That night, while Simber patrolled the skies, Aaron and Alex found Claire and Ms. Octavia at the octogator’s desk in her classroom and sat down to discuss procedures for the coming attack. Claire and Alex talked through various strategies while Ms. Octavia drew detailed sketches of them. Everyone wished for Florence’s expertise on the matter—they had never needed it more. But it was not to be had.
After a few hours of conversation deep into the night, Aaron, Claire, and Ms. Octavia retired to their rooms with plans to meet up again the next morning. They had a lot of things to discuss, mainly what to do about Quill and whether they should enlist help from them or try to protect them somehow.
When Aaron reached his room, he pulled the robe out from inside his vest. Then he glanced at his blackboard and frowned. He went into his sleeping quarters and closed the door softly. There he unrolled the robe, shook it out gently, and placed it around his shoulders, securing it at his neck. He looked at himself this way and that, and then went over to his mirror and removed the paper he’d used to cover it. He stared at his reflection. “I’m the head mage of Artimé,” he whispered.
He felt his spine straighten and his chest swell. The longing surged inside him until it felt like it was out of control. With tremendous effort, he batted it down. Slowly he removed the robe, folded it, then rolled it tight like a baton and tied it so it would be ready to stuff inside his vest in the morning. He set it down on his bedside table, within reach in case he needed it, and reluctantly put the paper up so it covered the mirror again.
When he climbed into bed, he lay on his side, staring at the bundled robe for a long while. And then he sighed and rolled over to face the wall instead.
? ? ? ?
Before turning in, Alex went to the hospital ward and found Carina Holiday sitting with the young woman who had escaped from Warbler. Asleep in the bed next to the escapee’s was Thatcher, the Warbler boy who’d been catapulted to Artimé’s shores some time ago and had become quite good at spell casting.
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Why is he here?” he asked softly.
“They’re siblings,” said Carina. “She risked her life to warn us because of her brother.”
“How is she?” Alex asked.
“She’s exhausted,” said Carina. “Dehydrated. Has a bit of a fever, too. I doubt she slept a wink as she paddled her way here.”
“Did she arrive on a raft?”
“No, it was a canoe. Her paddle had a bite out of it.”
Alex frowned. “What from?”
“We don’t know.”
Alex looked at the young woman. “Shall I take her thornament off?”
“Yes, if you’re not too tired. I asked her when we were assessing her if she’d like it removed, and she nodded quite emphatically. But Claire hasn’t had a moment to do it yet.”
“I’m not too tired,” said Alex. He took a chair and sat next to the young woman. She was similar in age to him and Sky. Her skin was dark brown like Thatcher’s, her face perfectly symmetrical and serene, and her black hair was trimmed close to her scalp. “Do we know her name?”
“It’s Yazmin.”
Alex studied Yazmin’s necklace of thorns, then asked Carina to hold the girl’s hands down to keep her from moving in her sleep while Alex was performing the spell. He didn’t want to accidentally make anything besides the thornament disappear.
Carina held the girl’s wrists, and Alex carefully touched the band of thorns. He concentrated for a long moment, then whispered, “Dissipate.”
The thorns faded away.
Alex sat back and Carina released her grasp. “She’ll have a nice surprise when she wakes up,” Carina said.
“Will you let me know when she does?”
Carina smiled. “I will. Get some sleep. If what Yazmin says is true, we’re in for a rough ride.”
“I doubt she’d risk her life escaping if she wasn’t certain,” Alex said. “And the suspicious activities of the Warbler ships fall in line with her prediction. I’m afraid we’re in for big trouble.”
“Me too. I’m . . . I’m a little scared for us, Alex.”
Alex gazed at the fearless fighter. If Carina was scared, the rest of Artimé had to be petrified. “We know what we’re doing,” he said. But they both knew that without Florence to guide them, they might be in for some unexpected trouble.