When I told Mia, "let's get to it," I never imagined that "getting to it" would involve being magically pinioned by another Emancipate to keep me from killing someone with my bare hands, but life can be surprising like that. I suppose I should back up a little and explain how my fingers found themselves wrapped around Darlene Indominus' throat, but there's not much to talk about until the night of the Oathtaking.

  Time flew by quickly as I continued acclimating to my new life. There was so much to learn and do that for the few months I did not have time to catch my breath. My typical day involved reading or experimenting for ten hours, practicing spells for two or three hours, talking with Ronaldo for an hour or two, working on estate management with Clemencia for four hours, talking with Mia for an hour, thinking for an hour, and sleeping for about four hours (every day I wanted a little less sleep).

  I gained Insight after Insight until I earned four more Epiphanies and finally unlocked my first Revelation. My reward was...more attribute points. Although I was growing stronger several times a week, I was frustrated by the lack of information about other types of advancement. Mia didn't know how to acquire new specials or whether or not my Metagift would continue to develop. I would not unlock a second path until I earned my first Epic when I would have to choose between upgrading my abilities as a Sensate or selecting a new path to follow.

  My one saving grace was practicing new spells. About seventy-five years ago, a man named Big Bosco had become obsessed with recording every practical application of mana to the real world and had preserved them in a book called "Big Bosco's Big Book of Spells". Thankfully, Bosco had included a brief "how-to" description on generating each spell effect. For instance, anyone able to use mana could, in theory, create an effect that compressed and heated air at a designated point. Although air cannot burn (I learned this in a book about natural laws), raw mana could be manipulated to superheat air, and the subsequent expansion would both burn and concuss the target.

  My daily routine was to practice spells first thing in the morning because I almost always woke up full of energy. Once I started to feel drained, it was time for breakfast. I had discovered that one big drain on my mana account was the expensive meals I had been eating. Since I had grown up a slave, it was not very hard to revert to plain but filling fare, most of which could be grown in the temperate climate where my estate was located. After breakfast, I read about four hours, had lunch and a break for reflection, and then worked with Clemencia on getting the estate to run more efficiently. After that was more spell work, a few more hours of reading, dinner, hanging out with Ronaldo, talking to Mia, meeting one slave each day to get to know them, and more reading while experimenting.

  Much of my experimentation was building up my understanding of magic, natural laws, and how the two interacted. There was so much math involved! Thankfully, as my intelligence attribute continued to grow, so did my understanding of the complex laws that governed nature. As I mastered them, I was able to produce more and more powerful magical effects. I also discovered a trick that I was very proud of. I was able to cast certain enhancement spells on Mia that would neither affect her nor fail outright, effectively allowing them to remain in limbo until Mia redirected the magic back through our bond.

  Unfortunately, while I was able to figure out a way to encrypt my telepathic channel with Ronaldo, he wasn't able to understand me. I eventually decided that if someone was strong enough to tap into our telepathic channel, it probably didn't matter what we did. After that, we spent most of our time together plotting how to make good on our oaths.

  Yes, everything was going swimmingly before the Oathtaking. I had received a formal invitation the previous week reminding me that my attendance was mandatory and that the Empress herself would be in attendance to receive my oath of fealty. There was a copy of the oath that I had to memorize, but it was short enough to remember at a glance. I quizzed Clemencia and Mia on the details of the ceremony, but neither of them knew anything about it. Clemencia gave me one sage piece of advice, however.

  "Madame Arabella, I would be remiss not to remind that that you are now going out among your peers, almost all of whom have more experience as a Citizen than you. However, since you are the first Emancipate in quite some time, the spotlight will be on you. You will likely find yourself adored by many, but there are those that will be envious of you as well."

  It was surprisingly frank advice, considering it came from my steward, and I did my best to take it to heart. After all, I had only met a handful of other Citizens. Maybe some were not so nice. If the secret changes made to me during my Metamorphosis were revealed, what would happen to me?

  It was this very question that I pondered as I stood upon the teleportation dais, ready to leave my Estate for the first time since I had arrived. The invitation had included a small pendant with a note that it would glow when it was time to teleport to the Royal Palace. Close examination had revealed that the pendant was a one-time use magic item that would teleport the wearer at a specific time to a specific place, although I was still attempting to decipher how the spell aimed for the correct destination.

  As I played with the pendant nervously, the dais activated and I felt the unmistakable tugging sensation that accompanied teleportation. I relaxed my body and will and allowed the magic to whisk me away, reappearing the next moment in the palace in a different but no less ornate teleportation chamber than I remembered. At the foot of the stairs was another Citizen in ridiculously loud orange and green robes smiling broadly.

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  "Welcome to the Oathtaking, Emancipate!" she boomed at a volume just slightly too loud for comfort. Then her smile wavered for just a fraction of a second.

  "Perhaps you would like a moment of privacy to adjust your robes?" she added in a softer voice.

  I looked down at my clothes, shrugged, and descended the steps to join her at the bottom of the stairs. I was wearing essentially the same robe I had worn during the Metamorphosis (although I had made a few alterations to it). For a moment I thought about changing back to my old slave outfit but decided that would be counterproductive.

  "This is fine. Could you please point me in the right direction?"

  "Of course," the lady answered. "Just take a left and go straight until you reach the double doors. The others are already there."

  "Thank you." I began to walk past the woman before realizing I didn't even know her name. "Oh, I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself properly. I'm Arabella Unbound."

  "Of course you are! I'm Bertille the Beautiful and it's super cool to meet you. I'll be rooting for you!"

  "Rooting for me? What do you mean?"

  Bertille put a hand to her lips.

  "Oh! I don't know if I should have said that...you'll get nothing else from me! Tata for now, okay?"

  "Uh, sure. Thank you," I replied, bowing my head slightly before leaving as quickly as I deemed polite.

  The long corridors of polished stone set with brilliantly glowing sconces were exactly as I recalled them from when I came to the royal palace with Bandar for my Metamorphosis. Just like last time, they were deserted and my footfalls echoed as I padded down the hallway. Looking down, I realized that I was still barefoot, so I stopped for a moment to mold myself some suitable footwear. The white satin shoes I created had a tread on the bottom to provide extra traction but were dainty on top. They were also really comfortable.

  "Why didn't I think of this sooner," I asked myself. I'd been walking around barefoot for months.

  Realizing that there was no use stalling, I made my way quickly up the double doors, where I once again paused.

  "Mia, are you sure everything is ready?"

  "The protocol can be activated at any time."

  With that assurance, I passed through the doors into a small rectangular chamber. There were six people in the room, the one who appeared to be in charge was a giant of a man in a stiff red robe decorated with eyes of every color. He smiled at me as I entered and motioned to a vacant chair. As I sat down I took in the rest of the room. The other five people - two men and three women - were already sitting in chairs just like mine: I assumed they were going to be participating in the Oathtaking just like I was.

  One of the men, who was wearing green robes, gave me a little wave as I looked in his direction. The other, who was in yellow with blue trim, stared at me as if trying to size me up.

  The three women had pulled their chairs close together. All of them had on very similar loose-fitting robes: with gold thread forming ornate patterns, wide sleeves, medium-length slits near the hems to allow for easy movement, and plunging necklines that showed off just enough of their chests to remind everyone that they were grown up now.

  The girl on the left, who was wearing a pink dress with light green trim, was clearly not impressed with my appearance and looked me up and down with a disapproving eye. The one on the right, who was also in red trimmed with black, bit her lip and look sideways over to the lady wearing purple in the middle, who was staring at me with a mocking smirk.

  "Not exactly what I expected from the great Emancipate. After all the hype, I expected you to come flying in farting rainbows or something," she said.

  The man in the eye robe frowned.

  "That's enough of that," he cut in before I could answer. "I don't want any trouble before you go onstage with Her Royal Majesty."

  "You heard the man," I retorted as I settled back into the plush chair to wait. "Zip it."

  The girl in purple looked like she was going to say something, but eye robe beat her to the punch by taking a few long strides over and holding out his hand. His voice was as deep as he was tall.

  "Arabella Unbound, it is an honor to meet you. I am Alcazar the All-Seeing."

  Something about Alcazar's gaze gave me pause, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It seemed familiar somehow. I knew it would be rude to refuse, so I took his hand and shook it. As we touched, tiny tendrils of mana snaked out of his hand and into my body, probing for information about the state of my body, soul, and spirit. That was why I had recognized the way he looked at me, I realized. Alcazar was a Sensate like me.

  "Mia, help me," I whispered through our link.

  Suddenly the tendrils withdrew as quickly as they had entered.

  "Well, well," Alcazar rumbled. "You've done pretty well with your time. Almost to your second Revelation, I see."

  "Yes, I have," I answered simply.

  "Just the one?" asked the girl in purple with mock innocence. "What's so special about that?"

  Alcazar chuckled.

  "She has only been a Citizen for about three months. Unlike you, Darlene Indominus, she was ready to perform the Oathtaking at the appropriate time."

  Darlene crossed her arms and harumphed. Alcazar chucked as he turned away and made his way towards his previous spot. Before he reached it, however, a girl with blond hair and a white gown hustled into the room and whispered something into his ear. I put the time to good use.

  "Mia, what did he mean by 'at the appropriate time'"?

  "A Citizen fresh from the Metamorphosis is usually isolated on their estate for three to six months. The incredible stress that is placed on the body, soul, and spirit renders most quite violent."

  "So how long has Darlene been a Citizen?"

  "That information is not currently available."

  I was about to try a more direct approach when Alcazar turned to us and smiled.

  "I am proud to announce that Her Royal Majesty, Empress Vashti, is waiting for you on stage now. Does everyone remember the oath?"

  I nodded in unison with the others.

  "Good," he continued. "Now, line up in the order you arrived."

  Darlene was first in line, followed by one of the men, then the two other girls, and finally the man in green who had waved at me.

  "I'm Arabella, it's nice to meet you," I whispered as I took my place behind him.

  "I'm Narabel the Turtle," he whispered back.

  "Interesting name."

  "I like turtles."

  I didn't have a response to that, so we waited in silence until Alcazar motioned us to follow him. He opened a black door covered with what appeared to be felt, allowing a torrent of noise from beyond to spill into our waiting room. A knot formed in my stomach. In a moment, I would be seeing the Empress for the first time since my Metamorphosis. What if she noticed I was different?