too."
Victoria was quiet for a moment, lips still swollen from kissing, hair slightly mussed where his hands had been. She looked like she was running calculations, weighing risks and benefits with the same analytical precision she applied to military strategy.
Finally, she laughed again. "No. I don't want you to pretend." She stepped forward and kissed him once more—brief, possessive. "But we're being smart about this. Discreet. No one knows, especially not Mother."
"Agreed."
"And when you're at the Academy..." She trailed off, something complicated crossing her face. "I'm not naive enough to expect celibacy. Just don't do anything stupid that creates political complications."
"I'll be the picture of political wisdom," Damien said dryly.
"Liar." But she was smiling. "Go. Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be complicated enough without you being exhausted."
She left, and this time he let her go.
Damien stood there another moment, then returned to his quarters.
Alone finally, he could process everything without maintaining performance. The memories were stable now, integrated. Eighteen years of Damien's life and relationships, twenty-three years of Vikram's knowledge and pragmatic amorality.
The quantum physics knowledge gave him understanding of magic that nobody else possessed.
His family's resources gave him leverage to build power. Victoria and his mother's obvious favor gave him political protection.
Six weeks until the Academy.
Damien looked at his reflection in the darkened window—sharp features, calculating eyes, smile that held nothing of innocence.
He'd died once in a lab accident because he was too arrogant to evacuate when warned.
Not making that mistake twice.
This time, he'd be smart about it.
Build power carefully.
Create dependencies.
Make himself valuable enough that eliminating him cost more than tolerating him.
And if anyone tried anyway?
He'd make sure they regretted it publicly.
The inheritance belongs to Victoria.
That's fine.
I don't need to rule a duchy.
But if I can revolutionize magic itself...
Then I can have anything I want.
Six weeks.This was going to be very interesting.
He smiled at the night-blooming flowers.
This was definitely getting interesting.
***
CHAPTER END