While I’m still processing this amalgam of information, Sakura’s already slathering balm over my cuts and winding bandages around me with whimsical precision. At this rate, I’m wrapped in so much fabric I could pass for a mummy. I might as well be dressed for Halloween. Do they even celebrate it here? Ihopethey do. Then again, if they don’t... It'll be interesting to see it all through Kai’s eyes, something new. Why am I thinking about Halloween? Oh, yeah, mommies. But first, let’s survive this night… This day?
“Hey, Saku, you sure she’s okay?” Van’s voice cuts through my thick haze, heavy with concern. The words echo as the world spins faster and faster. The thoughts are more dizzying one after the other.
“It’s exhaustion; she pulled a double all-nighter. I already gave her an energy potion earlier, so that’s off the table. We could try a restful spell, but she’ll be out for thirty minutes.”
“Hav-av-ready took one,” I slur, trying to ask why it’s a problem. They all look at me like I just burnt my eyebrows.
“Wha—at?”
“Are you insane?” Sakura flushes the same shade as her hair. I might’ve been scared if I weren’t seeing double.
“Restful spell it is,” she says tightly. “And it’s going to be a forty-five-minute one.”
“No! W-we n-nee t-to h-help!” The words stumble out, slurred and broken, my frustration evident.
“You’re not even facing her,” Vanessa says flatly. Then her voice hardens. “Do it.” There’s weight behind her words now, an edge of command that cuts through the chaos. “She’s already seeing double. If we wait any longer, she’ll–”
And then, everything goes black. Again, I am getting fucking tired of this.
The soft creakof wooden wheels over cobblestone pulls me out of the heavy sleep. Everything feels… muffled. I’m caught between sleep and consciousness, floating somewhere I don’t belong. When my eyes finally open, the first thing I see is the sky. Pale blue, streaked with orange and soft pink, the kind of morning that pretends everything’s calm.
The air is cool against my skin. Then the pain kicks in. It’s not sharp, not yet, but it’s there. Bruises, cuts, aches in places I didn’t know could hurt. My muscles feel like I’ve been dragged through a battlefield, and probably because I was. I shift, barely, and even that sets off a wave of protest through my body; everything hurts.
High above, movement catches my eye. A raven, slicing through as if it owns the sky. Its black wings slice cleanly through the air as it circles overhead. Then, just as suddenly, it dips and disappears over the horizon. A chill crawls down my spine. Something about it feels…wrong. Not just eerie, but personal. As if it knew I’d be here. And just like that, it all comes rushing back. The gravity of it, we barely made it out. We survived, but I can’t help wondering for how long?
Forcing myself to sit up. Big mistake, a sharp pain tears through my side, and I suck in a breath, trying not to make a sound. The world tilts, my vision swims. Somewhere in the background, I hear the sway of the carriage, the rustle of fabric, but the scent of tobacco and mint is what grounds me. I realize then who I’m leaning on.
My gaze shifts, slowly to the left, and my heart stumbles when it lands on Kai. His gaze, darker than usual, is clouded with concern. There’s tension in his jaw, tight, controlled, trying to stay calm even while everything inside him isnot.
We're no longer in the thick of it. The battle’s over, at least for now. Backup arrived, and we’re being taken somewhere safe, well, that’s the hope I’m clinging to.
“What happened?” I manage, though my voice comes out rough, barely more than a whisper. My throat burns, dry, raw. Kai doesn’t answer right away. Instead, his fingers slip gently through my hair, the touch so tender, comforting, making me close my eyes for a second.
“Sakura cast a restful spell on you,” he says at last, voice low and gravel-edged. “By the time it took hold, backup had arrived.” His hand hovers near my face, brushing a loose strand of hair away. The gesture is quiet, familiar. I see it then, in his eyes, not just the worry, but the weight of what came after. The fear he’s trying so hard to bury, sitting just beneath the surface. It hangs thick, a truth neither of us wants to give a voice to. Because onceit’s out there, we can’t take it back. But we both know it didn’t end with the battle, that was just the beginning.
I glance at the sky, and the hazy light of dawn creeps over the horizon, brushing the trees in gold. But the warmth of it doesn’t reach me, not really. There’s still a chill buried in my bones that sunlight can’t touch.
“They got here in time,” he continues, voice low. “But it isn’t over. We need to plan our next move.” The shift in his tone tells me he’s speaking to the others, too, now. Up front, Nalaka steers the horses with a tight grip on the reins. She glances back, sharp-eyed and tense, on guard. As if she’s waiting for the next wave to come crashing out of the trees. Wyll sits beside her, fingers twitching near the trigger of his guns. Ready, focused, watching the shadows like they’re alive. Kai’s voice cuts through the tension again.
“We got lucky. Only two demon classes. No infections. But—” That gut-twisting feeling becomes more insistent, so I cut in before he can finish. I already know where Kai is going with this, but I know what I saw: the raven circling us from above, avampyr.
“I think you should save the rest for somewhere safer,” I say, locking eyes with him. “Somewhere no one eavesdrops.” Kai pauses, and his eyes narrow slightly.
Caleb steps in, “She’s right. Let’s not broadcast our luck to the woods.”
Brackwell nods once. “Alright. Debrief at the manor.” It’s an order, but when his gaze returns to mine, there’s a softness in it, something quieter.“Good thinking, Vi,” he adds, voice just a little softer.
The words slip past my defences before I can stop them, adding to the chipping of frost around my heart.
54
Avilyna
A PROBLEM TO FIX
We’ve barely setfoot on the Institute’s grounds before we’re marched straight to the General’s waiting room. No detour to the manor, instead guards line the walls, silent and unreadable, as we’re called in one by one.
Then it’s my turn.
