Page 335

I look down. "Yes."

"You packed six books."

"Seven."

"Why."

"I need them."

"No."

"Excellent argument."

He looks toward the bottom bag. "Weapons?"

"Enough."

"How many is enough."

"Don't worry about it."

Caelen says: "Nine."

I turn. "Traitor."

Rhyven looks at me. "Nine?"

"Some are small."

"That's not better." Nyra is trying very hard not to laugh.

A bell rings downstairs. One short tone. Operational briefing. Rhyven immediately turns."Ten minutes."

Caelen follows him. Then stops. Looks at me. "Eat."

I stare. Rhyven looks back from halfway down the corridor. For one deeply irritating second, both men are looking at me.

I point between them. "No."

Caelen frowns. "No what."

"You cannot both start doing that."

Rhyven's expression goes blank. "Doing what."

"Ordering me to eat." Caelen looks at him. Then me. Then Rhyven again. A terrible realization moves across my brother's face. Nyra makes a sound behind me that is definitely laughter disguised as a cough.

Rhyven simply says: "Briefing in ten." And walks away. Coward. Different kind this time.

The briefing begins with Theryn. Of course. No one has found her. No bond restoration. No new Blood Echo trace. No change in the depleted ground except slow magical recovery. Eddy remains in the dragon grounds with Vyrael nearby. That surprises me. Not that Eddy stayed. That Vyrael did. Rhyven must have asked him. Or Vyrael chose. Either way, the ancient dragon is apparently refusing to leave the Rider who lost his own. Something about that hurts.

Professor Neris stands at the main board. "Current priorities." She writes. ONE — LOCATE MISSING.

TWO — DETECT PRE-EVENT DEPLETION. THREE — PRESERVE RESIDUAL EVIDENCE. FOUR — PREPARE FOR ESCALATION. No one needs the forty-three-day timeline written beside the last one.

We all know it. And we all know it has become increasingly useless.

"Response Quarters reduce assembly time from an average of nine minutes to under three." The Headmaster says. "All designated personnel sleep here unless reassigned." Cassian lifts his hand. The Headmaster looks at him. "Yes?"