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F or the whole rest of the day, it was hard to focus on anything but the nightmare that had left me full of dread.

I was so distracted that I got my asterisk kicked in hand-to-hand combat, Nikita had made me look like a fool yet again in History, no doubt pissed that she could no longer lord it over me that we were paired up.

No point when Typhon had bonded himself to me.

To wrap the day up, when Doyenne Hanover asked me to perform a healing rune on the injured foot of a chicken named Maude, she’d ended up buck naked.

Maude, not Doyenne Hanover, thank the gods.

Yep. Instead of fixing the poor bird, my magic had skittered uselessly over its body and ended in an explosion of feathers. I don’t know who was more embarrassed, me or Maude.

Now, we were sitting in the last class of the day, and it was somehow even worse than the ones before it.

Blocking runes with Typhon. It was bad enough that I’d had to see him between every class when he came to escort me around like some sort of giant secret service agent.

He’d barely even looked at me, clearly distracted himself.

And when I’d made an attempt to pick his brain about my strange and disturbing dream, he’d shut me down cold.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate today, Harlow. Save the therapy session for Fable or Marina.”

So much for our little bonding session by the river.

It was for the best, I reminded myself bleakly. When I ticked off all the items on my to-do list, I knew I had to just keep going. Learn the runes. Help my friends. Protect Opie.

Nothing else mattered.

“Harlow?”

I looked up to see Fable leaning toward me, her amber eyes wide in question. Trusting me.

Even while I kept a dark secret from her.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked, guilt making my stomach roil. Fable mattered. In fact, after only a short time stuck in the same dorm room, the whole House of Phoenix was starting to matter.

Even Gassy Gary.

“I was asking if you wanted to try to block my cat got your tongue rune.”

I glanced around to see the others practicing some blocking spells as Typhon sat facing the wall, head bowed in either sleep or thought.

I shrugged. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

She grinned and tucked a lock of hair behind one ear. Then she took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. Her hands moved swiftly, sending up a light smattering of golden sparks.

I threw up the block rune – the proper way – and a second later, felt my throat close.

Sheet.

Fable blinked at me and leaned close.

“Did it work?” she demanded, hope blazing in her eyes.

I tried to speak, but knew it was futile. When nothing but a husky croak came out, she grinned and clapped her hands together.

“I did it! Yesss!”

“Not sure what you’re celebrating, Ms. O’Shanahan.” We both craned our necks to see Typhon towering over us. “This is Nullifractions class. You’re learning how to block magic, which neither of you did. Try again.”

He swept back to his desk as Julius shook his head and held up two thumbs as he mouthed a mocking “ Well done ...” before following Typhon like the little suck-up he was.

Fable let out a low sigh. “Doyen Moreno is right. I tried to block a couple runes against Zeed before and couldn’t do it. I don’t know how we’re supposed to succeed in taking down Nocta when we’re set up to fail from the very start. Cat got your tongue is great, but it won’t save me in a fight.”

The tight sensation in my throat faded and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Let me talk to him. Maybe I can convince him that sooner is better on the whole getting us all out of here and seeing what we can do thing.”

I couldn’t just sit back and wait. The sooner I was able to access my full power ... test its true limits, make sure the others could do the same ... the sooner we would all be safer from Nocta.

I pushed myself up and marched past my trying-but-frustrated classmates and stopped in front of Typhon’s desk, where he sat, facing the wall again.

I kept my tone low, for his ears only. “I know you said you have a lot going on, but I really think getting us up to speed to fight Nocta ASAP should be priority number one. Especially if you have your eye on someone.” He turned and started to talk but I shushed him before he could even speak.

“Don’t brush me off again, Typhon. This is about giving us a fighting chance when Nocta comes knocking.

He’s already tested the waters. You said it yourself.

Time is ticking. We’ve got to show them what they’re capable of. They need to believe in themselves.”

He lifted one dark brow. “You done?”

I nodded.

“Tonight. Right after dinner.”

I frowned at him suspiciously. “Seriously?”

“Yes. That’s what’s been on my plate, Harlow. I needed to come up with a good reason to take you all on a field trip at night because there’s no way to hide that you’ve all left the school at the same time.”

“And you’ve managed to do that somehow?”

The excitement that roared through me was almost dizzying.

Just the thought of all that magic flowing, like electricity only more elemental .

.. intoxicating but also necessary. Like water.

Like air. Having tasted it now, my whole body pulsed with the need to taste it again.

I stared down into Typhon’s eyes and tried to focus.

He was speaking. I needed to listen.

“I’ll tell Tarquinius I’m taking you all out to do manual labor along with extra instruction that you all desperately need. If he thinks it’s a punishment, he won’t push back.”

Yeah, perfect. Just what you wanted in the person tasked with the care of hundreds of young people. Ruthlessness with a smidge of cruelty for good measure.

I held my tongue on that and focused on the important thing. We were going to get to leave the Neverthorn wards again and do magic. Real magic.

It was enough to make me forget about yet another awful day and the even more awful dream.

By the time dinner was done, though, I was starting to wonder if Tarquinius hadn’t been as amenable as Typhon had hoped. The doyen had been MIA throughout the meal, and the kitchen staff were already collecting the food trays.

“Do you think he changed his mind?” Fable whispered, her face lined with worry.

“No ...” I poked at a leftover green bean and frowned. “No, I think he really wants this for us. But he isn’t the one in charge here, so who knows what might’ve happened?”

The words were no sooner out of my mouth than Typhon came striding up to our table, his face a mask of irritation.

“House of Phoenix, toss your trash and meet me at the entrance.”

Fable grinned at me as we both stood.

“Are we in trouble?” Zeed asked, shooting me a nervous glance. “I really tried in class today. I was even able to block a couple runes, albeit not for long ...”

I’d risked telling Fable and Bandit but had made them promise to keep the news from the others.

When we got to the front doors of the school a few minutes later, Typhon was waiting.

“Where are we going?” Marina asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “We’re not getting kicked out, are we? Because my grandad will flip out. He was so proud that I was one of the chosen few to get the call back ...”

“Yeah,” Gary chimed in. “I think my dad’s turned my bedroom into a man cave already.”

“Save the questions and follow me,” Typhon said.

He led the way through the doors and into the cool night air.

The Northern Lights weren’t on display with the cloud cover, and the full moon had waned, leaving us cloaked in eerie shadows.

For about five minutes, we walked in silence.

Everyone but Fable and, oddly enough, Phyllis, looked like they were on a march to their death.

I wanted to reassure them that everything was okay, but clearly Typhon wanted to keep up the ruse until we were off school grounds in case he was being watched.

Phyllis, despite her age, had been keeping up close to the front of the pack from the start, but had slowly wound up toward the back, near us.

“If this is what I think it is, there’s nothing to be nervous about. In fact, it’s a long time coming. They had no choice back then, but –”

She broke off, pulling the black shawl more closely around her shoulders, and I stared at her.

“But what?”

“Nothing. Just the ramblings of an old lady.”

“You know something.”

It wasn’t a question. It was clear, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t seen it before. A woman in her sixties who had come to Neverthorn as a child and never left. If there were things to know, mysteries to be revealed, who would have more intel on them than Phyllis?

And here I’d been trying to find some alone time so I could head back to the library ...

“Phyllis. Please. It could help so much if we had all the information. I’m flying blind here ...”

She took a look around as if to see if anyone else was close enough to hear. “We haven’t been failing, Harlow. I think we’ve been hamstrung. Intentionally, in the beginning. I think Doyen Moreno is going to help us stop –”

“Students,” Typhon called, bringing our merry band of misfits and Phyllis’s admission to a halt. “Entering the woods, we need to be aware of several things. First and foremost, there are creatures residing within that have the potential to do us harm. If you listen to me, you will be safe. Got it?”

We all mumbled a yes, but Zeed started fidgeting, shifting from foot to foot. Typhon leaned around Zeed to make direct eye contact with me. “If you listen to me, you will be safe,” he repeated just for me, his voice lower. Softer. More lethal.

“I said okay,” I shot back, narrowing my eyes.

“Not to question you, sir, but are we sure this is a good idea?” Zeed asked. “With all the Nocta stuff, shouldn’t we stay closer to the school?”