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D.C. rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, I was tired.”

“No,” Alex said, chuckling, “I meant that I was surprised Finn let you out of class. Karter made us keep going.”

“You’re still back earlier than usual,” D.C. said, squinting at the time displayed on her ComTCD resting on her bedside table.

“Yeah, by like, ten minutes,” Alex said. “No nanna nap for me, unfortunately.”

D.C.’s face crumpled in apology. “Sorry. I know you haven’t been sleeping well. And I know that’s my fault.”

“You can’t help it,” Alex said with a tired shrug. “And I’ll be gone this weekend for SAS anyway, so maybe having the room to yourself will help you move on from whatever is causing the… episodes.”

“Episodes?” D.C. repeated. “You make me sound like a crazy person.”

“You know what I mean,” Alex said. And then she couldn’t resist adding, “And youarea crazy person. Acceptance is the first step to a good, healthy recovery.”

D.C.’s lips twitched. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“Me? Crazy?” Alex placed her hand dramatically against her chest.

“You’re such a weirdo,” D.C. said, shaking her head. “And at this exact moment, you also happen to be a weirdo who is dripping water all over my bed. Go and clean yourself up, would you?”

“Your wish is my command,” Alex said with a salute, and she stood up and trudged over to their bathroom for a quick shower before dinner.

“This is going to be so awesome!”

“If you say so,” Alex mumbled around a yawn the next morning. Once again she’d had little sleep during the night, and she couldn’t muster the same amount of enthusiasm as Jordan for their upcoming weekend.

One foot in front of the other, she mentally chanted as she followed her friend down to where their SAS class was due to meet at the forest. Even her internal voice sounded weary.

While Jordan continued to babble about what he thought the overnight trip would bring, Alex secretly hoped Hunter would have a change of heart and cancel—or perhaps reschedule to another time.

Unfortunately, he did neither.

“Listen up, everyone,” Hunter said when he appeared out of the forest like a wisp of smoke. “This weekend you’re going off-campus for some field training. I want you all to grab the bag with your name and inside you’ll find everything you need to survive until tomorrow evening.” He pointed to a cluster of backpacks under a tree and gestured for everyone to move forward.

When Alex picked up the pack labelled with her name, she had to stifle a grunt—it was much heavier than she’d expected. She watched in bafflement when the much smaller Pipsqueak lifted her own bag with ease, and even the always-whining Skyla didn’t complain when she strapped hers to her back. Alex resisted the temptation to see if someone had put rocks in her pack as a joke as she heaved it across her shoulders.

“This assignment is about teamwork,” Hunter instructed the group. “You’ll need to utilise the skills you’ve already learned while being innovative enough to adapt to an unknown environment.” Hunter pointed to the tree where they’d picked up the bags. Just above head height was an arrow lodged in its bark. “This arrow is specially made to transport you to your destination. Once there, you’ll need to follow a set of instructions giving you tasks to complete before the weekend is over. After you’ve finished, you’ll find another arrow which will return you here tomorrow evening. You may arrive earlier or later depending on how well you follow the instructions, but you can be sure of one thing: the only way for you to get back here is by completing the tasks and finishing the assignment.”

This is so going to end badly, Alex thought.

“Any questions?” Hunter asked. He may have given them an opening but it was clear he didn’t think there was anything left to say.

Alex, however, had many questions—the most prominent of which was whether she could stay behind and let everyone else enjoy the ‘fun’ field trip without her. But since she already knew the answer, she didn’t waste her breath.

Her other concern involved being away from the protective wards of the academy. What if Aven discovered she was gone and decided to come after her? But she figured Hunter had to have spoken with Darrius about the trip, and the headmaster would never let her leave if he thought she would be in any danger. Besides, she was too tired to start up a conversation that was sure to arouse the curiosity of her classmates. Definitely not worth it.

“You can leave when you’re ready,” Hunter said when no one responded. “I’ll see you all tomorrow evening.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Alex blurted out. Weren’t they going to be supervised?

“Are you afraid of the dark, Alex?”

“What? No—I just—”

“Then I see no need for me to accompany you,” Hunter said, cutting her off.

She wondered how he might have responded if she’d lied and claimed shewasscared of the dark, but he probably would have just given the same answer.