Our horses, still tethered near a stream on the eastern slope, greeted us with eager snorts—grateful, no doubt, for the apples we’d brought as a peace offering. Cleo, following Fallon’s whispered instructions, called down a massive brown wolf nearly the size of River. With nothing more than a scratch behind the ears, she had him tamed and mounted in no time, and was now calling him Nook.
I handed my reins to Davis. Pehper approached like she assumed she’d ride with him, but Tatum beat her to it, hip-checking her squarely into the mud. Pehper landed with a sharp yelp and a splash. It took every ounce of restraint not to double over laughing.
I swung onto Rhodes’s horse before she could even think of trying her luck with him, leaving her to mount up behind Nash.
He did not look thrilled.
Avoiding towns and villages had been a unanimous decision. We stayed deep in the woods, moving under the canopy’s cover, rising before the sun, and packing up camp before the birds even stirred. By nightfall, exhaustion had worn us thin—too tired for stories or laughter around the fire. Even oursilence felt heavy.
Rhodes gave up his tent to me and my friends without a second thought, retiring by the fire with quiet resolve each night. Cleo, Tatum, and I curled together inside, shoulder to shoulder, drawing comfort from each other’s warmth as we read through the letters from Laney that Nash had given us. It wasn’t much, but it was comforting. And right now, that was more than enough.
After the whirlwind of the past two weeks, I haven’t had the energy to talk about the mysterious tomes or what happened in the Eternal Tomb. My body was drained, my mind even more so, and the only thing keeping me upright are the belly laughs and delirious inside jokes I’ve shared with my friends in the quiet moments between chaos.
Saving the world can wait one more day.
Right now, I just wanted to breathe. Before the world comes crashing down around me again.
By tomorrow, we’ll be back in the Hollow with the intel Arrow Fitzroy sent us to retrieve. For decades, Elementals have searched for the Mareki’s Key—but they’ve been looking for the wrong type of key all along.
The key wasn’t a key. It’s two journals. Magical tomes with hidden ink that only reveals itself once they’ve entered the presence of the Mareki. And somehow, Fallon and I are the only ones who can read them. From the few glimpses I’d had, the lettering in the first journal was old—ancient, even. The language was ours, but the phrasing was unlike anything taught in Mageia.
I wanted to go back into the Eternal Tomb to unlock the second tome—the one Hogboom had thought important enough to hide in the walls of his office. But Fallon was right. If we had risked it, we would’ve been caught. And this mission would’ve ended in failure.
Both tomes stayed tucked safely in my pack ever since. They hadn’t left my sight, not for a second. The forest hid and shielded us, but I couldn’t afford to risk pulling them out, not even for a quick read. If we were ambushed again, I couldn’t risk losing them.
So, the tomes will stay where they were, sealed tight in my bag, until we are back behind the Hollow’s protective wards.
Cleo and Tatum had been peppering Nash with questions about his sister ever since we finished our campfire dinner. His bright smile flickered behind the dancing flames as he recounted childhood stories, most ending with him and Laney causing trouble together. They were partners in crime, even as adults—inseparable.
My heart tightened at the sight of his eyes—those same warm brown eyes, shaped and shaded just like Laney’s—now sparkling with laughter. Laney may have been taken from me, but somehow, she still found a way to send me her brother.
A friend.
“Missed you, Thorne.”
I rocked sideways from a playful bump and turned to find Davis settling beside me.
I grinned, though the smile didn’t reach my eyes. “I’m happy you’re here.”
Davis chuckled. “Couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I? I’ve always wanted to be part of a secret mission.”
“Is that right?” Rhodes called from behind us, brushing down one of the horses.
Davis snapped his fingers, conjuring a flame that curled and twisted above his hand. “Shoot, yeah. Makes for the best kind of adventure. I was getting stuffy trapped behind those walls. Kalluri’s gone full dictator—tightening control on every cadet, pushing us harder than ever. He’s prepping us for the front lines.”
My eyes narrowed. “Front lines? There’s no way he’d send cadets that close to the war.”
Davis tilted his head. “He hasn’t said it outright. But war’s coming, Thorne—sooner than any of us want to admit. Tyria has been capturing our soldiers in the Barrens. They don’t come back. It’s a slow bleed, weakening our borders piece by piece. It’s all leading to something. And after Professor Maksimov…”
Rhodes made his way over and lowered himself onto a log beside me, silent and listening.
I sighed. “Tatum said the explosion was devastating. Enough to take down part of the Valley’s rock wall.”
Davis nodded. “And I’m sure Cleo informed you of what she overheard before her teaching-assistant post was cut.” He glanced at me, then continued, “Kalluri’s men from the legion are planning. They expect an attack in the next couple of months. They’re even mapping escape routes for cadets. Cadets might not be on the front lines, but they’ll still be in it.”
My chest tightened.
“A gray dragon was spotted just north of Mageia,” Davis said, voice low and solemn.
