Stepping into the main floor of the Academy was like entering an alternate universe. The sound hit me first, a cacophony of buzzing voices mixing together with the cries of the wounded and the scraping of stone as it was moved from one place to another. Cadets and soldiers alike milled about, some cleaning while others tried to wrangle the cadets into some semblance of education.
It was a chaotic mess of motion.
I slowly picked my way through broken rock and debris, my feet crunching with every step. A slight haze hung in the air and shimmered slightly in the sunlight that streamed through the wide-open main doors. It illuminated the main floor completely, the light bouncing off the glittering obsidian stone nearly blinding me in the process.
“Oops, sorry, miss, excuse me,” an older soldier said as he bumped into mefrom behind. I gave him a tight smile before stepping out of his path, indicating with an open palm that he should continue in his trajectory.
“Thank you kindly,” he huffed. I watched as he passed me, his tanned hands gripping two poles covered in a stained and tattered cloth. A second soldier held the other end of the hastily constructed stretcher, a collection of severed and slightly decomposing limbs carried between them.
I tore my eyes away from the macabre sight, stunned to see that no one was alarmed by the stretcher full of arms and legs.
Either the soldiers’ and cadets’ experiences these last few days were exponentially worse, or they’d simply grown accustomed to the sight of blood and bodies.
“Rune Master!” Sol’s now familiar voice snapped me back to reality as I quickly looked around for the Air Mage. More than one soldier nodded in respect as I passed, slowly picking my way through dirt and debris to reach Sol and Thandi near the entrance to the mess hall. The doors, like everything else here, were scorched and dirty, seemingly hanging onto their frames by sheer force of will.
“Sol,” I greeted the Mage much quieter than her call to me as I approached. “Thandi,” I inclined my head to her hulking Vessel.
“The General wants you to have an escort as you make your way through the city.” The bangs and booms of cleanup were louder in this part of the Academy, and Sol had to shout near my ear in order to be heard. I leaned toward her while never taking my eyes off the scene in front of me, absorbing every minute detail for Rohak.
My heart sank at the realization that this was going to be the least affected building. The majority of the battle took place in the courtyard beyond; the Academy only sustained damage at the very beginning, before the gods’ army collapsed the protective barrier around the inner square of Vespera.
Inwardly, I cringed at what might await me in the blinding afternoon sun, and I couldn’t escape the sliver of self-loathing that accompanied my thoughts.
Iwas the one who let Torin into the Academy.Iwas the one who showed him the secret entrance, helped him get the rebels into Vespera so he could rescue Ellowyn.
At what cost? Now the city is destroyed, and Lex and Ellowyn are missing.
“Is that okay?” Sol demanded, drawing me from my spiraling thoughts.
I nodded once, not really caring what she said. My body itched to go outside, to see the devastation firsthand and then come back into the Academy to help with the relief efforts.
“Wounded are being held inside the mess hall for now,” Sol explained, gesturing behind her to the wonky doors. “If you find anyone else, have your Mage mark the spot. I’ll send someone to collectthem.”
“And the bodies?” I blurted.
Sol grimaced as the corners of her light-brown eyes tightened.
“At this point, it’s best to burn them where they are. Moving corpses this late could infect the rest of us with gods know what.” Her words were callous, but I understood and agreed with her reasoning.
“Mage Alma!” A boy no older than twelve waved across the way to Sol and Thandi. Dirt marred his face to the point that I couldn’t decipher the tone of skin that lay beneath. His Mage blacks were just as filthy, holes torn in the sleeves and pant legs.
“Excuse me, Rune Master. I must go. Talamh is waiting for you just outside the—well, where the doors used to be. If you find anything worth reporting, please send it my way,” Sol clipped with a nod of her head before she strode across the hallway, her steps confident and sure. Conversely, my strides were hesitant as I made my way to the entrance of the Academy.
Unlike the last time I was here, no one stopped me. No one looked at me with a sort of awed reverence. Everyone was engrossed in their own tasks, too focused on repairing Vespera to notice me.
I much preferred it that way.
The closer I got to the open maw of the Academy, the more my hands shook, and my breaths came in small pants. Despite Sol’s insistence that all bodies were accounted for and buried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that what I saw beyond those doors would forever change me.
Funny that I was once terrified to enter the Academy, and now I was too scared to leave it.
“Rune Master?” A rumbling, deep voice with a thick northern accent interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see a large, hulking man with auburn hair that glinted more red in the late morning sun. Talamh—in the short time I knew him—was always reserved, but the death of his twin, Tine, in the battle seemed to harden him further. Harsh lines framed his gold-flecked green eyes and surrounded his thin mouth as if he’d aged decades in the span of a few days.
“Hello, Talamh,” I greeted softly with a small smile. The edges of his face eased slightly, but I only received a grunt in return.
“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing for me to lead the way out of the Academy and into the devastation beyond.
Chapter Twenty-Two
