“She really protected us all,” Tibby said, walking over with all three of his mates leaning against him for support. “Thanks, Roo.”
“And you, are you okay?” Mom checked him over with my dads before feeling satisfied that we were all okay.
“Get cleaned up,” she told us. “Infirmary check for all of you, but then rest. Tomorrow, we will arrange for the raid fully. In three days, we burn their facility to the ground.”
I looked back toward the academy. A faint green glow emanated down the hallway that led to the shattered auditorium. My gaze moved back to the bridge and the churning magical abyss beneath it before skimming over the immense amount of corpses left over from the humans we'd fought.
My mates stood around me, bruised and exhausted, but alive.
Seth had given his life for mine…for all of us.
I would make damn sure that the Whettlocks would never hurt another supernatural again.
rune
. . .
I’d barely sleptlast night.
After last night’s attack at the formal, there wasnopart of me that felt rested. The adrenaline had long faded to a slow, vibrating ache beneath my ribs, and my body healed fast after five cups of poisoned tea. Though my mind was a completely different story.
I stood with the other fourth-years in the dusty morning light on top of the bright blue protective ward circling Apex Penitentiary’s entrance.
It was my last day at Apex Elite Academy.
The final trial.
No squads, or mentors, or safety nets.
Just individual agents ready to prove they were worthy of working for the Supernatural Council by breaking into whatever waited beneath Apex.
My mates stood close to me in the formation. Slater and Zuko were on either side of me, while Dimitri and Koa stood just behind me. Jesper, Drecken, and even Tibby were in attendance, but they weren’t allowed to stand with the fourth-years.
Even though this was an individual test, I could feel the support of my mates through the matebonds as a constant flow of warmth.
The other fourth-years whispered around us, and some were still pale from the tourmalyke poisoning. Others looked like they’dbarelycrawled out of bed. Everyone wore the academy-issued uniform.
A ripple of magic rolled across the courtyard like a heartbeat from the entrance below.
My dad, Headmaster Lake Bloodwyne, stood in front of us. It was always so interesting to me to see him in his headmaster position, even though I’d been here for four years now. His black hair caught the rising sun in spots, and his golden eyes, which were always full of warmth and pride at home, were glacial with authority.
“Year-four students,” he said, voice deep enough to vibrate the wards beneath our boots. “Your final trial begins now.”
A cold thrill shot down my spine.
I’d been wanting to dive into that entrance since day one.
My father’s gaze swept over the formation with intensity, lingering a fraction of a second on me before moving on in a professional, unreadable manner. “Despite last night’s attack, we proceed as scheduled. The humans grow bold, so we will grow sharper. Apex Elite Academy was built for this.Youhave been trained for this.”
He turned, gesturing toward the entrance of Apex Penitentiary.
Most students never bothered to glance at it unless they were aware of what it was ahead of time, apparently. It always looked like a simple decorative glade or a reflective pool. Until a closer examination showed that it was a pit hiding a jagged, yawning black chasm filled with water so still it might as well have been glass. Except for when it rippled and breathed.
The water bulged, and the shape beneath shifted. The mouth was enormous, with rows of teeth.
It wasn’t a creature, not exactly, but an ancient, organic structure. A fae-wrought sentinel gifted to the supernaturals in Kalista after Kalista’s First War.
Several students gagged.
