Page 117 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse

We dissolved, and as nausea hit me, I passed out.

39

Thatnight,Khargonspiritedme to the front door of the LDH, where Grant was waiting for me. He rushed me to the infirmary, and the healers there quickly extracted the bullet, repaired the wound, and left me to rest. Even though I’d lost a lot of blood, no vital organs were damaged, so recovery was quick.

Still, I languished in bed for days, feeling sorry for myself, then angry at my stupidity, my massive naivety, and rotten luck.

I talked to my family on the phone, and that made me feel slightly better. I didn’t tell them I’d been injured, of course, and they made plans for Christmas break, offering to pay for my plane ticket to ensure I could be there. It gave me solace and strength, and at last, the motivation to get out of bed and rejoin the living.

I wasn’t the first person with a broken heart. Since my dad died, I had safeguarded myself against the pain of losing someone, but I’d forgotten an important lesson, it seemed. Maybe it was time I stopped sticking my feelings where they didn’t belong.

Classes served as a welcomed distraction, and I poured all my energy into them. I completed every assignment and aced every test for the next couple of weeks.

We didn’t hear from Drevan or Khargon, which was a relief.

The news about Solar’s redemption reached us through Director Grant, who called Jenna, Sage, Benjamin, and me into his office to congratulate us.

“The Sloth Subject is officially redeemed,” he announced, sitting behind his desk as we stood before him shoulder-to-shoulder. “Excellent work. It is incredible and encouraging to think that two subjects have been taken care of.”

I lowered my head, wondering if I would ever cease to feel shame about being one of them.

“The last time, it took several years between subjects,” Grant continued. “Perhaps, the accelerated pace has something to do with… the prophecy.”

The prophecy. I’d nearly forgotten about it, but no luck anyone would let me.

“Khargon tells me that Solar has returned to his family. Apparently, he even has a job at a high-end antique shop. He seems to really have an eye for collectibles and the like.”

“Lucky bastard,” I muttered.

Next to me, Jenna stood with her arms crossed. “It would’ve been nice to actually help.”

“Oh, give it a rest.” Sage shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Easy for you to say, Sir Bloody Maximilian Fernsby.”

Benjamin wrung his hands together. “You shouldn’t be so willing to jump right in, Jenna. With all due respect, director, I think we should receive proper training.”

Grant smiled hugely, his perfect white teeth gleaming. “Which brings me to a new development… I have received approval from the Delegacy to allow first years to enroll in more advanced classes.”

We all exchanged glances, excitement bubbling through our ranks.

“Really?” Sage asked, making no effort to hide his excitement.

“There will be requirements, of course, but starting next semester a couple of classes reserved for second-year students will appear on your schedule.”

“Cool,” Benjamin said.

“About time,” Jenna murmured under her breath.

Grant steepled his fingers. “For now, continue the good work. You make a good study team, all of your grades are excellent.”

His warm brown eyes alighted on me as a fond smile stretched his lips. He seemed particularly proud of what I’d accomplished, and it made me feel good about myself, something I hadn’t done much of lately.

“That is all,” he said. “Return to your activities. I need to go over this stack of reports.” He placed his palm on a manila folder full of papers. “Demon sightings are getting worse, better training for all the students simply makes sense. We may soon need all the help we can get.”

We left his office ill at ease despite the good news about more training, something we’d all been looking forward to for a while.

Jenna and I got ahead of the guys, and she hooked an arm through mine and leaned to whisper in my ear. “Still no Drevan news.”