Chapter 27 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
AERIS
“You’re awake early,” the healer murmured, drawing the curtain aside.
Early was generous. Pale blue moonlight still clung to the tall windows, the halls hushed in that strange hour that wasn’t quite night and not yet morning. Midnight lingered like a held breath.
If only she knew I hadn’t truly slept at all.
I shifted on the narrow cot as she checked the bindings around my ribs, her fingers firm but practiced. The dull ache had faded into something distant…noticeable, but manageable.
“Any dizziness?” she asked.
“No,” I said automatically.
Which was mostly true. My body felt fine.
My mind, however, was still very much elsewhere.
Dark shelves. Ancient books. The smell of crushed leaves and soil. Green eyes watching every movement of my hands like I mattered.
We leave at first light.
The healer hummed thoughtfully, tightening the wrap. “No fractures lingering. The bone has set nicely. You’re healing faster than expected.”
I nodded, though I hadn’t heard half of it.
“You’re fine now,” she concluded, stepping back. “I’d prefer you remain until morning, just so I can—”
“Actually,” I blurted out.
She paused, eyebrow arching.
“I…uh—have an early… assignment,” I said quickly. “With Instructor Vale. He’s very particular about punctuality.”
That was a lie.
A flimsy one.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “At this hour?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding far too eagerly. “Extremely early. Border-related. Very…urgent.”
She studied me for a long moment, clearly weighing whether to argue.
Finally, she sighed. “Fine. But no training. No strain. And if you feel pain,real pain…you come back immediately.”
“I will,” I promised, already swinging my legs over the cot.
She handed me a small vial. “Pain suppressant. Drink it with water.”
I took it, offered what I hoped was a convincing smile, and was discharged before she could change her mind.
The academy corridors were quiet as I slipped through them, lanterns dimmed, stone cool beneath my bare feet. By the time I reached my dorm, my pulse was already racing,not from pain, but anticipation.
I packed quickly.
Clothes. Spare wraps. A small satchel for notes. My botanical kit…checked twice.
I had just shoved the last pouch inside when—
“Aeris?”
I froze.
Rhea’s groggy voice came from the bed, thick with sleep.
I turned slowly. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “You’re supposed to be in the healer wing.”
“I was,” I said. “Past tense.”
She squinted at me, clearly trying to make sense of the sight: me fully dressed, bag slung over my shoulder, eyes bright in the dim.
“…Why are you packing,” she said slowly, “like you’re running away?”
“I’m not running,” I said. “I need to head out. Just for a bit.”
Her brows knitted together. “Head out where?”
I exhaled. “The Grand Sovereign asked for my help.”
That did it.
She pushed herself upright, suddenly very awake. “Your help… as in you you?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, before she could spiral. “It’s nothing strange. Research. Plants. A cure we’re working on.We need to retrieve a specific plant,” I added, choosing my words carefully. “It only grows in Eryndor.”
“Eryndor?” she echoed, sitting up straighter. “That’s… not exactly a casual errand.”
“I know,” I said. “But it’s a controlled trip. In and out. The Sovereign just needs someone who can identify it properly and handle it without ruining its properties.”
Rhea blinked. Then slowly, a smile tugged at her lips.
“You seem quite close to him,” she said, amusement creeping into her voice. “You’re lucky, you know. No one else seems to have grabbed his attention like that.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks. “It’s not like that.”
She snorted softly. “That’s what everyone says before it is like that.”
“It’s academic,” I insisted. “He needs someone who understands plants properly. That’s all.”
“Mmm,” she hummed. “Still. Given the rumors about him, I didn’t think he worked directly with students. Especially not in secret.”
I paused, then nodded. “That part… stays between us.”
Her eyes sharpened, but there was no judgment there. Only curiosity.
“So,” she said lightly, “you’re being whisked away by the most powerful man in the realm to work on a mysterious cure, and I’m supposed to act normal about it?”
“Yes,” I said flatly.
She laughed under her breath. “Unbelievable.”
I shifted my satchel higher on my shoulder. “We’re traveling discreetly. I won’t be around for training today. Maybe tomorrow too.”
Rhea’s expression softened into understanding. “You want me to cover for you.”
“Please,” I said. “If Captain Neris asks, say I’m still in the healer wing. Rib injury. Strict observation. No clearance for training.”
She nodded without hesitation. “Easy.”
“You’re sure?”
She waved a hand. “Healers outrank captains when it comes to injuries. I’ll make it sound official.”
Relief loosened something in my chest. “Thank you.”
Rhea studied me for a moment, then smirked. “You know… for someone who claims this is purely academic, you’re glowing.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
I groaned. “Don’t start.”
She leaned back against her pillows, grin widening. “Just be careful, okay? Powerful people and secret projects tend to get… complicated.”
“I know,” I said softly.
“And Aeris?” she added, her tone turning teasing again. “If the Grand Sovereign turns out to be half as terrifying as the stories say…run.”
I smiled despite myself. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She yawned, already settling back into bed. “Bring me back something interesting. Or at least come back alive.”
“I will,” I promised.
I slipped out before she could say anything else that would make my face burn.
The corridors were quiet at this hour, lanterns dimmed low, their light pooling softly against stone floors.
I hugged my cloak tighter around myself as I moved through the passage Kael had indicated earlier, my steps quick but careful. Every turn felt deliberate, every shadow heavier than the last.
He was waiting exactly where he said he would be.
At the edge of the outer transit circle, where the academy walls thinned and the wards hummed faintly beneath the air, Kael stood alone. His cloak fell straight and still around him, dark against the silver glow etched into the stone beneath his boots.
My breath caught for reasons I refused to examine too closely.
“You’re punctual,” he said, without turning.
I slowed, then stopped a few paces away. “I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
That earned a faint huff…almost amused as he glanced over his shoulder. Even masked, his attention felt sharp, weighing me the way he always did, as if noting a hundred details I couldn’t hide.
“You’re cleared?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “For the day.”
A beat passed. His gaze flicked briefly to my side, where the healer’s wrap was hidden beneath my clothes. Not concern…not quite but awareness.
“Good,” he said at last. “Then we leave now.”
I hesitated for only a second. “Eryndor is… far.”
“I know.”
“And the plant,if it’s what I think it is…it won’t survive careless handling.”
“It won’t be handled carelessly,” he replied. “Not with you here.”
Something warm unfurled in my chest at that, unwelcome and undeniable.
He stepped closer, extending a hand…
“Stay close,” he said. “The transit won’t hurt, but it can be… disorienting.”
I nodded, heart hammering as I moved into his space. The air around him felt charged, like standing too close to a storm held tightly in check.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmured.
His hand closed around my wrist…firm and steady. An unfamiliar flutter bloomed in my chest at the contact but I ignored it.
The circle beneath us ignited in pale light, runes flaring one by one, ancient and precise. Power surged, bending space in on itself, and just before the world folded away—
I realized I wasn’t afraid.
Not of where we were going. Not of what we might find.
Only of how certain I felt that this was the beginning of something I wouldn’t be able to walk away from.
Then the academy vanished.
And Eryndor waited.