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It was only after Alex had finished her shower and made a deliberate amount of noise while getting ready for her day that D.C. finally let out a huge yawn, stretched and sat up in bed.

Blinking groggily at Alex and still very much out of it from whatever Niyx had doped her up with, D.C. said, “I had thebestsleep ever. How ’bout you?”

Resisting the urge to throw a pillow at her best friend in a show of misplaced irritation, all Alex could manage was a fake smile and a half-hearted, “Same here,” before she left their room to hunt down some much needed food.

Alex felt a pang of relief when she entered the food court and couldn’t locate Jordan. Every other morning for the past week, his ‘secret’ sleepless nights had meant he’d been waiting for them with a mound of untouched breakfast and a wide smile on his face. Just how fake the smile was, Alex wasn’t sure, but he was certainly good at continuing to act like everything was peachy—even if his yawns told a different story.

Today, however, he wasn’t anywhere in sight, which eased some of the concern Alex felt about him possibly being alone out by the lake the night before. He certainly needed a proper sleep, so Alex assumed he must have finally had one. It would take time for him to heal from what he’d been through, but Jordan was one of the strongest people Alex knew, and she had no doubt that he would get through this.

…Especiallywith a tenacious princess by his side.

Smiling inwardly at the thought of her two friends finally being together—something Alex hoped would happensoon—she seated herself at a table with some of her other fourth year classmates: the elementally gifted O’Malley cousins, Connor and Mel, as well as Pipsqueak and Blink.

Looking at the latter two, Alex reflected on the difficult week they’d shared together in SAS class—and not just because of Hunter’s challenging tasks. An undercurrent of grief had shadowed both lessons in the wake of Skyla’s death. The fifth-year girl may have been considered a lofty airhead, but her passing was a tragedy felt by them all—especially Alex and Jordan, who had been present when Aven had given the execution order. There was a gaping hole where once Skyla had been, an unspoken emptiness to their class, one that they all knew would never be filled.

“If you add any more syrup, we’ll have to swim our way out of here.”

Alex looked up to find Mel’s amused eyes, her words taking a moment to sink in. When they did, Alex glanced back down at her pancakes to find them drenched, her plate overflowing.

She made a startled sound and jerked the glass bottle upright. “I’m so out of it today.”

“First-week-back exhaustion,” Connor said, passing her a pile of serviettes and helping to mop up the mess. “That’s normal. You’ll get back into a routine soon enough.”

Ordinarily, Alex would have believed him. But her circumstances were somewhat… different.

“We only had a fortnight off,” Pipsqueak said, watching Alex and Connor try to contain the pool of syrup as it leaked further across the table. “You shouldn’t needanytime to recover.”

As always, Pip could be counted on to state the obvious.

“I sure need time,” Blink said, dipping his waffle into the puddle and raising it to his mouth. Clearly, he wasn’t concerned with hygiene. “I spent those fifteen blissful days surfing off the north coast of Mardenia. Such a rush, but I’m, like, totally wiped, even after being back here a week.” He double-dipped more table-syrup. “Or maybe it’sbecausewe’ve been back a week.” He chewed thoughtfully. “How long ’til we’re done for the year?”

“Too long,” Mel grumbled.

“But not long enough,” Connor said. When the rest of them looked at him, he explained, “Next year is our last year here, unless we’re offered apprenticeship positions. Either way, fifth year is going to be wicked challenging. I’m not in a rush to get there.”

As her classmates began debating their opinions and went on to discuss what they were considering doing after graduating, Alex found herself removed from the conversation. What they were taking about, it was all so…normal. None of them had any idea what was going on in the world, what was going on with Aven, and what it might mean for them. They had no idea they might not make it to see their fifth year at all, let alone beyond that.

Agitated and jittery, Alex rose abruptly enough that their conversation paused and all eyes turned to her again.

“I’m just—I forgot I need to do something.”

Pipsqueak raised a dubious eyebrow. “Sure you did.”

Unable to offer an explanation, Alex turned away and called over her shoulder, “I’ll catch you guys later.”

Once outside the food court, she reined in her volatile thoughts by compiling a mental to-do list, heading in the direction of the Tower to speak with Darrius. Halfway there she did an about-face after catching sight of a familiar figure out in the middle of the archery fields.

Wading her way through the snow, Alex made sure to approach her instructor with caution, mostly because Maggie had her bow drawn and was taking aim at a target much further away than any human would be able to hit. Or evensee.

“You’re Meyarin,” Alex said without preamble once she was a few steps away.

Maggie released her arrow. It hit the bullseye with a satisfyingthwackthat Alex only saw and heard because of her heightened senses.

“I am.” Maggie flicked her eyes towards Alex, nodding pointedly at her golden skin. “And at a guess, I’d say you’re the fabled Aeylia.”

Alex’s eyes widened and she stuttered to a halt. “How do you know that name?”

Maggie drew another arrow from the quiver strapped to her back and notched it on her bow, aiming once again. As she did so, she said, “A long time ago, a Meyarin babe was abandoned in a forest and left to grow up amongst mortals.”