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But what happened next was so unexpected that she nearly let go.

In her fear of Aven, she’d forgotten about the dark beast, which soon made its presence known, lunging from the bush and slamming into Aven’s torso.

The Meyarin didn’t so much as blink. He raised his arm and slashed his blade into the neck of the hairy creature before effortlessly throwing the bulky mass aside with the weapon still imbedded in its flesh. Alex’s stomach roiled at the sound of the beast’s gurgling whine as it fell limply to the ground.

Aven patted his torn sleeve where the creature had clawed his arm, frantically inspecting his clothes and skin. Alex could see his silver blood dripping from where the monster’s talons had swiped into his flesh, but she knew his Meyarin genes would heal the wound soon enough.

“Quickly, Gerald,” Aven ordered, snapping his two human companions out of their shock. “We need to leave before Marselle discovers how close we are to his precious school.”

It was then that Alex realised Aven hadn’t come for her at all. He hadn’t been calling forherbecause she wasn’t the one he could ‘sense’—it was thecreaturehe’d been hunting.

Alex let out a stuttered breath of relief but locked her body again when Aven cocked his head to the side, listening with his superior Meyarin hearing. He glanced around with a quizzical expression before shaking his head and turning his attention back to his companions.

While Alex focused on not making any sound that might draw his attention again, Calista reached into her jacket and retrieved a glass vial. She handed it to Gerald who knelt and yanked out Aven’s blade, pressing the vial against the slashed neck of the creature. The glass filled with a murky brown liquid as the creature’s blood gushed out of the fatal wound.

“That’s enough,” Aven said.

Gerald pressed a stopper in the top and made to hand the vial to Aven but the Meyarin hissed and backed away. “Remember what I told you, fool!”

Gerald’s ink-covered face paled and he hastily shoved the blood-filled container into his clothes.

“Is that all we need, my prince?” Calista asked.

“For the moment.” Aven looked down at the lifeless creature. “Such a waste. She had so much potential.”

Alex felt the hair on her neck stand on end at his words and she imagined herself in the same place as the animal, with Aven standing over her defeated body.

She shook the thought from her mind and watched silently as he drew out a Bubbler and threw it to the ground. Without another word he led the way through, and as soon as Gerald and Calista stepped in after him, the bubble-gateway vanished.

Alex exhaled deeply the moment they were gone. She couldn’t believe Aven had been searching for the very creature that had been chasing her. It was too much of a coincidence.

And Alex didn’t believe in coincidences.

“What are you playing at?” she whispered, wanting to know why the Library had sent her there. She, of course, received no answer.

She loosened her grip and considered her next move. There was no way she was going to leave the safety of the tree, but she needed to start moving and find her way back to Akarnae. Aven’s words about Darrius gave her hope that she wasn’ttoo far from the academy, so she just had to figure out which direction to go in.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her back, Alex started climbing higher up the tree. If she was close to Akarnae, then she should be able to get her bearings if she broke through the canopy.

Climbing was hard work. The higher she rose, the more entangled she became in the leaves and branches. But eventually she managed to push through and she balanced precariously on the swaying treetop, gripping for dear life.

Squinting into the distance, she was able to recognise the rising hulk of Mount Paedris, confirming that shewasin the Ezera Forest and showing which direction she needed to go to reach the academy.

Shimmying back down, Alex halted her descent when she reached a place where the branches thickly overlapped, making them more stable. She began moving through the trees, crawling more often than walking. It was slow going, but with the advantage of height she didn’t fear any more encounters with hairy, snarling beasts. Or Aven, for that matter. She was sure he was long gone, but the last thing she needed was to have another close and personal run-in with him again so soon.

Soon enough Alex’s patience waned and her confidence grew, leading her to trust that the branches would hold her weight as she walked, ran, and often jumped from tree to tree. Holding onto the vines for balance and support, Alex felt like a Tarzan wannabe as she moved stealthily through the forest.

Eventually the trees began to thin, bringing her out of the woodland and to the edge of the academy grounds. Just as she was about to climb down to the ground, something caught her eye a few trees away. Her injured back was screaming in agony after all the climbing and jumping and she was desperate tovisit Fletcher for some of his miraculous healing salve, but Alex couldn’t resist investigating the object glinting in the afternoon light.

She leapt the last few branches until she was able to reach up and grab the object from above her head.

“What is this doing out here?” she whispered to herself, turning the shiny necklace over in her hands.

While the unexplainable resting place of the jewellery was a mystery, what surprised Alex the most, was that it was fashioned from Myrox—a stunning but rare Meyarin steel. The chain was a simple strand of the silver-like material, but it was the pendant that was truly enchanting. It was a miniature depiction of a beautifully crafted archer’s bow, with the arrow drawn and ready for release. The detail was incredible, and the glowing Myrox infused the ornament with a lifelike quality.

Alex wondered how such a prized possession could have ended up hidden so high in the trees. It didn’t make any sense.

She shrugged to herself and, unsure what else to do, undid the miniscule clasp on the chain and reattached it around her neck. She felt a little uneasy wearing someone else’s pendant, but at least this way she wouldn’t drop it or lose it in her climb down to the ground.