Page 48 of Blood of Ancients

They toppled forward together, unconscious. I reached out, holding up the one I knew held the key to my gate, and hugged him against the bars.

Swiftly, I snatched the key, let him fall, and let myself out of my confines.

Staring down at the inert bodies, knowing I had likely made my stay here much harder on myself with this act, I stepped over the bodies.

It was paramount I learned what was happening to Ravinica. She had looked unconscious in Grim’s arms, and the way he was running . . .

I shook my head.

Punishment could wait. For now, I needed resolution.

I dashed into the hall without another thought.

I followed the alarmed voices of students. Winding through the twisting labyrinth of the underground tunnels and caverns. Students blurred by as I gave chase.

Before long, with my golden hair whipping about and my long strides carrying me like the wind, I spotted the hulking man carrying Ravinica.

He was breathing loudly, body heaving as my preternatural physique brought me closer to him.

Grim did not glance over his shoulder before speaking—as if he could sense my presence with his own abilities. “Took you long enough, elf.”

“What is going on, Grim? What is wrong with her?”

“No time,” he growled, continuing forward.

He dashed right at a four-way split in the tunnel.

Evidently, the big man knew exactly where he was going. Which was good, because I didn’t know where I was. The guards had never let me roam this far out from my dwelling—too risky, they’d said, as if they thought I’d learn academy secrets by poking around where I shouldn’t be.

The only “academy secrets” I see here is a dark dungeon that needs a cleaning, and doesn’t even have a proper filtration system. The ruffians. No wonder they’re called heathens.

I followed Grim in silence, the quiet padding of my feet joining the harsh thudding of his boots. We came to a wooden door that looked like any other, and Grim didn’t slow, charging in, using that huge shoulder of his to burst through the door.

Inside was different: plastered walls, bright lights, and a sense of modernity.

Furrowing my brow, I followed.

“We need a nurse!” Grim yelled. “A surgeon! A gods-damn medicine woman, if you have one!”

Gasps ripped through the twisting halls of the cavern from hooded and robed students. In the light, I noticed blood dripping from Grim’s elbow. It was not his blood.

My pulse spiked, fear running through me.

Two people in white robes burst into the room at Grim’s call. One of them I recognized when her hood went down, terror in her eyes.

“Oh gods, Rav!” cried out Ravinica’s friend, Dagny Largul.

“Give us a table,” Grim growled to the other nurse.

He quickly ran off with a nod and rolled one over a moment later.

Grim set Ravinica down gently on the steel table. We huddled around her. Ravinica didn’t make a sound when her bare arms touched the cold surface, which only made me more scared for her, knowing she was unconscious. The rise and fall of her chest was shallow. The bloody wound was in her side, and my mind started racing.

“What happened to her?” Dagny asked, frantically starting to peel off straps and layers of Ravinica’s garb.

“Her brother stabbed her,” Grim said.

Dagny’s face became a storm. “That bastard. I’ll kill—”

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