I held the catseye up to the light as I sat at my desk. I couldn’t believe what Daddy had gotten me—the other girls at school were going to be so jealous. None of them had an exotic like this!

Indenture-gems were fairly new sorcery, and were even bigger right now than illuso-pogs or trap bracelets had been. And unlike those toys, the gems were actually useful. Most of the rich kids had at least three or four, and even a lot of the well-off had at least one. A lot of them were just pets—cats, dogs, dragonets, miniature unicorns—but there were a number of PMAs (Personal Magical Assistants), too, who could help you take notes or carry your books between classes.

But those were all ordinary people, and some of them were even other students. (The school’s only official policy on students indenturing other students was that owners were required to let their indentured attend classes and give them time to do their homework.) Nobody else had an exotic yet.

Melanie would be so surprised!