The nervous energy was palpable the next morning as Pax and his friends joined the streams of students and teachers heading to the stadium for the academy-wide briefing on what the war and recall of the Purge expedition had changed.

Unlike the townsfolk who’d celebrated their return, Pax could see a lingering hardness in the surrounding faces. He saw many apprehensive looks, as if they couldn’t believe they were back and safe again.

Just a week ago, they’d been embroiled in daily battles full of injuries and even death. Being back in a place where classes, homework and the occasional angry teacher were all they had to worry about was jarring.

Sure, they spent shifts on the student wall, but everyone on the Purge had regularly faced much higher-leveled beasts. That and the unexpected return made the entire situation fraught with worry and an inability to settle down and enjoy it.

Their planned subterfuge to help the rebels only made things worse. At least the general agitation helped them blend in better, because Pax kept suspecting every unfamiliar adult of being an undercover inquisitor.

The failures last night didn’t help. It had probably been too much to expect his friends to unlock their secondary elements in one evening, but that’s how it had worked with their minor ones. At least they’d all improved their mana control. After the first bit of meditation didn’t make much progress, Pax had asked them to bring each of their mana types out to their palms.

Seeing the physical forms of their elements helped a lot, even boosting their mana manipulation skills by a few points. But any attempt to combine the two mana types had resulted in various fizzles and failures. They’d finally moved on to having Pax cast his specialized spells on or near each of them.

Amil had insisted he’d sensed some of the excited power of lightning in Overcharge. Rin had run her hands over his Ice Mirror until they went numb. Dahni had held the stem of a cave mushroom with fascination as Pax had Animated it over and over.

They all claimed to have gained some understanding about their new elements, but that was it. They’d promised to continue to keep working on their own, while the warriors broke up their practice and Tyrodon had put away the crafting tools he’d been working with. Everyone had agreed they needed to get some rest. Pax didn’t know about the others, but between a solid night’s sleep in an actual bed, a hot shower and delicious food this morning, he was feeling pretty good. The fact that there were no beasts to fight today might have helped, too.

“I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen!” Rin said, her tone almost giddy with excitement.

Pax gave her a startled glance, only to have her wink at him. He matched her smile, glad she’d pulled him out of his thoughts and reminded him to keep up their act.

“I know,” he said, injecting enthusiasm into his voice. “Do you think we’ll get to go with the army to take on the rebels?”

“They sent us on the Purge, so why not?” Amil said.

The rest of the crew joined in the chatter as they made their way inside the stadium and found their seats. A low roar of voices filled the large space as the leaders took their places at the podium below.

Pax shook his head as he saw the familiar figure of Headmaster Ravalar taking a seat with the other Academy council members. Mages Incedis and Eldan were already seated, impassive gazes watching the stands fill.

When Pax saw Aymer’s father, Master Wynrel, sitting just behind the headmaster, his jaw clenched. He hadn’t forgotten Aymer and his friends joining Graybrew in ambushing them. He still had no idea why they hadn’t come the next day when Graybrew had attacked them in the ruins, but that didn’t remove him as an enemy.

There hadn’t been a chance to find out during the rush back to the capital, but maybe Kurt or Tansa could help them figure out more. Pax knew that now, their immediate future was likely to be full of sneaky maneuvering instead of the straightforward battles they were used to.

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“Please take your seats.” An officious clerk stood at the podium, speaking into the air device that projected his words across the stadium. “We will start in a few minutes.”

The noise of voices quieted down while the sound of footsteps, scooting chairs and creaking benches picked up. When the man cleared his voice, a hush snapped out over the crowd. Pax thought the regimented conditioning of the Purge camp might take some time to shed.

“I’d like to turn the time over to our illustrious leader, Headmaster Ravalar.” With a half bow to Ravalar, the clerk stepped back and took his seat.

Ravalar stepped up and gave the entire crowd the smile a proud parent would give a child returning victorious. “First of all, I’d like to welcome all of you back from the Northern Purge. Your work and sacrifice have helped save many civilian lives and taken a tremendous step in the battle to drive back the beast hordes. Please give yourselves, our young heroes, a round of applause.”

He began clapping before aiming a pointed look over his shoulder at those seated behind him. They stood in a staggered row, joining the headmaster's applause as they cast approving looks out at the crowd.

After an initial sputter, the crowd got going. Energetic clapping spread through the stadium, and eventually everyone jumped to their feet, excited cheers and whoops sounding out. Ravalar watched them all with a proud smile of approval. Only after the celebration began to die down naturally did he clear his throat. He patted the air in front of him, and everyone took their seats again.

“I hope you are as proud of yourselves as we are. You are the future of the empire. Hearing reports of your skills and strength during the Purge gives me great hope for our entire country.”

The underlying worry had mostly dissipated, replaced by excitement and pride at the recognition of everything they’d endured and achieved over the last two months.

“It is, however, also my responsibility to make sure we honor those who paid the ultimate price to protect our lives and our precious empire.”

His serious words quieted the stadium instantly, the rustle of the late morning breeze suddenly easy to hear. "We lost eight students and one instructor during this Purge, despite every effort, spell and potion used to keep them alive. Every one of them actively fought right to the end to kill the beasts that threaten to overwhelm our cities each night. There will be a wall ceremony at twilight tonight where they and the others who have fallen will make a final contribution of power to strengthen our walls. Everyone is excused from any duties after dinner if they’d like to attend. I will read off the names of our heroes, followed by a moment of silence to respect their sacrifice.”

The quiet turned pensive. As Ravalar began reading, Pax did his best not to tense, knowing who would be on the list.

“Dain Stonecrest. Roland Ashbourne. Zephyr Swiftwing. Lyra Harrington—” Ravalar read the names in a solemn voice, pausing a beat between each one. “—Ealdred Langley. Agnes Mortimer. Seraphina Whitewood. Alaric Fairwind. And finally, one of our senior spell instructors, Mage Ondul Graybrew. His final act was to brave the Wilds to rescue a crew of lost students.” Ravalar fell silent and bowed his head.

His last words echoed out over the crowd, and Pax noticed a few glances sent their way. The entire stadium filled with a somber silence, while Pax did his best not to react to Graybrew’s name.

Instead, he focused on the eight students who hadn’t made it back. That’s when it really hit Pax. Of course, he knew death was a possibility. Vitur, they’d had more close calls than he’d ever expected. There were multiple moments he’d been sure were their last. But there had still been an underlying confidence that somehow, the final event, the exit from life, would pass him by. And it had.

But it hadn’t for them. The nine names still echoed in the minds of the packed stadium. They’d been students just like him, expecting a miracle to save them at the last moment. But none had.

Memories of death flickered through his mind. Viper littles who hadn’t made it. The wrapped bodies on Thanhil’s altar. Naexi’s limp body and lifeless eyes never looking at him again. Then Pax realized his true fear wasn’t dying himself. If that happened, he’d be beyond caring.

Instead, he glanced to either side, to his friends, his crew. They were the ones he had to keep alive. Surviving when they didn’t might break him. Rin turned and met his gaze. He could read similar thoughts in her eye before she gave him a curt nod. He returned it, silently promising that they’d do everything they could to keep each other alive.

And then he remembered how he’d helped Bryn when the hydra under the academy had almost choked her to death. Just like that experience. Those were the skills he needed more experience with so he could do the same kind of thing in the future. Evolving his healing skill to Healing Others was a big step toward that goal.

“Each of these heroes has our gratitude and respect. Thank you.” Ravalar broke the silence before bowing and placing a hand over his heart. After another long pause, he finally looked up again. “And now it’s time for the rest of us to get to work. First, I have a matter of business. During the last week, we’ve gained an excellent, new addition to our staff.”

“Did they replace Graybrew already?” Rin asked in a low voice out of the side of her mouth.

That got Pax’s attention? A new administrator was no big deal, but if this was his new spell instructor, he wanted to know what to expect in class. He straightened up to see over those in front of him, narrowing his eyes to see the new hire.