Page 51 of The Song of Sunrise (The Prentice Teller #1)
Not Anymore
A fter checking the cabin for the sixth time that everything is tucked away neatly, I inhale one last time the familiar scent of pine and snow.
Before flying back to the Watch, I ask Heru to take me back to Goldenpine.
Seeing it in the morning light is so much worse than at night.
I had held out hope that there would be some sign of survivors.
A clue as to where they went. Tracks on the ground.
Proof if they even escaped at all… but the fresh layers of snow covered the wreckage, eerily softening the charred ruins of a place I once called home.
Each piece of broken building is kindling for the fury lining the inside of my body.
My vision blurs with fresh tears. I let them fall freely as I walk past the remains of the tavern, Marrow’s house, the town hall where Nickel and I would meet for lunch between shifts.
I try to hold onto the memories of how it once was rather than the pile of scrap snow-covered wood and ash it is today.
Crows have long since left the village, and nature is already reclaiming the space.
By the end of my walk, I feel lighter, like I was able to properly mourn the things that were. What could have been.
Heru nudges my shoulder from behind then bends her head to the ground, offering me a ramp to climb up.
The flight back to the Watch was swift and quiet. The landscapes beneath, plush with thick forests of pine and oak, give way to tall grasses, then to the large, rocky hills. Eventually, mountains loom in the distance, signaling my proximity to the castle.
Now that I understand my power comes from within, channeling magic feels different, more natural. All this time, I’d been reaching outward, pulling from the world around me, never realizing the true source was inside me all along.
I left for Redrock driven by duty, by necessity. I return with those same convictions—but something in me has shifted, as if a veil has been lifted.
The world I thought I knew, once so narrow and shadowed, now stretches wider than I ever imagined. Vast. Harsh. Beautiful. And far more broken than I was prepared for.
But I see it clearly now. And I’m not the same girl who left.
By the time we arrive on the Upper Fields, it’s late afternoon.
My joints are as frozen and unforgiving as the thick sheet of ice forming over the lake.
Slowly descending toward the snowy courtyards outside the keep, Heru glides effortlessly to a running landing.
My fingers ache from being tightly curled around the leather harness.
As if capable of predicting our arrival, Garrot is there to take the reins.
We will be together again, Starheart , Heru promises as she flies back to where the other rocs are camped.
I’m going to miss her, I realize, as I walk to Professor Novak’s classroom, repeating my excuse over and over again until it’s memorized as surely as a Telling. I pick up my speed, one foot in front of the other until I’m climbing the corridor steps to the first-stone wing.
I run along the stone hallways until I barge into Professor Novak’s room.
“Professor, I’m so sorry I’m late to return. I—”
“Cadet Nox.” Professor Novak gestures at the room full of students. “How about you and I touch base on the matters of your absence after my class is finished?” His tone is more of a statement than a question.
“Of course, my apologies, Professor.” My cheeks burn from embarrassment as students gawk at my unruly appearance. It’s another first-stone cohort that I don’t overlap classes with too often, though that doesn’t stop them from whispering to one another.
“She’s the first-stone that snuck off.”
“I heard she’s a roc rider now.”
“Why isn’t she in uniform?”
I don’t bother to look down at the myriad of Nickel’s hunting clothes, leather riding pants, and furs I’m currently wearing.
“Wait in my office, Cadet Nox,” Professor Novak says, pinching the sides of his nose.
I leave the room abruptly and work my way to the Professor quarters.
Office? Oh gods, this cannot be where my story ends. Surely Professor Novak would understand why I chose to fight in Redrock? Would he see the honor in my decision and not the disregard for Commander Hogsmith’s command for first-stones to stay back.
I wipe my palms on my pants, ignoring the other two cadets in the glass lift chatting in hushed tones.
No matter my fate, I will make Professor Novak see the truth.
The dire situation at hand: that small towns throughout Midland are slowly being decimated by the Jord.
Our allies ! And for what reason? Raid for supplies or gold?
What could they possibly be gaining from such violence?
I try to swallow down my fear, but the anger in my soul keeps rising back up my throat.
Professor Novak’s office is smaller than I anticipated. Slender windows stretch from floor to ceiling, and the crisp late afternoon light glistens through to a hanging crystal chandelier, sending shards of brightness around the room.
I make myself comfortable in the wingback chair across from his desk and fall far too quickly into my nervous habit of humming.
This time it’s the Battle of the Bards .
A ridiculous tune about two bards striving for the loudest cheers, but instead of battling until the end, they join together and make the iconic tune.
The door swings open and I stop my soprano rendition immediately, unfortunately right before the chorus. Professor Novak strides in.
Rude. I was just getting to the good part.
“You are one day late to return to class. You went to Redrock when first-stones were specifically advised to stay. All deployed returned within the past three days, and yet you return now.” His eyes narrow. “Explain.”
I swallow, trying to think of the words I had made up on the way here. “The roc I defeated in the first challenge offered me a ride.”
Okay, so that didn’t come out the way I had planned.
Professor Novak’s mouth twitches upward ever so slightly.
“I was not intending to go to Redrock, but Heru, the roc I mentioned, bowed to me. I took it as an invitation, and got on. I’m not sure if you recall…
but my hometown, Goldenpine, was also attacked by the Underworld.
So I had to fight, you see. It’s personal.
” I share the details of the past few days, my decision to fly to Goldenpine and how seeing the destruction and devastation was too much for me, that I needed to take a break to collect myself.
I leave Atlys out of my tale. By the end of the story, the Professor’s face is slack, eyebrows furrowed.
I shift in my seat, feeling heavy with anticipation, like the moment of stillness before Heru plummets down for her landing.
The edges of Professor Novak’s eyes crease as he contemplates for a minute.
After a while, he leans back and crosses his legs.
“You may return to the Watch Akemi”—he lifts a finger, cutting off the accolades of appreciation—“but I will need you to make up for your missed assignments by two moon falls, and you’ll have one month of cleaning chores. ”
I let out an involuntary sigh in a rush of relief. Chores, I can manage. Rosie made sure of that. “Right away, professor.” I make for the door.
“And Akemi, nice performance in the second task,” he adds, handing me a slip of paper.
You have got to be kidding me! Vega cheated during the logic portion of the task, and yet she somehow finds herself at the top.
At least we got second. The Jord team third, and Leaf’s Forest team fourth.
The River team fell in last, disqualifying them from the remainder of the Summit.
I’m sure Ramona is not pleased by this at all
“Thank you, Professor Novak,” I say, proud of letting only a hint of sourness resonate in my voice despite my extreme annoyance at the results.
I stick it in my pocket and try to resist the eye roll at seeing Castor’s and Vega’s names at the top.
The moment the slip of paper is out of sight, the magnitude of my situation sinks in.
I get to stay.
I’ve never before been so thrilled to etch another tally into the wall.
Elation fills me like two glasses of mead.
No amount of bad news will bring me down from this feeling.
One month of chores is easily worth the feeling I’ve come to know as belonging to something greater than just myself.
I hurry back to my room, ignoring the stares and whispers of cadets as I pass.
Ramona jumps down from her bunk the moment I enter.
“Akemi!” She pulls me in for a tight hug. Very uncharacteristic for Ramona. “I was so worried when you didn’t show up after the alarms, but then word got out that you got on top of a roc! I’m trying my hardest to put my jealousy aside, so before it takes over… tell me everything!”
“Only if you tell me everything first. How is Leo doing? And Lacerta…?”
Ramona sits back down on her chair, previous energy deflated. “Dead.”
My heart expands painfully against my ribs. I rub my chest trying to relieve the feeling. She was way too young to die. We sit there in silence for a few minutes.
“I’m disqualified. Leo too.” Ramona sighs. “As last to finish, the entire River Tribe team is taken out of the running for the Summit.”
“I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted this,” I offer, thinking of Ramona’s eagerness to prove herself within a huge family legacy.
“It’s alright.” She shrugs. “I’ve had a few days to process it. Now I can support my best friend.” Her smile brightens, and she flips an unruly curl out of her face. “Okay, I’ve waited long enough. Tell me everything!”
So I did. About Heru gifting me her feather, riding alongside Garrot and the other Elves, Redrock, and the destruction of Goldenpine. She blanches a little as I describe the wasteland remaining. Then, I finally tell her about Atlys and my outburst.