Fireborn

17 ¦ True Test

When I entered Merlin Hall for my final exam on Risan and Human Physiology, students were racing around in a flurry of panic. It wasn't the typical mad scurry before exams, though. Wizards strode through the hallways carrying bejeweled staffs, and Fighters sharpened battle axes and swords in the workshops.

Furrowing my brow in confusion, I caught bits and pieces of rabid conversation.

"Come on, Sarah!"

"...the Gatál."

"...get those bastards before..."

"Get your staff!"

"Damn it, I left my ax..."

I caught the attention of a fourth-year Wizard sauntering towards me with a determined frown, her battle staff at the ready.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" I asked.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked with a furrowed brow. "The Gatál have marched into the Neutral Zone. Not only with their army, but with Shadow Riders and dragons as well."

"What?" I exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Where?"

"They've already claimed the cities of Tollen, Neustadt, and Gersten."

"Oh, my gods!"

Bragda.

"And now they're attacking the small agricultural villages nearby," she added.

My heart protested wildly against my ribs, and my breath caught in my throat. "Where are they now?"

"Some backwater town, I don't know," she said with an irritated shrug. "Halten? Hallen? Something like that."

"Halden," I breathed.

"Look, lady, I gotta go." She pointed her staff in the direction of the portal chamber. "The Masters are calling all third- and fourth-years as the first line of defense."

Peter!

She raced down the hallway before she whipped around and added, "By the way, exams are canceled, first-year, so go back to your dorm and wait for instructions."

As soon as the Wizard rounded the corner, I ran to the classroom, ignoring her suggestion. I expected to find the Professor and Peter, but they were nowhere to be seen. Only a few first-year Healers sat squirming in their seats. From the lack of last-minute cramming, I could tell that my fellow students had already heard the news.

A heavy weight pressed upon my chest. Maybe Peter and the Professor had already left for the front.

Please, gods, give me the chance to say goodbye to him.

"What do we do now?" Marcus asked. "We can't just sit on our asses while the Neutral Zone falls to the Gatál."

"Professor Petrescu said to wait," Alicia replied in an officious voice. "She'll give us further instructions in a few minutes."

Alicia turned to me, both curious and scared. "Have you heard any news?"

"The Gatál have attacked Halden," I said in a daze as I slumped into a nearby chair.

"Halden?" She gave me a confused look. "Where in Hades is that?"

"Close to the city of Tollen," I replied. "All my extended family and friends live there."

And Bragda's going to that hellhole today.

A part of me wondered if I should find her and warn her. If anything, the invasion would make her even more resolute.