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"No—"

"Walk." Still frozen. Fuck. I don't have time to comfort her properly. So I take her hand. Pull once. She moves. Good. "Hold the rope." She does.

Child construct. Behind debris. I lift. Too heavy one-handed. Right arm still technically injured. I forgot.

Evaluator doesn't. "Right arm unavailable." Kaelis calls. I swear. Set it down. Think. Blanket. I pull one from the wall. Roll construct onto it. Drag. Slower. Works.

Smoke thickens. Alarm. One minute thirty. Exit visible. Then— collapse sound. First civilian screams. I turn. He fell. Of course. I can go back. Lose time. Maybe lose child. Or leave him. No. I drag the child to the exit. Hand the blanket to the waiting evaluator. Turn back. Forty seconds.

Panicking civilian is outside. Good. First is twelve yards in. I run. Grab under his arms. Right arm unavailable. Fuck the right arm. No. Rules matter because injuries will matter. I hook my left arm beneath his. "Push with your good leg." I tell him.

We move. Slow. Too slow. Bell begins. Five. Four.

Three. We cross. Two.

Kaelis looks at the clock. "One minute fifty-eight."

I drop onto my knees. "You're welcome."

He doesn't smile. But Dax does.

"All civilians alive." Kaelis says. "Structural objective failed."

"What structural objective?"

"You didn't reinforce the evacuation corridor." I stare.

"There was a ward anchor inside." I think back. Shit. There was. I didn't even see it.

"Meaning?"

"Anyone entering after you loses the route." Mistake. Important. I nod. "Understood." He writes.

Sixth is Emergency Command No break. Apparently breathing is optional. I enter the command station expecting instructions. Instead, twelve students are waiting. First-years. Second-years. Mixed Wings. Nobody says anything. I look toward Dax. "What."

He checks the clipboard. "You're command."

"For what?" Alarm. Of course.

Red lights activate across the field. Western breach. Two casualties. Dragon anomaly north. Ward failure east. Too much. Good.

Everyone looks at me. There it is. What Rhyven said.

Deciding while everyone else waits for you to be right. Oh. I understand now. I hate it. "Report." I say.

Nobody moves. Louder. "Report."

A second-year responds. "East ward at forty percent."

"Reinforce."

"With who?"

I look. Two fae. "You two." They move.

"Wounded?"

"South marker."