The Watcher led the way down the trail to the gateway dedicated to the academy. She shifted the crate against her hip and waved a hand at it. It sprang to life, and she stood so her arm touched mine. Breana pushed up against my other side. I had to force myself not to look down at her.
Cara stared at Tyrez and pointed to the gate with her chin. “After you.”
The big shifter vanished in the flaring energy.
“Okay, here we go.”
We stepped through the surging energy and emerged in the meadow in front of the academy building.
It was disconcerting, as if we’d just wiped half the night out of existence. Considering what we’d been up to in that time, it made everything surreal. Because nothing had changed. The refugees from the eruption lay everywhere I looked.
As we carried the crates to the pile started by Riley and her crew, Cara turned to Breana. “Can you rejoin your teammates? I’d take you off duty, but it will look odd, so I’m afraid you have to endure.”
When Breana hesitated, the Watcher touched her arm. The younger woman immediately straightened, and as some color returned to her face, she nodded to Cara.
“I’m going to get Riggs officially enrolled and assigned quarters.” The Watcher gestured to me.
Breana shot me an unreadable look before moving off through the people. I found myself mesmerized by the sway of her hips as she walked. Until Cara drove her elbow into my ribs.
“Stop drooling,” she said. “You aren’t supposed to know her very well. You look like a smitten schoolboy.”
“I am not drooling,” I protested. But I was too slow to avoid raising a hand to my lips to be sure. Breana was definitely worthy of my drool…
When Cara’s eyes danced and she raised a brow, I obediently diverted my attention to my brother. Tyrez strode straight to the pile of crates and started organizing the dispersal of clothes to those who so desperately needed them.
His demeanor, calm and confident, reassured everyone around him. As he dispersed the clothing, I saw the first bloom of hope on many exhausted faces.
My brother, and my friend. Clearly not just an exiled prince—he was a leader, in every way that counted. And exactly what the Dragon Empire needed.
As I watched him, I felt a pang of unease.
Cara had turned to speak with Bess. When the other Watcher moved on, I leaned close.
“What’s stopping them from coming after Tyrez?” I asked.
When she hesitated, my gut twisted. “Nothing,” she said. “So long as he remains here at the academy, attacking him would be difficult. But not impossible.” She flashed me a look in which I caught a glimpse of her worry. “Yet, if he were to disappear, ripples would be felt across the Empire. Everything he does now will be watched. I have to figure out how to protect him without starting a war.”
My family. My brother. I might not have memories of them, but the rage that stirred within me indicated that the ties, although buried deep, possibly still existed.
It gave me hope they might yet surface.
“Come with me,” she said. “Let’s get you officially enrolled as a Shade, shall we?”
My participation in this school wasn’t something I looked forward to. “I can help here,” I protested, looking around us.
Cara waved me into motion. “I can’t get Bree and Riley’s crew out of this without possibly causing suspicion, but the less time you’re around Tyrez, the better. You two look too much alike.”
I glanced back at my brother. Really? “He looks”—I groped for the word—“like he has a stick up his ass.”
“Well, he is more serious than you,” she agreed. “But if you stand beside him, it is obvious you two are related. Try to keep your distance.”
“Righto, boss lady.”
Her arched brow waggled. “Always knew you were a smart boy.”
Smart? Had I been? If so, I wasn’t convinced that characteristic had survived my brain-fry. With a sigh, I trailed after her as she approached the headmaster.
His hair stood out from his scalp in all directions, which matched the harassed expression he wore. As Cara approached, he turned to her.
