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With an encouraging look, Doc said, “Would you care to extrapolate?”

Trying to be as articulate as possible, Alex replied, “Core Skills is dedicated to us learning how to control our gifts, yes?” At Doc’s nod, she continued. “Well, what if our other classes, particularly Combat, Archery and Equestrian Skills, are also about control? More than control—they’re about discipline. We’re not learning how to fight each other or ride a horse or whatever else to use those skills in the world outside Akarnae, but rather, by taking these classes, we’re growing our characters. That kind of strenuous training requires strength, patience, endurance, fortitude and a range of other traits that can only improve us as human beings. And…”

“And…?” Doc pressed.

“And,” Alex continued, “as you said earlier, sir, people with gifts have aresponsibilityto nurture them, but more than that, I’d like to think we have a responsibility to develop ourselves as human beings as well. That’s what these classes offer us. They provide us with the building blocks of discipline and control—both of which, in turn, help us to develop and utilise our giftings.”

A smile spread across Doc’s face and he raised his hands to applaud her, much to Alex’s embarrassment.

“Bravo, Miss Jennings,” he said. “You are indeed correct— our curriculum isn’t in place on the off-chance that you’ll be transported back in time and have to survive a swordfight on horseback followed by an archery tournament. Rather, it is to prepare your character for the future and to assist in the learning of control and discipline in every aspect of your lives—including, perhapsespecially, your giftings. Once you graduate and leave these walls, it will be up to you what you do with your abilities. You may enter the workplace in a field where you can use your gifts, knowing that people such as yourselves are highly sought after, or you may decide to put aside your ability and live a normal life. The choice is yours. We can only offer you the chance tomakethat choice, being well-informed based on what we teach you and how we teach it to you.

“All that said,” Doc continued, deep in teaching mode now, “there is still some modern day relevance for what we learn here, which is especially helpful should you decide to embark into a future where your gift becomes nothing more than an accessory. Equestrian Skills, for example, teaches you how to respect beings much larger, stronger and arguably smarter than yourselves, and if you ever happen upon a situation where you find another creature of mountable size, you’ll have some idea of how to gain control over it. As for Combat and Archery—if after leaving the academy you desire to enter into military service or seek beyond that to become a Warden, your fighting and targeting skills will be required on a daily basis. While more advanced technology is available to those of higher ranks, swords will always be the most accessible means to end a physically aggressive dispute. Or start one, as the case may be. And while bows and arrows aren’t common accoutrements for humans outside of the academy’s walls, none can argue that, if you can hit a moving target from two hundred feet, you can likely shoot any firearm—or simply throw a stone—with above par accuracy.”

Wandering back to the front of the room, Doc finished by saying, “The curriculum at Akarnae may seem dated, but as we have just outlined, its traditions are timeless. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

With plenty to think about, Alex listened as Doc completed the rest of his class by going over some of the points alreadyraised and expanding on others. She felt better having had some of her questions answered, but there was still one thing she was curious about. Not knowing if it was the kind of enquiry she should make to a class full of students when it might be general knowledge to all Medorans, Alex decided to wait until the end of the day before she sought out the one person who she had a feeling would be able to answer her better than anyone else.

“You’re a hard guy to track down,” Alex said to Kaiden, having finally found him in the stables after asking what felt like every single person on campus for his location.

“Alex,” he said, looking at her in question over the back of the horse he was brushing down. “What’s up?”

She bit her lip and looked away, wondering if she was making a mistake by coming to him. He already knew more about her than he should, but he didn’t knoweverything, and it had to stay that way. However, hehadtold her that she could come to him if she ever needed anything.

“I want to ask you something, but you have to promise not to read into it—and you have to promise not to laugh if you think it’s a stupid question,” she said, reaching for a curry-comb just to have something to do with her hands while she talked. She began grooming the sleek black coat of the horse she knew was named Eclipse, waiting for Kaiden to agree.

“That depends on what you ask,” he said, grinning roguishly. “But I must say, I’m intrigued.”

Alex frowned. So far, their conversation wasn’t going to plan and it had barely begun. But she decided she might as well jump in and see what happened, so she said, “I want to know about the Soori Outpost.”

Kaiden’s entire body jerked, and Alex looked at him in surprise.

“What about it?” he asked, his brush strokes becoming visibly tense to the point that Eclipse pinned his ears back in irritation. Kaiden noticed and relaxed his grip, prompting the horse to relax again too.

Confused by his strong reaction, Alex said, “I want to know why it’s there. Medora is a supercontinent currently run by a single monarchy, so why is there an active military force if there’s no one to go to war against? And do they use other weapons stronger than Stabilisers? Also, I always presumed Wardens were more like glorified guards, but now I’m not so sure. Who has more authority—them or the General?”

Kaiden wasn’t tense anymore; that was for sure. But Alex almost wished he was, since he was now looking at her with a scrutinising expression.

She swallowed and focused on moving her curry along the barrel of Eclipse’s stomach. “No reading into it, remember?”

“Hey, at least I’m not laughing,” Kaiden said. “That’s one out of two. Take what you can get.”

“I’d rather a judgement-free answer,” Alex responded. “With no follow-up questions.”

“I’ll answer you, but I can’t promise there won’t be follow up,” Kaiden said, moving further along to brush the curve of Eclipse’s apple-shaped rump. “Let’s start with the Wardens. Don’t ever let them hear you calling them ‘glorified guards’ or it may be the last thing you ever say. And I mean that, Alex.”

If his serious expression was anything to go by, he really did mean that.

“Now, in a not-reading-into-this kind of way, am I right to guess that you don’t know much about what Akarnae students do after they graduate?”

“Um…” Alex hesitated. “Hypothetically? Let’s go with that. From here on out, just act like I know nothing.”

Kaiden’s lips twitched, drawing Alex’s attention to his mouth before she forced her gaze back up to his eyes. Judging by the humour she found in them, she had a feeling she wasn’t fooling him at all.

“Well, then,” he said, looking down at what he was doing once more. “As you know, there are five years of schooling with an additional two years on top of that should any of the instructors invite you to stay on as an apprentice. Whether you graduate at eighteen or twenty, Akarnae alumni are always sought after for the top positions in any of Medora’s workplaces. It’s not so much that we have gifts—though that can definitely be a drawcard depending on your career choice—but it’s more that our education here has covered, well,everything.”

Alex nodded, having just been over most of that in her History class. “What does that have to do with Wardens?”

“There are two kinds of Wardens, did you know that?” Before she could respond, Kaiden said, “Never mind, don’t answer that. I forgot that youhypotheticallyknow nothing.” He didn’t even try to hide his smile at that. “Wardens fall into one of two categories: Swords or Shields. The Shields are intelligence analysts—they come from all different backgrounds and are usually recruited later in life after having the experience of years behind them. They do most of the stuff outside of the public eye, keeping a finger on the pulse of the world and the people in it, so to speak. They are essentially a ‘shield’ against any threats made by humans and by…others… who have their own agendas. Wardens like Bear’s dad, William Ronnigan, are Shields, and they keep us safe mostly by the use of their collective intellect and intuition.”