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‘Is it over?’ Cal called from the ridge, shouldering his quiver and bow, making his way down to them to retrieve his arrows from the wraith corpses.
‘For now,’ Dratos replied, surveying the largely untouched crops.
‘Those were some fine shots,’ Talemir told Cal hoarsely, shifting the last piece of shadow patchwork into place in the shield.
Cal flushed. ‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Just Talemir,’ Tal replied, wiping the perspiration from his brow. ‘Has anyone found Ryland yet?’
Thea turned on her heel to see Drue already running back towards the main building. She didn’t hesitate to follow.
The quadrangle was packed with shadow-touched folk, some from the war camp, others from elsewhere in the stronghold. All of them had come together to defend the university, and now, to find Ryland.
‘Is the perimeter secure?’ Dratos demanded, scanning the crowd.
Anya pushed her way towards him. ‘Yes. We slayed four wraiths on the outer grounds. No damage to the crops.’
‘How’d they breach the shield?’ Thea asked.
‘An accident. They didn’t know we were here —’
‘We can deal with that later,’ Talemir’s voice cut in. ‘We need to find Ryland. Now.’
The dread was palpable. For even if the wraith attack had been won, what would happen to the rebellion’s fearless leaders if their son wasn’t found?
Drue’s face was a mask of cold calm as she scoured the grounds, but Talemir… Thea had seen Talemir take on the brunt of an entire airborne wraith force at the Scarlet Tower, had seen him patch a magical shield that covered an entire territory. He was unshakeable, a force of his own to be reckoned with. Only now, he wasn’t a Warsword or a Shadow Prince. Now, he was a father. A father who was panicking.
‘Have you checked the kitchens?’ he was saying. ‘What about under the —’
Drue silenced him with a squeeze of his hand and continued to search. Wraiths momentarily forgotten, the university bustled with movement, punctuated by shouts of Ryland’s name.
Kipp, ever the strategist, organised everyone into teams, each assigned to comb through a specific area – old lecture halls, the libraries and greenhouses, the outer grounds. Every search party was on high alert, more concerned with every passing moment. Time was of the essence.
After giving out his instructions, Kipp appeared at Thea’s side, looking pale. ‘What if they’ve taken him? What if the attack just now was a diversion so they could snatch him —’
‘Keep that thought to yourself,’ Thea warned. ‘At least for now.’
Still shaken from the attack, they combed the grounds together, working to find any sign of the little winged boy who’d stolen all their hearts.
As the hours passed and the light filtering through Talemir’s shield took on the orange glow of dusk, the sense of panic reached new heights. The exhaustive search bled out into the surrounding fields once more. Quiet conversations ground to a halt and Thea found herself retracing her previous steps to no avail —
A shout sounded. Thea and Kipp rushed towards it.
Talemir was kneeling in the dirt, clutching the lumpy knitted hat Ryland had been wearing since their arrival.
Drue fell to her knees beside him. ‘Where is he, Tal?’ she whispered, her voice breaking. ‘What are we going to do?’
Talemir simply stared at the woollen cap. ‘I…’
Thea’s heart broke for them. She could only imagine what might be going through their heads, and the longer Ryland was gone, the worse the potential outcomes became. Both parents were hunched over the cap together, Drue’s shoulders shaking with silent sobs, Talemir’s arm wrapped around her back.
A flurry of movement across the grass caught her eye and Wilder appeared, cresting a ridge in the land, something bundled in his arms.
‘He’s here!’ Wilder called. ‘I’ve got him.’
He strode across the grounds, the little boy safe in his arms, Dratos’ cousin Gus at his side.
‘Oh, thank the Furies,’ Drue cried, leaping to her feet and surging towards them.
