For a few breaths we just listened to the quiet. No wings beating. No skittering limbs. Only the slow crumble of cooling resin and the soft rasp of our own breathing.

  A new island drifted out of the mist and settled in line with ours. It was small and almost perfect in shape, like a flat coin of dark stone. Two bridges unrolled from its edges. One was faintly marked with a circle of gold at its far end. The other carried a thin line of pale blue light that sank into the haze beyond.

  “Gold is the exit,” Zephyra said.

  Grond spat a clot of black ichor and wiped his mouth. “Glad to be leaving alive.”

  “Professor Roark and the others will be interested in all of this,” Malorn added as he shouldered his bow.

  Milo stared at the blue-lit span with theatrical longing, then patted his satchel. “My traps disagree about leaving. They say there is more loot to find. But my sore body agrees. Gold it is.”

  Before we moved, Zephyra crouched and drew three clean lines in the soot with one dagger tip. It was how she always started a debrief.

  “Assessment,” she said.

  Grond rolled his shoulders. “Lane control held. Next time I need a heavier rune on the pike to pierce plates like the queen’s. Stamina dipped when Shine’s weave slowed during the prolonged fight. I can fix that with a different cadence.”

  Shine nodded, tired but steady. “My reserves were good until the end surge. The cleanse line worked. I will anchor two next time and stagger the rhythm more, but that is about the most I can do. We faced truly overwhelming odds.”

  Milo toyed with a broken wire harness. “Trap grid was almost perfect. The outer ring grabbed as designed. The inner ring needed one more anchor on the left; I compensated with paste. The wrist board I created in my traps class worked wonderfully. I’ll put more time into mastering it, controlling trap switches from my wrist instead of holding extended lines is a drastic upgrade. Also, I am filing a formal complaint against acid, and I want that in the record.”

  “Filed,” Zephyra said, smiling slightly. “Malorn.”

  “The fliers were big targets and easy to hit. Ground targets were harder to thread in with so much heat distortion.” He glanced to Fern, who peered over his shoulder with ears flat. “We need more practice in those conditions or find a way to counter the mirage.”

  Zephyra turned to me last. “Bryn.”

  I glanced at Dusk. Her molten eyes were bright and calm. “The fight went about as well as we could have hoped. Your plan worked. Even with the changes between Dusk and me, things mostly followed the outline. I could have held their aggression better, but with so many enemies it was hard to process everything. Once we got past the queen and shifted into dive-and-surface attacks, I felt more comfortable. It is new to both of us, so we were obviously rusty and can improve almost everything. As a team, it could cause problems on a smaller battlefield where we are all closer together.”

  “Agreed, the lane control was key. That part of the plan was vital,” she said. “I fear what may have happened without our current skill set or the training level this team has. We are unusually prepared for students who have only half a semester at the Academy. Without most of our unique upbringings I don’t think we would have succeeded.”

  “I agree,” I said. “Without that and without the collapse under the spire working this may not have ended well. That was only possible because Dusk and I bonded yesterday.”

  Zephyra drew a circle around the three lines. “Too close for comfort, that is for sure.”

  We crossed to the coin island. A chest shimmered into being as our boots touched stone. Inside lay bundles of reagents bound with silk, fifty-four silver dungeon coins, twenty-seven gold, several potions of different kinds , and a single piece of armor: a light gorget of translucent plates that caught Shine’s light and reflected it back in soft halos.

  “It is keyed,” Shine murmured. When she set it to her throat, the plates adjusted to fit and a thin ripple of warmth spread over her scales. “It amplifies healing and resistance by a fraction. Not much, but a constant percentage upgrade.”

  “You should keep it,” Zephyra said. “The rest we log with the Academy.”

  Milo was already sorting reagents by color and texture. “Two bundles of blister moss. One of sun-lichen. Three vials of solvent resin. Various bundles of things I can’t identify. And a clump of glow fungal teeth I am absolutely not chewing right now.” He dropped the last into a pouch.

  “We ready then?” Zephyra said. We all nodded in agreement.

  “Let’s go.”

  We stepped onto the golden span. The air cooled with each pace. The smell of acid and smoke faded to cold stone and old water. At the far edge, a gate of pale crystal opened like an eye.

  Light took us.

  The next breath landed in the staging cavern.

  Sound rushed back all at once. Healers called to one another. Portals were humming and armor clinked as people moved about. The scent of salves and hot tea replaced burning resin. Professor Roark stood near the arrival dais with two of his war chiefs.

  “Report,” Roark said.

  —

  What followed was a series of detailed debriefs that started with Professor Roark and moved up to one with the headmasters.

  We were given both helpful encouragements and critiques for how we went about overcoming a dungeon chamber we were not prepared for. No one was aware of a way to alter where someone entered a dungeon, but the headmasters added it to the list of things they were looking into.

  They said that all of us were under significant surveillance as students at the highest-tier academy, and even more so after the attack on the Academy, so there was not much more that they could do other than continue to look into the things and speak with Luceran.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  After what felt like an eternity, we were allowed to go rest. All the students were given the following day off to recover and prepare for finals week to close out the first semester.

  —

  Dusk and I spent most of the mid-year break outside the Academy walls, but still close enough for the guards to keep us in view. The open ground gave us space to breathe, to move, and to work through the changes our bond evolution had created.

  With the others gone home to their families, the campus felt hollow. I had nowhere to return to, so I used the time the only way I knew how: training until the hours blurred together and pushing my abilities until I understood their limits.

  Everything felt different. My fighting style. My movements. Even the way my senses reacted when Dusk slipped beneath the earth. I had spent years learning how to survive alone, reading the ground and reacting before danger reached me, but fighting with her required something new.

  A different rhythm. A shared sense of timing. A way of listening to her presence as closely as I listened to the world around me.

  It became clear how much she covered the weak points I had carried for so long. I would not fight alone again with her beside me. And the mobility she offered erased most of the disadvantages I once had against magic users. I assumed only a strong earth-aether wielder would be able to hinder now.

  My exam results reflected the shift. I finished the semester on the Academy leaderboard, near the bottom but still present. Rank one hundred eighty-seven out of two hundred fifty.

  My total sat at 1,037 points, enough to remain in the highest tier for now. Points could be spent on armor, shards, equipment, or training opportunities, but they were also a test. Each semester had a minimum requirement to stay enrolled, and that requirement grew every year.

  Spend too much and you risked falling short. Spend too little and you risked falling behind anyway.

  At the end of each school year, students on the leaderboard earned rewards. Equipment. Resources. Opportunities that could change the direction of their training. And starting next year, we would be allowed to leave the Academy grounds for sanctioned expeditions. Real hunts and dangerous locations where a single discovery could raise a student’s points more than a month of classes.

  A small part of me knew I could succeed there. That my abilities, along with Dusk, were built for it.

  But not yet.

  For now, survival mattered more than ambition. I held onto my points, kept my rank secure, and focused on simply making it to the second year without losing ground.

  So we trained in the empty fields beyond the walls. Dusk glided through the soil in smooth arcs while I practiced matching my timing to hers. The guards watched from a distance, relaxed and uninterested. They had seen enough students to know when someone was trying to understand themselves.

  And that’s what I was doing. Trying to understand who I was now, and who I was becoming.

  —

  Dusk and I were finally comfortable after weeks of training. We were about to head into the start of the second semester and people would begin returning this next week.

  My second semester schedule showed up at this time. It wasn’t a surprise, not after everything we went through in the first, but it still felt more intense than I expected.

  Solo and Group Combat was still there. My understanding is that it would remain through our entire time here. Advanced Dungeon Ecology was added, which sounded like a deeper version of what we had already learned about dungeons in Applied Aether Manipulation came next, carrying over from the basic introduction we’d had last term.

  There was a course called Combat Movement and Spatial Awareness, which seemed like a specific class tailored to my skill set. Inter-Racial Politics and Diplomatic Realities replaced the old history class, shifting us from what had happened in the past to what was happening now.

  Rift Variants and Aberrant Formations looked like the advanced track of everything we learned about rifts, although the title alone made me uneasy. Strategic Operations and Mission Design continued from Tactics and Strategies of War, only this time it sounded like we’d be planning actual missions rather than studying old ones.

  Biological Signatures and Monster Instincts expanded the work from Monsters and Bestiaries. And the last class on the list was Aether-Linked Physiology and Adaptive Study, which tied together everything from shard theory and the ethics behind using that kind of power.

  Looking at the list, it was clear the Academy was going to continue expecting more from us.

  Professor Roark told us that the second semester would lean more toward solo combat now that we had survived a group dungeon trial. They wanted us capable of working with a team for the sake of future missions, but in the end the Academy was built around individual strength. Most students started at sixteen with low levels of power, and the instructors didn’t expect early groups to last long.

  There were exceptions. Many nobles and ruling-class students had companions chosen specifically to complement their abilities. Zephyra had formed ours for a mix of reasons: people she trusted, people she respected, and a quiet diplomatic effort to strengthen ties with neighboring kingdoms.

  There would still be group tournaments, trials, and games, but outside of those classes the focus shifted toward personal growth and specialization. The Academy wanted each of us to graduate at the peak of our own potential with enough knowledge to shape the future wisely, whether alone or with a team.

  The idea made me a little nervous, but the bond we had built in the first semester wasn’t something I thought would fade. Zephyra told us she planned to keep our group together if we were all willing, especially for tournaments. There just wouldn’t be as much structured group practice until those came around.

  I had no intention of leaving the team. I wanted to see where we could go.

  But training with Dusk had also shown me that I could stand on my own, and part of me wanted to see what I could accomplish by myself.

  And beneath all of that, I was still thinking about Sirius. One semester of new friendships couldn’t outweigh years spent together.

  For now, all I could do was grow stronger.

  —

  “It’s good to see you all,” I said.

  We gathered around one of the long tables in the dining hall, the noise of returning students filling the room around us. It was the first time our group had been together since the break.

  “How was your time back home?” I asked.

  Grond answered before anyone else. “Good. Real beer. Actual flavor. Not the weak stuff they call ‘training brew’ we get in my brewing class. I still can’t believe they won’t give us real beer here.”

  Milo nearly choked on his bread. “You’re surprised a school full of sixteen-year-olds doesn’t hand out beer? Dwarves…”

  Malorn smirked. “Imagine Milo drinking between classes. He’d start putting explosives in random places just to see what would happen.”

  “Hey! I would not.” Milo paused, tapping his chin. “Well… maybe once or twice. For scientific purposes.”

  “Scientific,” Malorn echoed dryly.

  Zephyra shook her head, amused. “To answer your question, Bryn, it was good to be home. I missed the trees. The Academy is impressive, but being underground for so long makes me restless. Being in the forest felt like breathing again.” She smiled at the memory. “And being with my family… that was good. This was the longest I’ve ever been away from them.”

  Shine nodded at her side. “The air in Fayrwynn is clear. Peaceful. It was refreshing to return, even for a short time.” Her voice stayed gentle, steady, the way it always was.

  Milo leaned forward. “Did your parents ask about us? They must have. I assume they’re still impressed by my charm and unmatched talent.”

  Zephyra gave him a look. “They asked if my team was well. The word ‘charm’ was never mentioned.”

  Malorn chuckled. “I’m sure they were relieved to hear you survived without blowing up anymore classrooms.”

  “That only happened once,” Milo said. “Twice, if you include the hallway.”

  Grond muttered, “Which we do.”

  Zephyra shook her head at the continued antics.

  I looked around the table, taking in the laughter, the noise, the easy rhythm of everyone falling back into place. The empty days of break felt far away now, replaced with something steady and familiar.

  “Really,” I said quietly, “I’m glad you are all back.”

  They all looked at me, and for a moment, the joking eased into something warmer.

  “Us too,” Zephyra said.

  Shine’s soft smile mirrored it.

  Milo raised his cup. “To semester two. And to not dying.”

  Grond lifted his own. “Preferably.”

  Malorn added, “A low bar, but a good one.”

  We clinked our cups, and for the first time since hearing we were moving away from group work and toward solo combat, the tightness in my chest loosened.

  I told myself I would lose my friends, but now I knew it.