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As the wolf shuddered anew, Alex desperately wished she still had somelaendraleft over from her sparring matches with Niyx, but she’d used the last of her supply just before the battle at Graevale. All she could do was hope that Fletcher would be able to heal Soraya with modern medicine, or that he’d at least be able to keep her stable long enough for Alex to find an alternative solution. Maybe Zain and Kyia still had some of the supplies Niyx had provided for them. If not, Alex wouldventure to Raelia herself, risking the ambush that would surely be awaiting her there. She would do whatever it took—whatever it took—to save her loyal companion.

“Please, Fletcher, how bad is it?” she asked as he continued examining the wound.

“It’s not good, Alex,” he admitted, and she felt her heart sink as her eyes filled with fresh tears. At least until he continued, “But it doesn’t appear the blade has hit any vital organs. I’ll know for certain once we get her back to the Ward and I run some scans, but I think it looks worse than it actually is. Pending any complications, she should start to recover once we get some proper healing medication into her.”

A sob of relief left Alex, even if she knew it was still premature. “You hear that, girl?” she said, tenderly stroking Soraya’s face. “You’re going to be okay.”

With the pain reliever having entered her system, Soraya wasn’t making the horrible whimpering sounds anymore, but she had started shaking—a response mostly from shock and also because she was surrounded by people she didn’t know while lying helpless on the ground. In reaction to that, Alex quietly asked those around them to back up and give them some space, something they all did at her request. Only two moved closer— Caspar Lennox and Varin.

“I need you to let her go now, Alex,” Fletcher said gently. “Let us take it from here.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said, but Fletcher just shook his head.

“There’s nothing you can do except be in the way. I’ll be able to help her much faster without you there.”

“But—”

Soraya made a soft snuffling noise, drawing Alex’s attention enough for her to see the look in the wolf’s eyes saying it was okay to leave her.

More tears flowed as Alex turned back to Fletcher and said, “You promise to look after her?”

“Exactly as I would if it were you the blade had hit,” he said, wincing slightly at the memory of that already having happened. “I swear, Alex. She’s in good hands.”

And after holding his reassuring gaze for a long moment, Alex nodded.

“Here,” he said, passing her the healing salve and gesturing towards her still-bleeding cheek. “It’s only shallow—you should be fine to—”

“I’m all right,” Alex interrupted, taking the salve from him. “Just focus on her.”

It was his turn to nod then, and he cast a quick glance around at the assembled onlookers before telling Alex, “Hand that around when you’re done—it looks like there are a few people who could use it.”

In that moment, Alex was beyond thankful that Fletcher understood just how much Soraya meant to her that he was willing to prioritise an animal over the humans who had just been fighting for their lives. It was all she could do not to throw her arms around him, instead quietly thanking him while agreeing to make sure everyone who needed minor medical attention received it.

With one final pat and a promise that they’d be together again soon, Alex rose and stepped backwards, allowing Caspar Lennox and Varin to kneel beside Fletcher. It took the collective strength of all three to carefully lift Soraya’s bulky body into the air, before they swiftly disappeared in a cloud of shadows.

Only then did Alex turn and face the masses, noting the blood dripping from a wound on Kaiden’s face and a gory slice along Declan’s upper arm. In fact, most of the people surrounding her had injuries of some kind or another, so after smothering her cheek with the healing salve, she passed thecontainer to Kaiden and Declan and then onwards for it to be shared amongst the group.

All of this was done in silence, with no one knowing what to say. But then Karter stepped forward, covered in splatters of both red and silver blood, his icy blue eyes blazing with a combination of fury and relief as he barked out, “Where the hell have you lot been?”

Alex winced, but didn’t cower from his rage, especially when Kaiden and Declan moved to her side, offering a united front. She looked around for Jordan, Bear and D.C., struggling to see them amongst the masses, and wondered if they were hiding up the back to avoid Karter’s wrath. She wouldn’t blame them, even if she could use Bear’s gift of charm to calm the irate Combat teacher.

“It’s a long story,” Alex explained, knowing better than to share the tale of their journey with everyone. “But we’re back now. And just in time, it seems. Why were those Meyarins here, and only so few of them?”

It was Hunter who answered, his shadowy cloak covered in silver blood as he stepped forward to say, “They’ve been attacking like this for weeks, small skirmishes to test our defences. They keep trying to bring more here, but the Library’s wards are holding, for the most part. Only a few can make it through at once, enough to weaken us but not destroy us.”

Kaiden and Declan had stilled at Alex’s side, just as she had frozen as well, all of them having heard the same thing.

“Did you say… they’ve been attacking… forweeks?” she repeated, certain she must have heard wrong. But when Hunter nodded, she stammered, “That’s not—You can’t—We’ve only been gone seven days.”

Darrius moved through the crowd then, coming to a halt in front of Alex. His face was bruised with exhaustion but his eyes were clear as he looked at her, Kaiden and Declan, taking intheir shock, before he quietly said, “You haven’t been gone for seven days, Alex. You’ve been missing for nearly two months.”

All the air rushed out of her lungs.

“What?” Declan demanded, his alarm clear in his voice.

Rendered speechless, Alex listened intently as Darrius repeated that seven weeks had passed, not seven days. Standing rigidly beside her, Kaiden and Declan were struggling just as much to believe what they were hearing. Jordan, Bear and D.C. were also likely finding it impossible to comprehend, but sweeping her gaze over the assembled students and teachers again, Alex still couldn’t see any trace of them in the crowd.

Interrupting Declan’s quiet—if creative—cursing, Alex called out Jordan’s name, wondering if he was transcended with the others, having used his gift to protect them all during the skirmish. But he didn’t appear, and he didn’t answer—none of them did, not even when she called D.C.’s and Bear’s names as well.