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Caelen looks at him. "Find Dax."

"Already did." Of course.

"Western rotation?"

"Checking."

"Ward logs?"

"Maelis."

"Patrols?"

"Soren."

Caelen exhales. Chief mode. Instantly. "I'll check dorms."

Rhyven nods. Then his eyes move toward me. "You stay."

I stare at him. "No."

"Eirea." He warns me too.

"I saw him last."

"Which means you'll give me exactly what you saw."

"And then?"

"Then you'll stay here."

I fold my arms. "You're becoming extremely annoying."

"Becoming?" Cassian mutters. No one acknowledges him.

"Why?" I ask.

Rhyven's expression doesn't change. "Because five Chiefs searching is enough."

"That's not why."

Silence. There. Something flickers through the connection. Tension. Not fear. Not quite. Something tighter. Protective. My anger softens before I want it to. Rhyven seems annoyed by that too. Interesting. "Tell me what you saw." He says. So I do.

Jonas in the doorway. Glass in hand. Goodnight. Nothing strange. No one beside him that I noticed. No distress. No argument. Nothing. Rhyven listens. Then nods once. "Good." He turns. I catch his sleeve. He looks down at my hand. Then at me.

"Tell me when you find him." Something changes in his face. Small.

"I will." I release him. He leaves.

Two hours pass. No Jonas. At first no one panics. He's twenty-two. A third-year. Students disappear for hours all the time. Training. Library. Village. Someone else's bedroom. Places nobody asks about. But Jonas isn't in any of them. His friends search. Then his Wing searches. Then professors become involved. At three in the afternoon his dormitory is inspected. At three-fifteen Caelen finds me. I'm sitting with Nyra and Cassian outside the library. One look at his face— I stand. "What?" I ask.

"His bed wasn't slept in."

My stomach drops. Nyra closes her book. "Maybe he didn't go back." She says.

"He didn't." Caelen confirms.

"His things?" I ask.