Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Chapter 48

A sharp knock echoed through the Proctor’s chamber.

Vesper Kane looked up from the papers spread across his desk casualty reports, supply requisitions, letters to families who would never see their children again. His quill hovered mid-word, a drop of ink trembling at its tip.

"Enter."

The door swung open, and Aldus stepped inside. The assistant’s face was carefully neutral, the expression of a man who had spent decades delivering both good news and bad with equal composure. But there was something in his eyes tonight a tightness, a shadow that made Kane set his quill down immediately.

"Report."

"Team Alpha has arrived, Proctor. They came through the eastern gate ten minutes ago."

Kane rose from his chair. "Soren. Where is he?"

Aldus hesitated. It was only a heartbeat, but it was enough.

"Unfortunately, sir, he and Prince Thorne are missing."

The word hung in the air like a blade.

"Missing?" Kane’s voice was dangerously quiet. "What do you mean, missing? They were supposed to return together. They were on the same team. What happened out there?"

"The details are still unclear, sir. But the remaining team members are waiting in the council chamber. They can explain what occurred."

Kane was already moving toward the door. "What was Valeria doing? She was the instructor in charge. How could she let two of her students one of them the heir to the Astrlyn pack vanish in that forest?"

Aldus fell into step behind him. "I don’t have those answers, sir."

"Then I’ll get them myself."

The council chamber was cold and dim, the torches burning low in their sconces. Team Alpha stood in a ragged line before the long oak table Valeria at the center, her chin lifted defiantly despite the exhaustion carved into her face. Orion and Silas flanked her. Elias stood slightly apart, as silent as ever. Draven lingered at the back, his eyes fixed on the floor.

The door slammed open, and Proctor Kane strode in like a storm.

"Report." His voice cracked through the room. "Now. What happened to Soren Thornridge and Prince Thorne?"

Valeria stepped forward. "We were ambushed by rogues. Multiple waves. During the fight, an earthquake split the ground between us. Soren and Thorne were on the other side of the chasm. There was no way to reach them. We had to leave them behind."

"You had to leave them behind," Kane repeated, his voice dripping with contempt. "The Sword Sovereign. The most valuable student this academy has ever produced. And the heir to the Astrlyn pack. And you left them behind."

"With respect, Proctor," Orion interjected, his voice steady, "we didn’t have a choice. The chasm was too wide to cross. We tried to find another way around, but the terrain was too unstable. Valeria made the call to return to the academy and organize a proper search party rather than wander blindly in the forest."

Kane’s jaw tightened. He looked at Valeria. "Is this true?"

"Yes, Proctor."

He studied her for a long moment. Whatever he was searching for in her face, he didn’t seem to find it. Finally, he turned away.

"Everyone out. Except the board members. We convene an emergency meeting immediately."

The team filed out. Valeria was the last to leave, and she paused at the door, glancing back at the Proctor as if she wanted to say something. Then she thought better of it and walked away.

The emergency board meeting lasted less than twenty minutes.

Kane stood at the head of the table, his hands planted flat against the ancient wood. The board members sat in their usual seats, their faces grim. The torches had been stoked higher, but the room still felt dark.

"Multiple search parties will be dispatched into the forest. They leave within the hour. I want every able-bodied senior student and staff member who isn’t in the healer’s wing out there searching. The Mistwood will be scoured from east to west, north to south, until Soren Thornridge and Prince Thorne are found."

"And if they’re not found?" Elara Voss asked quietly.

Kane’s expression didn’t change. "They will be. At all costs. At all risks. They will be found."

The board members nodded.

"One more thing." Kane straightened. "This matter does not leave the walls of this academy. No one speaks of it. Not to family, not to friends, not to anyone outside this school. If word reaches the King that his son—" He stopped himself. "If word reaches the Astrlyn pack that their heir is missing in a forest full of rogues, the consequences will be catastrophic. Am I understood?"

"Understood," the board echoed.

"Dismissed."

The board members rose and filed out. Kane remained standing, staring at the empty chairs.

Aldus appeared at his elbow. "The search parties are being assembled, Proctor."

"Good." Kane turned to him, his voice dropping to a murmur. "This must not reach the palace. Do you understand? If the King finds out that his only son his Lycan heir, the first in centuries is missing and possibly dead in a cursed forest, he will not just close this academy. He will burn it to the ground with everyone inside. Everything we’ve built. Everyone we’ve trained. Gone."

Aldus nodded solemnly. "I understand, Proctor. I’ll ensure the matter remains confidential."

"See that you do."

Aldus left, and Kane was alone.

He walked to the window and stared out at the gray sky.

The search parties assembled in the courtyard within the hour.

Four teams of senior students and staff, armed and provisioned, ready to march back into the Mistwood. Maps were distributed. Routes were assigned. The mood was grim but determined.

Corvin pushed through the crowd toward the Proctor. "I’m going with them."

Kane didn’t even look at him. "No."

"You don’t understand. I need to be out there. I need to find—"

"I know exactly what you need, Eldritch. And I’m telling you no." Kane turned to face him, his expression hard. "You just returned from the forest. You carried your teammate through miles of hostile territory. You’re exhausted, injured, and running on nothing but adrenaline and stubbornness. If you go back out there, you’ll be a liability, not an asset."

"I don’t care—"

"I do. You’re confined to the academy. Strict lockdown. You, Ragnar Blackfang, and anyone else who thinks they can disobey my orders." Kane’s eyes were steel. "This is not a negotiation."

Corvin’s hands clenched at his sides. "She’s—Thorne is—"

"I know what Thorne is to you. To all of you." Kane’s voice softened, just slightly. "But the best thing you can do for him right now is stay here, rest, and be ready when they bring him back."

"And if they don’t bring him back?"

"Then you can blame me. But not until the search is over."

Corvin stood rigid for a long moment. Then he turned and walked away, his shoulders tight, his jaw locked.

Ragnar was waiting near the healer’s wing, his scarred face dark with frustration. "He rejected you too?"

"Strict lockdown," Corvin said bitterly. "We’re prisoners in our own academy."

"We’re liabilities. There’s a difference." Ragnar leaned against the wall. "Soren will come back. He always does. And he’ll bring your prince with him."

"Thorne’s not my—" Corvin stopped. Shook his head. "he matters. That’s all. he matters, and he’s out there, and I can’t do anything to help him"

"Welcome to the club."

They stood together in the cold corridor, two rivals united by fear and frustration, and waited.

The hut was quiet now, the morning light fading into the gray of early afternoon. Soren had returned from his second scouting attempt with no better news. They were trapped, at least for now.

Nyra sat on the bed, her knees drawn up, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders. Soren sat beside her, their shoulders touching, their hands intertwined.

"What if they don’t find us?" she asked quietly.

"They will."

"But what if they don’t? What if the forest is too big, and we’re too hidden, and they just... give up?"

Soren turned to face her. "They won’t give up. The Proctor won’t allow it. Ragnar won’t allow it. Corvin won’t allow it." He paused on the name, but his voice didn’t harden. "You have people who care about you, Nyra. People who will tear this forest apart to find you."

"You’re one of them."

"I’m the first of them." He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing the delicate skin beneath her eye. "I will get you out of here. One way or another. I swear it."

Nyra leaned into his touch. "I believe you."

"Good."

"But what do we do until then?"

"We survive. We rest. We stay alive." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "And we don’t lose hope."

She smiled a small, fragile thing, but a smile nonetheless. "You’re surprisingly good at this."

"At what?"

"Comforting people. You pretend to be ice, but you’re not ice at all."

"Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation."

"Your secret’s safe with me."

He kissed her then soft and slow, a promise and a reassurance. When they broke apart, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me about Freya again," she said. "Your sister. What was she like as a child?"

Soren smiled. "She was a terror. Still is. When she was six, she decided she wanted to learn to sword fight, so she stole one of my practice blades and challenged the palace guards to a duel..."

He talked until the light began to fade, and Nyra listened, and for a little while, the fear receded.

Outside, the search parties moved through the Mistwood, calling names that the wind swallowed whole. The hunt had begun.