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"That was before."

"Before what?"

"You earned this one."

My heart does something deeply inconvenient. I look up. "Is this your version of congratulating me?"

"No."

"Of course not."

"You didn't embarrass yourself."

Cassian makes a strangled sound behind me. Nyra steps on his foot. I ignore both.

"Thank you." I say solemnly. "That's incredibly moving."

"I practiced."

"It shows." The smallest hint of a smile appears. Then Rhyven turns toward Caelen. "Chief meeting."

And just like that he's gone. I watch him leave for approximately one second. Maybe two. Nyra says nothing. Which is much worse than if she did. I take a drink. Exactly right. Again.

For the next several hours Friday behaves. That's the only word for it. Behaves. No bells. No emergency assembly. No missing-person notice. No search parties. Nothing. Classes happen. Lunch happens. I receive congratulations from people I barely know.

Professor Silas returns a botanical quiz and looks personally offended that half the class failed it. Cassian argues that one plant had been "aggressively ambiguous." She gives him detention. Normal. Beautifully normal.

By four in the afternoon people begin noticing. Friday. Still nothing. Nyra checks the time twice during study hall. I catch her. She catches me catching her. Neither comments.

Five. Nothing. Six. Nothing. For the first time hope begins creeping in. Not only around the Academy. Inside me. Maybe the spacing was coincidence. Maybe three really wasn't enough. Maybe—

"Good." Nyra says quietly.

We're sitting beneath the covered eastern courtyard, reviewing dragon notes. I look up. "What?"

She closes the book. "Nothing happened."

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

"Disappointed?"

Her face hardens immediately. "No."

I regret the question. "Sorry."

She shakes her head. "I want to be wrong, Eirea." Quiet. Fierce. "I've never wanted to be wrong about anything more."

I reach across and squeeze her hand. "Me too."

At six thirty the dinner bell rings. Normal. Students pour into the dining hall. Every chair occupied. Every name, as far as anyone knows, accounted for. The noise is louder tonight. Relief becoming careless. Someone actually starts singing. Poorly. Cassian joins. Worse. I laugh. Gods. Maybe—A different bell rings. One strike. Everything stops. My smile disappears. Second. Nyra's hand freezes halfway toward her cup. Third. No. No. Not now. The dining hall becomes completely silent. Then— A fourth strike. Recall. My stomach drops.

Every Chief stands simultaneously. No instructions needed. Students already know. Formations. Attendance. Stay where you are. Wait. The doors open. A Council guard enters. Then Professor Neris. Her face is white. Not pale. White. My father rises at the Council table. "What happened?" The guard crosses directly toward him. Speaks quietly. I cannot hear. But I see the moment my father's expression changes. Barely. Enough. Caelen is already moving. Rhyven too.

Professor Neris turns toward the hall. "Remain seated." No one moves. No one breathes properly. Minutes pass. Five. Ten. The relief from dinner rots into dread. Then the Headmaster enters. He does not climb the platform. He simply stands before us.

"At eighteen twenty-one..." His voice is steady. "A member of Academy staff was reported missing."