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“Do we have far to walk?” Jordan asked, wrapping an arm around Alex’s waist so she could lean on him for support. She hadn’t realised how much she’d been struggling to remain upright until his added assistance made it so much easier for her to keep going.

“Not far,” Samson promised. “My house is warded against unauthorised Bubbledoor arrivals. I won the vials we used in a game of Stix and didn’t have time to program my access code into them before I was imprisoned. That’s why we’re stuck walking.” The juggler eyed Alex. “Can you last a little longer, love? You sure are a mess.”

She frowned and looked down at herself. True enough, she was covered in shallow cuts, and her dress was slashed and bloodied in numerous places where Aven had managed to make contact with his blade. Really, she was lucky she had any material left covering her body, considering the damage. But somehow she was still mostly decent, a fact for which she was grateful.

“I’m fine,” she told Samson.

The man raised his eyebrow in disbelief but he didn’t call her on the truth of her statement.

They continued walking in silence for another few minutes, and with each step, Alex leaned more and more heavily on Jordan.

“Here we are,” Samson said at last, leading them off the street and up to a cottage that was separated from the other houses nearby by a thick row of trees.

As they stepped inside and were greeted by the rest of their classmates, Alex exhaled with relief. But it was short-lived.

“We’ve found an arrow with our next task,” Tom said.

“Another task?” Declan said. “You can’t be serious!”

He took the words right out of Alex’s mouth. Did Hunter seriously expect more from them? She didn’t have anything left to give.

Tom raised his hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Sorry,” Declan said, running his fingers agitatedly through his cropped hair. “What does it say?”

“Just that the arrow will transport us to our next destination. We’ve also been given a bottle of Liquid Light, which doesn’t make me feel great about wherever we’re going to land.”

“Fabulous,” Declan muttered.

Alex swayed on her feet, prompting Jordan to tighten his grip around her waist.

“Do you have something we can eat?” Kaiden asked Samson, his eyes taking in Alex’s failing energy. “Something to drink, too?”

“I’m fine,” Alex repeated, knowing he was only asking for her sake. But she also knew that if she sat down to eat or drink, she probably wouldn’t be able to get back up.

“I’m thirsty,” Skyla stated. “And hungry.”

“We can eat back at the academy,” Alex said firmly, and she turned to Samson. “It was nice meeting you. I hope I get to see you perform one day.”

“The pleasure was all mine, love,” he told her. “Thanks for helping me escape. I owe you one.”

Before anyone could argue or ask again for food, Alex sent him a parting smile and stepped out of Jordan’s grasp, stumbling over to Tom. She took the vial of Liquid Light from him and reached up to touch the arrow embedded in Samson’s wall. Immediately she was whisked away, and when she landed, she couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black darkness. She quickly unstoppered the vial in her hands, releasing a brilliant light that illuminated the entire area around her.

All Alex could tell was that she was surrounded by trees, but her attention was diverted when Jordan stepped through, followed by the others.

“Where are we this time?” Pipsqueak asked tiredly.

“It looks like we’re back in another forest,” Blink said. No one could say his observation skills were lacking.

“I’m cold,” Skyla complained. “And hungry. And tired. And—”

“Skyla, you’re not going to feel any better whining about it,” Tom said.

“But it’strue,” she said petulantly. “I didn’t get to eat anything at the party because Alex and I were too busy rescuing the rest of you from the dungeon. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“We already thanked you,” Pipsqueak muttered. “About a million times.”

“It doesn’t hurt to show a little appreciation for the risks we took,” Skyla huffed.