Warmth seeped into Raven’s cold flesh and bones. Despite his normal preference, the higher temperature was a good thing right now. It helped him meditate. The invisible rays melted the snow around him, caressed his skin dry, and made his fingers tingle.

He sat on a relatively flat plateau of earth and rock. While the city of Roespeye was surrounded by an immense wall, it served no purpose in this day and age, and many various ways in and out of the city had been fashioned over the centuries. One of these routes was formed by way of a wooden bridge built over the wall, connecting an auditorium’s tower inside the city to the face of the mountain outside of it. Actors and performers enjoyed use of the bridge during the spring and summer period to travel to the mountain where several outdoor theaters were constructed for gratis plays or music festivals.

From his current vantage, Raven beheld the entire city, a gem blanketed in blustery white. The city was peanut shaped, consuming all available space of a plateau on the north face of Mount Chappelle. The academy’s towers could barely be seen at the far side of the city. When he heard about this place on the opposite side, he came on the first day off from school. It wasn’t necessarily an escape, but rather a retreat.

Behind Raven, a metal pole stood upright where he had driven it into the ground. Six spans high it reached, and at its apex was a pandora featuring a boy singing with hands clasped and eyes closed. A bubble of pleasant heat cascaded from Glass Blower, melting all the snow around it for several spans. Grass sprung up from the soil, and small insects emerged from hibernation to scurry to and fro.

He sat cross-legged with his hands positioned in Grand Harmony. Through closed eyes, he searched unknown worlds and dwelled on his time so far at the school. So many things had happened in such a short time, and he wondered if he was moving too fast. Or, perhaps… not fast enough? Was his ultimate mission succeeding? But most of all, he thought about Valentine.

It had been three days since their excursion into her brain. Since then, she’d been in a deep coma. Word of what happened spread like wildfire, gripping the school and even the whole city with fear. Some students began to plea with the masters for Raven’s immediate removal from Nine Star Academy. No decision had yet been made, however, and none approached Raven. Even Van stayed away for the most part.

Van was understandably devastated about Valentine’s condition. Raven had offered him strong hope when he devised his scheme, and Van had put faith in it. But he was also brave and did not blame Raven for what was happening. He said he knew deep down that Valentine was doomed, having known about the death of her siblings before her. Even so, he wasn’t consolable and didn’t attend classes the past few days. Where he went, Raven didn’t know.

It was beneficial to both of them. Raven didn’t feel like talking either. Valentine’s coma was unexpected, though not outside the boundary of the possibilities he deliberated. What he hadn’t considered, however, was that her condition would render his seal null, thus expelling them from her mind the moment she became unconscious. As a result, Raven was never able to observe what happened inside her mind after breaking her last original psychic cord. No damage control could be performed. He couldn’t even document the reasons for his failure if she passed away in the end.

He shook his head. Valentine wouldn’t die. He had been correct about everything he theorized until that point. She should be able to survive this. She would make it…

Raven frowned. What good was it to try fooling himself? Valentine was in danger, and it was because he might have been mistaken about how to help her. While he could console himself with the knowledge that she had been destined to die anyway, it did much less to ease his discomfort than he had thought. The fact of the matter was that Valentine Chessex was a jewel. A rare, gifted soul with a spark this world needed and leadership skills Fallowreyk would desperately demand the day it was finally rid of the Titan. Even after witnessing so many similarly talented people die by the Tyrant’s hands, it would still be painful to watch yet another bright flame burn out.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Footsteps interrupted his meditation. Van plodded through layers of snow until he reached the sunny bubble. He sat beside Raven, letting his legs dangle over the precipice of the ledge. He plucked a long strand of grass, placed it between his teeth, then leaned back on his hands and took in the view.

For a while, they said nothing. Or rather, nothing needed to be said. But, as is often the case, Van couldn’t help but open his mouth.

“Welp, we’re expelled,” he said.

Raven hummed, resuming meditation.

“I just got word of it,” Van continued. “All seven masters voted us kicked out immediately.”

“How did you find me?”

“I have my ways.”

“I’m starting to be impressed by them.”

“I wish I could have had a chance to impress Valentine.”

Raven opened his eyes again and looked at him. Van’s head was bowed, but there was a measure of peace about him.

“It’s not over yet,” Raven said. “She’s still alive.”

“Yeah…” He sighed. “But that doesn’t help us much, does it? I really have no idea what I’m going to tell my parents. And what are you going to do?”

“The school is just a means to an end. There is nothing its curriculum or teachers could have done for me. But there are things here I will have before the end, regardless of my status as a student.”

“Then why not just take them? Why did you go through the charade?”

Raven didn’t answer. He broke Grand Harmony and leaned back on his hands. The sun was setting, and its white spot on the gray clouds grew dimmer. Far into the evening sky, he spotted the Flying Dim Castle of the Seal Master drifting in and out of the clouds as it made its regular rounds about Followreyk. Large metal wings flashed as it passed through the scant few rays peeking through the clouds.

Raven felt tired, and something within him desired to be open and truthful. “I guess… if I had to be honest, school sounded fun on some level.”

“Fun?”

“The things I’ve come to Roespeye to accomplish are hard and fraught with a negative and purposeful misery. I have friends that I’ve left behind, and I came to this place to spend a year away from them. In fact, my intent is to stay as far away as possible.”

“Okay… I won’t pretend to understand why, but I can relate to what you’re saying.” Van sighed again. “I was finding school fun, too. Especially after you showed up. But I figure we were doomed to be expelled no matter what.”

Raven smiled. He was about to retort when more crunching snow met their ears. They turned to find Fanny Fyre staring at them with a hard expression. They quickly got up to face her. She looked dreadful, with frazzled hair, rumpled robes, and bloodshot and teary eyes. Raven was prepared for the worst, and he wondered how it was that everybody seemed to be able to locate him today. For several moments, there was an awkward silence, but then Raven noticed something else.

Someone was standing behind her.

The second person slowly stepped out. Raven blinked. Van’s jaw hit the floor. Valentine Chessex revealed herself and approached, stepping into the light of Raven’s pandora.

It was quite surreal to see her suddenly standing before them in such a manner, and neither of the boys could find words. She looked frail and exhausted with dark circles beneath her eyes. But Raven sensed a restored spirit, like a land granted peace after a long storm. She looked from Raven to Van and back again, expectant, as if waiting for somebody to say something. Van was stunned stupid, but Raven felt immense relief. He rarely doubted himself, but even he was human.

Fanny was smiling. She wiped her eyes, looking just as relieved as Raven.

“How…” Van finally ventured. “How are you feeling?”

Valentine cocked her head a bit. “I feel…” She stopped, searching for the answer. Then, instead of speaking again, she came forward and slowly wrapped her arms around him.

Stunned, Van hugged her back. She parted from him and came to Raven and hugged him as well. Raven just stood there.

“I feel better. I feel… free,” she said, gripping Raven tight. “Thank you. Thank you, both. So very much.”

She parted to look at Raven. For a moment, they stared at each other as the relief everyone felt grew to new heights. Then Raven smirked.

“It was all Van’s idea, actually.”