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“Yeah,” she agreed, surprised anew by her classmates’ kindness. “I think so, too.”

d her in.

Six

After the frustrations of her first day,Alex expected the week to drag on, but it turned out to be the opposite. Her classes whirled by, in some cases too quickly.

Being back at the academy and seeing the familiar faces of her instructors again was unexpectedly nice. Varin, the odd-looking Viking-like Species Distinction professor, greeted them all boisterously at the start of their first class. The History teacher, Doc, babbled on about places he’d visited over the holidays and things he’d discovered. And Caspar Lennox, the Shadow Walker SOSAC professor, also seemed eager to be back teaching again—even if his mottled-grey skin and blank expression didn’t accurately express his joy.

Then there were the other classes and teachers who Alex would have been happy to avoid. Professor Luranda, the Medical Science teacher, was ‘kind’ enough to greet them with a pop quiz to see how much they’d retained from the previous year. And their Chemistry teacher, Fitzy—or Professor Fitzwilliam Grey—welcomed the class back by experimenting with two unstable chemicals, which resulted in an evacuation of the entire General Sector—or ‘Gen-Sec’—building. He had a good heart, Fitzy, but his head wasn’t always screwed on right.

Astrid Marmaduke, their Core Skills professor, opened her first class with a long lecture reminding them about the importance of controlling their gifts. She then proceeded togo around the room asking students to demonstrate how far they had come after having presumably—to her reasoning— practised over the summer holidays. When Mel showed off her elemental ability and accidentally set fire to her desk, Connor used his affinity with the weather to try and put it out by making it raininsidethe classroom. But then he panicked when he couldn’t make it stop, so Savannah jumped in to help, freezing the water. This might have worked if the icy result hadn’t fallen towards the students’ heads like daggers of hail. It was only because Sean raised an invisible shield as a protective canopy above them that no one ended up speared by the frozen shards of water.

Suffice it to say, after that display, Professor Marmaduke had given them theory exercises for the rest of the lesson.

As for PE, Finn was determined to kill them all with his die-hard boot camp to ‘whip them all back into shape.’ But after Alex’s summer of intense Combat training, she found it refreshing to test her increased stamina, most of which had originated from Finn’s gruelling classes the previous year. Despite his zapping stick and his harsh demands, Alex had begun to appreciate the value of his class, although she staunchly believed his teaching practices were in strong violation of ethical laws.

In Archery, Alex must have zoned out on her first day, having been too distracted by the circulating gossip. In her second class she learned from Maggie that they would be stepping up their technique over the next few months, which included a course in survival archery with moving targets, rather than simply shooting at the more and more challenging but still stationary boards.

That was sure to be interesting.

By far, Alex was most pleased to be back in her Equestrian Skills class. She hadn’t been able to enjoy her first day backbecause of the rumours and her dreaded meeting with Karter, but her next two classes under Tayla’s instruction were much more gratifying. And when Tayla mentioned some of the exercises they would be working towards, Alex felt a thrill of anticipation.

Combat was… well, it was Combat. Karter’s mood was much better when Alex entered the Arena for her second session, which was a relief for her entire class. They continued to practise unarmed combat, with Karter correcting their techniques while pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. Alex apparently had very few strengths and a long list of weaknesses. But she was determined to improve, and the only way she could do that was to continue participating. On Wednesday she was partnered with Sebastian, and on Friday she was against Nick. Both of them crushed her, but she felt a sense of pride at the end of each session when she was able to walk out of the Arena in one piece.

And as for the rumours about her and Karter, it turned out the Combat boys had been right. The whole thing had mostly blown over by the second day of classes, and Alex only heard the rare snide comment as the week continued. Everything had settled back to normal, just as it should have been to begin with.

“Alex?”

“Huh?” she said, pulling herself from her memories of the past week.

“I asked what you’ll be doing today while we’re at the SAS trial?” Jordan said.

It was lunchtime on Saturday and there was a definite feeling of anticipation in the air. At least for the fourth years, anyway, as they were soon to experience their first taste of Hunter’s Stealth and Subterfuge class.

“I think I’m going to visit my parents,” Alex said. “They’re probably waiting for an update and I don’t want them getting antsy about not hearing from me.”

Bear nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“Say ‘hi’ from us,” D.C. put in kindly.

“Will do,” Alex agreed with a smile. “Where are you guys meeting Hunter?”

“Right here,” Jordan said. “He’ll arrive after everyone else has cleared out.”

Alex looked around the quickly emptying food court. “That’s my cue to leave.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to try out with us?” D.C. asked. “It might be fun.”

Alex laughed at the thought. “Not by my definition, Dix. But you guys enjoy yourselves.”

She stood and hastily left the food court, eager to be far away when Hunter arrived. The last thing she needed was to give the impression that she actually wanted to take part in the class. No sir-ee.

Once outside, Alex walked straight over to the Tower building and headed downstairs into the Library. It was weird; she’d grown so used to coming and going through its doorways over the holidays, but this was the first time she’d been back since school started. The moment she entered the majestic foyer, she felt a sensation similar to a warm embrace, as if the Library was welcoming her back with open arms.

She waved to the surly librarian who grunted in reply, then skipped down the stairs, concentrated on where she wanted to go, willed a door to appear and stepped directly though it— straight into what looked like ancient Egypt.

The Library didn’t skimp on details, that was for sure. It had provided pyramids and everything. After seeing their new digs, Alex’s parents hadn’t cared about being cloistered away in what was loosely defined as a ‘building’ for the entirety of their stay in Medora. Instead, they’d been thrilled by the idea of gallivanting around amongst one of the Seven Wonders ofthe Ancient World. Well,theirworld, at least. Medoran history was different. And yet, despite that, the Library had generously accommodated Alex’s request for a safe but productive place for her parents to stay. In fact, the ecosystem was so real that the only way Alex knew they were still inside the Library at all was because of its walls. It might look as if the desert’s sand dunes continued for all eternity, but upon exploring during her first visit, Alex had walked straight into a transparent barrier—and nearly broken her nose in the