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“Sarinpox is one of those diseases that lives on in your spinal cord for the rest of your life. In rare cases, something can prompt it to rise up and attack your immune system again. And since I’d been showing the symptoms…” Kaiden shrugged. “Well, Aunt Nisha was worried and urged me to skip classes to undergo every possible test, just to make sure I was okay. That’s why I was gone for so long—because no one wanted to take any chances.”

Heart in her throat at the very idea of him relapsing with the illness that killed his parents, Alex rasped, “Areyou okay?”

Seeing her concern, he was quick to reassure her. “Turns out what I caught on the holidays was just a nasty case of River Fever. It doesn’t show up unless you know to test for it specifically, but they eventually figured it out. By then, I was long since recovered and ready to get back to my life—just in time to meet you in the Library that night with Athora.”

More relieved than she cared to admit, Alex squeezed his hand before letting him go, offering a single word. “Good.”

It was an absolute understatement, but with everything Kaiden had just shared, Alex was having trouble not throwing herself into his arms and telling him how much she hated everything he’d suffered through. Everything he’d endured. Everything he’d overcome. To lose his parents at such a young age—she couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. While hers certainly weren’t going to win any ‘Parent of the Year’ awards, and while there had been times when she’d felt neglected as a child due to their work-obsessive personalities, the very idea of them dying was terrifying to her. For Kaiden to have grown up without his, and for him to still be the incredible person he was today—it said a lot about who he was. And who he would always be.

D.C. was right. He really was the stuff of fantasies.

“Come on, we have one last stop before we head back,” Kaiden said, pulling a Bubbler vial from his coat.

Alex narrowed her eyes at it. “I thought you said you didn’t have a Bubbledoor?”

“I said I didn’t have anauthorisedone,” he corrected, throwing it to the forest floor. “But ever since our SAS trip, I make sure to keep one on me for emergencies.”

Alex wondered why she’d never considered doing the same. “Is this an emergency?”

A quiet laugh. “That depends on what happens next.”

The mischievous look on his face brought Alex no small amount of alarm.

“I promised my parents wouldn’t say anything to embarrass you,” he answered her unspoken question. “I can’t vouch for the rest of my family.”

And with that, he grabbed her hand and tugged her through the Bubbledoor.

Tripping slightly on the other side, it took Alex a moment for her eyes to adjust to the again night-time scenery. The scent of the ocean filled her lungs as the wind whipped her hair about her face, her vision finally clearing enough to see they stood atop a cliff looking down over a small coastal town. Yellow dots of light escaped from the windows and doors of the houses, with a lanterned path leading all the way to a quaint harbour filled with fishing vessels.

Woodenly, Alex turned to Kaiden, a slew of questions on the tip of her tongue. But not a word left her mouth, since her eyes caught sight of what was resting on the grassy cliff top behind them.

It was a house. And in the light of the doorway stood a figure.

And then a second.

Both of whom were familiar.

Alex couldn’t help squeaking in distress at seeing both Nisha and Jeera standing there. They looked more casual than she had ever seen them before, neither in their black uniforms but rather household clothes—Jeera wearing jeans and a sweater, and Nisha a little more formal in slacks and a blouse. The commander was peering at them with curiosity, but Jeera had a knowing, almost smug look on her face—her gift likely having forewarned her of their arrival.

Despite the wintry coastal breeze, Alex felt a nervous sweat break out on her forehead. At Kaiden’s quiet chuckle, she turned narrowed eyes to him—eyes that slitted even further when he winked and sent her a wide, beaming grin.

“I think I hate you a little bit for this,” Alex said under her breath as he began leading her forward.

“I think we both know that’s not true,” he replied, his tone way too cheerful.

And then suddenly they were on the stairs leading up to the house, his aunt and sister only steps away.

“Fancy seeing you two here,” Jeera said, her eyes sparkling—an almost mirror image of her brother’s. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands and there was laughter in her tone as she added, “And looking so… friendly.”

Not two sentences had been spoken and already Alex was considering leaping off the cliff to save herself from what was to come.

“Dare I ask why you’re breaking school curfew, or am I better off not knowing?” Nisha asked. Despite her raised eyebrow, she held the door open for them, silently inviting them into her house.

“That depends,” Kaiden said as they moved inside.

“On?”

“Whether you’ll give us a cover story if we’re caught.”