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“Don’t you mean, ‘in light of the fact that you were just kidnapped by a crazy Meyarin who is bent on doing it again until he gets what he wants’?” she corrected bitterly.

He refused to acknowledge her mood and simply said, “That description works just as adequately, though mine was perhaps slightly less melodramatic.”

She sighed, but let go of her annoyance to once again bring them back to their earlier topic. “So, you think I’ll be able to come back?”

“I’m sure of it,” Darrius said. “As you said yourself, your adventures here in Medora are not yet near finished.”

She was torn between pleasure at being able to continue at the academy with her friends, and fear of what the future might bring since Aven was still out there with his plans for retribution. But as Alex walked out of Darrius’s private study later that evening—using a doorway that she willed into the wall—and joined her three friends in the Rec Room, all she felt was gratitude. Gratitude for the time they’d already had, and gratitude for the time they would have in the future. The fear was worth it, she realised.

“What are you thinking about?” D.C. asked, noticing her distraction. “Are you still shocked that your Darrius is our Marselle?”

Alex had shared everything that she’d learned and now the four of them were lounging around on beanbags, enjoying their time together.

“No,” Alex said. “I feel like an idiot for not realising sooner. But I was actually thinking about us—all of us—and just how thankful I am.”

“Aww,” Jordan said, faking a sniff. “Tear.”

“Shut up,” she said, throwing a cushion at him. “I wasn’t includingyouin that.”

“Sure you weren’t,” he said, smirking. “Face it, you’re going to miss me the most.”

“Whatever,” she said, pushing him off his beanbag. “Your ego is truly growing by the second.”

“Did you hear that?” Jordan said, turning to Bear. “I think she said she’s going to die without me. Poor thing. It’s sad when they get so obsessed that they can’t stand it when I’m not around. But I think it’s just one of those unfortunate facts of life.”

Alex couldn’t help smiling in spite of herself. She reallywouldmiss them.

“Will my ComTCD still work?” she asked, changing the subject to go with her thoughts.

“Not while you’re in your world,” Bear said, careful to keep his voice down. “But when you’re here it will. You’ll be able to contact us at any time, but we won’t be able to visit or anything since the academy is closed to students over summer.”

“I still can’t believe you get to train with Karter,” Jordan said. “Talk about awesome.”

“I’d switch places in a heartbeat,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” D.C. agreed. “Finn might be a psychopath, but Karter is a machine. You’ll be a tank of muscles the next time we see you, Alex.”

Everyone paused for a moment, all of them imagining that picture before, as one, they said, “Eww.”

They laughed then, at one thing and then another and another, laughing their night away and enjoying their friendships—the old and the new.

Forty-Eight

“Are you ready?” Darrius askedthe next morning.

Most of the students had already left the academy, but Alex and her friends had waited until the last possible moment before departing. It was a remarkable difference from when she had first arrived—back then she would have been sprinting to get to the quickest doorway through to her world. But time had changed Alex, and even though she was looking forward to being reunited with her parents soon, she still didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her friends, even if it was only for the summer.

“No. But I don’t think I have a choice,” she answered, shifting her backpack on her shoulders. There wasn’t much in it—just the clothes she’d first arrived in and the Kaldoras gifts she’d received.

“You always have a choice, Alex,” Darrius said, reminding her of not only her gift, but also her right as a human being.

“Thanks for everything, Darrius,” she said, smiling at him. “I mean it. You saved my life, a few times I think.”

“You’re most welcome, Alex,” he said, returning her smile. “I should be around more often next term, which will allow me to keep a closer eye on you.”

“Great,” Alex said dryly. “Just what every student wants—the headmaster watching out for them.”

“There goes your social life,” Jordan quipped, and D.C. elbowed him to keep quiet.