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"Now!" We move.

The Council chamber is barely a Council chamber anymore. Maps torn. Tables moved. Windows shattered. Half the room operating from the floor.

The Headmaster stands over the central ward diagram. Elarion commanders beside him. Our Chiefs enter. For one second, everyone looks relieved.

Then work. Always work.

"Status." Dax demands.

My father answers. "Outer wards completely open. Inner holding intermittently."

"Cause?"

"Unknown."

"Can they be restored?"

"Attempting."

"Dragon losses?" Professor Kaelis gives a number.

I don't hear it. Don't want to.

"Theryn?" Caelen asks. Silence.

"Active." Kaelis says. "Corrupted."

Dax closes his eyes briefly.

"Vyrael?" Nobody answers.

I look at Caelen. "Where is he?"

"I don't know." For the first time, my brother sounds scared.

No.

The Headmaster slams one hand onto the table.

"Enough. We need the wards."

A ward specialist from Elarion points toward the diagram. "The outer system is not broken."

"What?"

"It's being held open." Silence.

"By what?"

"We don't know." Of course.

"Can you close it?"

"If we sever the foreign magical influence."

"How."

The specialist looks toward the battlefield. "Overload the anchors simultaneously." Someone swears.