I crouched behind Waelid, peering through the gap in the heavy double doors, watching Lotrick as he paced around the room.

Fern was overjoyed to see him there in person. I wish I could say the same but, that could be because my brother was floating above our professors menacingly putting everyone in magically crafted glowing chains. Noah looked…so…emotionless. So…evil. With a horrible, villainous-looking, trimmed beard.

Floating above the hundred-plus professors Noah was examining the alchemic-looking design on the floor that the professors sat inside of.

“That’s a sacrificial spell of some kind, it has to be,” I whispered to the group.

“I’ll say,” Lunafreya whispered behind me.

—‘How do you know that? I don’t remember ever being taught about sacrificial spells drawn on the ground,’ Fern asked.

—To be fair, we haven’t exactly been following our semester’s syllabus. I replied. It's a hunch. It kinda looks obvious.

“So…what do we do?” Lucius asked half annoyed, half nervous.

“Wait, I need time to think of a plan. Unless you all have any?”

They were silent.

Standing on the ground near Noah, Lotrick walked around slowly writing something in a small notebook. Fern’s younger brother wore the polished gold and white robes that every other Mageblood invader wore today except he had a small little silver pin on the left side of his chest. Lotrick looked…distracted. His eyes glanced from Noah to the circle of captives, and back to his notebook repeatedly.

—Why would he side with the Magelord? He knows we are here. He didn’t betray us, did he? I asked Fern.

—‘He would never do that. Look, he looks uncomfortable. He’s probably worried about me.’ Fern replied.

I looked around the vast space beyond the Magebloods and the professors. A cavernous open room stretched across the bowels of the Academy, walls lined with barrels of PillarDust. In the middle of each of the four walls, there were other large double doors.

—Four escapes in case things get messy. I thought.

The entire chamber hummed with a soft, ominous resonance. It was almost like I could physically sense the energy permeating from Noah and the others. I felt a pulsating pressure all over my body. These Magebloods were on a completely different level than any of the ones we fought outside.

But, the trapped teachers were what I focused on the most. And of course, the demonic-looking circle that was drawn on the ground surrounding them. A pit grew in my stomach.

What were our options? Laska and Major Philip lost…how can we have any hope? I thought these worries privately to myself hoping Fern couldn’t hear them.

I couldn’t give up hope though. I thought to myself.

I had to be an example. These are all kids here. I looked behind myself and glanced over at everyone. I had to step up, remember the Trail, you did that Erik. Remember the infusion, you did that Erik. The pep talk to myself felt cringe, but it was true. As I told myself of the different trials I had passed, I started to believe there was a chance for us. So I observed. I observed and I thought of a plan.

Pacing around the group of professors was the man in black robes. His odd staff, a clawed metal piece holding a large grapefruit-sized orb, hung lazily in his hand as he looked at our chained-up teachers. Seven golden rectangular-shaped pendants clanked around his neck and he looked bored. The man had a fair bit of stubble that looked more like a five-o’clock shadow than any intended beard.

On the other side of our teachers, stood the girl, about Lotrick’s age, maybe slightly older. She had long pointed ears like the definition of an elf from the games I played growing up. She had straight blonde hair and a snarky grin on her face. The elf wore the same gold and white robe and, she held her arms together covering her hands with the robe’s sleeves.

—Clever girl. I thought to Fern. Hiding her weak spot.

Waelid crouched at my side, I could see him already getting ready to call upon the Phoenix. His eyes glowed red like flames. Mel, Sora, and Lucius hovered close, weapons at the ready. Fan’s face was rigid, locked on Noah. Jiho, Piqah, and Nora, the House Nin's first year with the unibrow crouched next to Fan. Lunafreya and Jako were behind me on the other side. Jako looked like he was shaking from impatience.

“Hold,” I whispered to them all. “I am thinking of something.”

“Better hurry,” Waelid growled through gritted teeth. “They are sitting there waiting to be slaughtered…for what I don’t know.”

Across the room, on the other side of the door, a familiar voice rose. Hopsander, our guide, our teacher, and my confidant, pushed himself up on his knees. The frogman’s wrists were bound behind him in the golden chains that were cast on him. When I looked closer with my Twin-soul vision, the chains were actually thin golden strings wrapped around each wrist.

Hopsander was glaring daggers at Noah.

“You call this a fair fight? An unannounced assault? A betrayal of the Cinder Contract? What in Mourne are you doing young man? Do you want another Day of Divide? What kind of honor do the Magebloods have these days? Not like you had any to begin with.” Hopsander’s voice rang out, echoing against the vaulted ceiling.

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Noah gave no verbal reply, just pivoted silently in the air and continued to examine the runes etches into the drawn circle on the ground. The elven girl laughed, as her covered hands moved beneath the fabric. Arcs of lightning crackled from her robe and seared across Hopsanders skin. He cried out in pain as his arms and face bubbled up and popped in small blisters from the lightning. Noah, floating several feet off the ground, watched them without any sign of concern.

My blood chilled as I realized I was witnessing the final moments of a carefully orchestrated invasion. The entire Academy staff was pinned like lambs to the slaughter. The runic circle etched across the floor and filled with pillar dust, under the captives’ feet, started to shine. Hopsander groaned as he pushed himself back up in defiance.

“Eric!” Waelid hissed. “Think of something…now! Or I’m going in. They are going to die.”

Hopsander continued to berate Noah. “What is it lad, too weak-willed to reply? Oh, the lads back home would have a thing or two to say to you, they sure would. Can’t even be a proper villain and give us a reason before you kill us will ya?”

“Eric, decide now. I won’t wait much longer.” Lunafreya whispered behind me just low enough so that no one else could hear.

I nodded, jaw clenched. “Give me a second, I’m thinking.”

—Think! What am I supposed to do? He’s right there and I just…

“What do we do?” Sora whispered. They were all getting impatient. I couldn’t blame them.

Sora’s hands were clenched around her sling. She looked to me, and then into the room. Her one eye darted to the four magebloods. “They look stronger than the ones outside…and the ones outside…only you two were able to deal with. What can we possibly do?”

She was losing the edgy confidence she had built up. I had to think fast to get this group together.

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Lucius said to me. “The Magelord is no joke, we can’t defeat them. Should we just run away?”

“And abandon everyone? No. There is always a way,” I said half trying to convince myself.

—What is that way…

I looked closer at Noah and strained my eyes to zoom in. On closer look, Noah seemed a little different. His eyes…seemed different. I looked back at the golden string wrapped around the teacher's wrists. I looked around at the Pillardust and looked at the circle starting to glow more.

Every passing second threatened to seal the professors’ fate. My heartbeat quickened. My toes were twitching inside my boots.

Lotrick murmured something to him, pointing at Major Philip and Laska who started to rise to their knees like Hopsander did. Noah gave a brief nod, making a subtle gesture with his hands. The golden chains around them tightened, forcing them to twist in agony.

Mel gripped the handle of her axe, ready to spring into the fray.

“Erik…” She growled.

My heart pounded frantically watching the scene unfold. If we could just find a weak spot, some vantage to free Hopsander and the others or break the circle… But we remained almost a dozen novices against four experienced Magebloods.

In the open chamber, Hopsander spat at Noah, the spittle sizzled on the enchanted circle surrounding them. “Chain us all you want. The next generation of cinders will burn you out. We will NEVER give up.”

A hush fell as if Noah was deciding whether to respond. At last, he turned with an almost bored expression, lifting a hand as though to speak, or to cast. The black-robed man regarded Noah with silent deference and lowered himself in a half bow.

“You may start the ritual, my lord. The two new additions should be enough.” The man with the black robe said.

The quiet in the cavernous room felt like the calm before a thunderstorm. Hopsander knelt there, rigid with anger, while Noah—still hovering just above the runic circle—lifted his palms. Waelid, beside me, crouched lower in preparation. We hadn’t yet revealed ourselves; the moment for a coordinated strike was near, but the tension demanded we wait for the right time.

—Come on…I need a miracle…for this to be pulled off…I need a miracle. Fate…you there? I thought, half serious.

Noah flicked his eyes back to Hopsander. “You speak of next generations, old frog,” he said, a subtle edge to his deeper voice. “You realize there won’t be one if I deem it so?”

Hopsander spat again, refusing to cower.

The elven girl flicked arcs of crackling magic out of the side of her mouth that made some of the teachers recoil.

The man in the black robe stood still and now held his staff in both hands. Lotrick stood on the opposite side of the circle and put the notebook he was writing into his pocket. He was watching Hopsander’s defiant stand.

Noah inhaled deeply, raising his chin. “I suppose I should reward your curiosity with an explanation. After all—” He cast a bored glance at the onlooking teachers, their eyes wide with worry. “—we’ve gone to so much trouble to gather you all in one place.”

Our history and strategy teacher, Professor Gallon, with her vivid blue hair askew from forced captivity, raised her voice. “You can’t seriously think this will succeed! Even if you kill us, the barrier, and the Cinders—”

“—Are scattered around the globe doing ‘heroic’ missions, it will be months before any of them can return here,” Noah finished with a sneer. “Yes, I arranged that. Did you assume it was mere coincidence that your best trained were always conveniently away? The monarchy has threads in your leadership, trickling tasks to keep your numbers small in the Pillar at any one time. So here we are, with only a fraction of you left to defend your precious Academy.”

Hopsander let out a bitter laugh. “You talk like you’ve already won. The Cinders will return soon—”

“Will they?” Noah interjected. “By the time they do, we’ll have funneled our entire Princelord force of five thousand strong elite mages inside.” He gestured around the runic circle with disgusting pride. “We needed… a significant amount of cultivated lifeforce to power a large-scale teleportation. Typically, for smaller jumps with fewer Magebloods, we’ll just snatch a couple of random voidbloods off the streets. We’d usually take an orphan or a useless old man for example. But for thousands of adult soldiers? That demands far more. Your dear Twinges—” He paused, letting the name echo. “—or should I say young Xavier Mourncrest, was instrumental in smuggling enough PillarDust to pierce the barrier. With his ingenious invention of these Pillardust robes, walking through the barrier was a breeze. Now we’re free to set up a stable jump circle, fueled by your stored energies.”

The crowd of professors murmured in alarm. The revelation that Twinges had been behind it all shocked the professors. I bowed my head shaking away the memory that we had killed Twinges. Unfortunately, the damage he had caused had already been done.

“What do you mean by our stored energies?” Professor Gallon demanded, voice trembling.

Noah’s lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You know, it is quite fun to be the bad villain and gloat,” Noah said looking back at Hopsander with his cruel grin before answering Professor Gallon. “Why, your blood, of course. Teleportation Magic of this scale requires blood, especially from potent cinders who’ve cultivated advanced infusions. It’s synergy at its finest: your life force in exchange for sustaining a portal. Thousands of Mageblood soldiers will pour in. Your students will be unharmed, for now. Let’s just say we are going to do a little reeducation here. Meanwhile, you—” His smile faded to a frigid stare. “—will serve as the final spark for this era of the Academy. The Voidbloods time in control of the 13th Pillar is over.”

Hearing him admit so casually to slaughtering the staff for a teleport. I forced myself to stay still. I glanced at Waelid: the fury in his eyes was enough to melt steel. Sora and Mel, behind us, looked equally outraged, their hands white-knuckled on their weapons. I looked back trying to form the final portions of the plan in my mind. I just needed one more piece.

Hopsander roared, “You vile hypocrites! You butcher innocents like cattle, all because you want to move somewhere faster! All because having 99% of the land is not enough for you? You—”

“Hypocrite?” Noah echoed, arching a brow. “We simply see voidbloods for what they are: a means to an end. Mercenaries to do our bidding. To be the meatshield frontline in our wars while we calculate the best path toward victory. You are our batteries for our transportation, our hands for the labor we don’t waste Source on. You will and always will be slaves for the masses to play with. Until your kind doesn’t exist.” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don’t worry, your tragic demise will be quick enough and painless…mostly.”

I felt my composure threatening to snap. The black-robed man watched Noah preach in the air. The elven girl by the professors chuckled under her breath. Lotrick stood off to the side, expression guarded. Did he feel any remorse? I wondered.

Waelid’s voice coiled with rage in my ear. “Enough waiting, Eric! We do this now,” he hissed. Feathers started to grow.

My pulse throbbed.

—Come on! Give me a miracle Fate! I screamed in my mind. We couldn’t just charge in there blazing.

Just as I thought it, I caught a glimpse of Hopsander straining at his golden bindings, eyes raging with determined fury.

Noah laughed softly. “A shame the rest of your cinders won’t even have the opportunity to fight. They’ll arrive at an academy turned to ash. But, I guess that’s how this all was going to end anyway. A Voidblood can never stand up to a Mageblood.”

My hands curled into fists.

—Enough thinking—this had to end. I thought.

My miracle wasn’t coming. We had to risk it by just charging in. I exchanged one final look with Waelid. Fern whispered his readiness in my mind. In my heart, I called out to the Chimera. I felt it stir itself awake and felt my arms grow. In the center of the warehouse, Hopsander tensed, his eyes ablaze with defiance, he stared down Noah who raised his hands.

“Now, be good, and die,” Noah said.

Then, Hopsander let out a low guttural groan and his body grew, and grew, and grew.

My eyes widened and then it all clicked.

You got to be shitting me. I thought to myself with a smile.

“Wait!” I turned toward my group. I was mid-transformation, as was Waelid. “Listen quickly, everyone. We just got our miracle. I have a plan."