Chapter 20: Last of the Failsafe

Jayce had just begun to settle into the comforting rhythm of sleep when a sharp knock at his door jolted him upright. He blinked at the darkness, groaning softly. Who could possibly be visiting at this hour?

Dragging himself out of bed, he trudged to the door, his irritation mounting. When he opened it, he was greeted by Tarren, standing with a box tucked under his arm.

"Tarren? It's the middle of the night," Jayce grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"The machine is finished," Tarren said simply, holding the box out to him.

Jayce sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Couldn't this wait until morning?"

"Not really," Tarren replied. "Can I come in?"

Jayce hesitated, then stepped aside to let him in. "Fine. But you better have a good reason for showing up now."

As the door clicked shut, Tarren placed the box on the table and turned to face him. "Someone from the Undercity is targeting you."

Jayce blinked, the exhaustion fading from his expression. "What?"

"You went to The Lanes, didn't you?" Tarren asked, crossing his arms. "Someone followed you back. Your place is a target for robbery now."

Jayce stumbled over his words. "T-Then why didn't you report it to the enforcers?"

Tarren raised an eyebrow. "And tell them what? That I overheard something with no proof? Do you think they'd station guards outside your apartment for a random academy student?"

"Then maybe the Kirammans—or the academy—"

"Really?" Tarren interrupted. "With you experimenting on magic here? Do you want to risk exile?"

Jayce's face paled, and he stammered. "I—well, no, but—"

"Then listen to me," Tarren said sharply. "Hide your important belongings. The trinkets, the prototypes, and most importantly—"

"The crystals," Jayce finished for him, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But… where should I hide them?"

"You can give them to me," Tarren suggested.

Jayce immediately shook his head. "No way. Then I can't experiment on them."

"Well, I can," Tarren countered.

"That's not the point," Jayce scoffed.

Tarren sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Keep a couple for your experiments. But don't store them in something obvious, like a fancy suitcase. Hide them somewhere no one would think to look. The rest, I'll take with me for safekeeping."

Jayce mulled it over, then nodded reluctantly. "Alright. That… makes sense."

"Good," Tarren said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I'll take the crystals now."

—

A few days later, Jayce sat hunched over his desk, fiddling with the machine Tarren had brought him. The room was littered with notes, most of them detailing errors and failed experiments. The crystals remained stubbornly unresponsive to the machine's current frequencies.

Lowering the frequency step by step had yielded no results. Frustrated, Jayce had shifted to cranking the frequencies higher, hoping for a breakthrough. He adjusted the dials carefully, watching the machine hum to life.

From behind him, Caitlyn watched silently, her arms crossed. She had been observing for a while now, her expression unreadable. Eventually, she spoke. "You're missing a lot of things. Are you moving?"

Jayce glanced over his shoulder. "No. I got a tip that someone's planning to rob this place, so I hid most of my stuff."

Caitlyn frowned. "A tip? From who?"

"Tarren," Jayce replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "And you just believed him?"

Jayce shrugged. "He sounded serious. He told me right after he got back from the Undercity."

Caitlyn's frown deepened. "And you're sure you didn't get scammed out of something?"

"I don't think so," Jayce said, though his voice lacked conviction. "I mean, I did feel like I was being watched when I was down there."

Caitlyn's curiosity piqued. "Is the Undercity really that dangerous?"

Jayce nodded. "It's… different. Very different from here."

She tilted her head, a spark of interest in her eyes. "Can I go there?"

Jayce let out a laugh. "Absolutely not. Your parents would kill me."

"They don't have to know," Caitlyn teased.

"I'm not risking it," Jayce said flatly. "I barely made it back without trouble, and now my apartment's a target. You, the daughter of a noble family, would draw even more attention."

"Fair enough," Caitlyn said with a shrug. "Worth asking, though."

Jayce chuckled, shaking his head as he returned to his experiment. "Always testing boundaries, aren't you?"

Caitlyn smirked but said nothing, her eyes drifting back to the scattered notes on his desk.