Page 141 of Akarnae

“How can anyone sleep forso long?”

“I don’t know, man. Can we poke her or something?”

“Fletcher would have our hides if he found out we disturbed his patient’s beauty sleep.”

“He doesn’t have to know…”

There was a pause and Alex cracked her eyes open just as Jordan reached towards her. “Don’t even think about it,” she threatened in a croaky voice.

“Alex! You’re awake!” he cried, sitting back hastily.

“Finally!” Bear smiled at her.

“Sorry to inconvenience you,” she said.

“That’s okay,” Jordan said, taking her seriously. He grabbed a glass of water off her bedside table and held it out for her.

Bear reached his arm around Alex to help support her as she carefully pulled herself into a sitting position. She was amazed that she was able to do so without any kind of pain. Fletcher’s medicines were evidently doing their job.

“What’s been happening?” she asked after taking a long drink of water. “It’s been—what?—three days?”

“Four now,” Bear told her. “It’s Wednesday.”

“Time flies when you’re unconscious, hey?” Jordan said lightly.

“Something like that,” she agreed, smiling.

“Nothing’s really changed for us,” Bear said, answering her question. “Classes are wrapping up for the year. Finn has been almost pleasant, believe it or not.”

“Not,” Alex said, and they laughed.

“Otherwise everything’s pretty much the same as before our exams, if a little less stressful,” he concluded.

“Same question for you, now,” Jordan said. “And don’t leave anything out.”

Alex groaned. “Seriously? You’re here to interrogate me? Some friends you are.”

“You love us,” Jordan replied. “Once again we missed out on the adventure, so spill.” He must have caught her tense expression before she could clear it, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry. I sound like a jerk, don’t I? It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I understand.Weunderstand.”

Bear nodded in agreement, his eyes full of concern.

“No, it’s fine,” Alex assured them. “I already had to go over the whole thing with Darrius anyway.”

“Darrius? The cloud guy?” Jordan asked. “The same guy that brought you back to the academy from the Gala?”

Alex noticed that he didn’t say ‘from my house’. “Yeah, that’s him. Sir Camden found him and he came with some others to rescue us.”

“Weird,” Jordan said. “Bear and I were waiting at the Med Ward when they brought you in—you were an absolute mess, by the way—but I didn’t see anyone we didn’t know. Just a heap of the professors and the headmaster.”

Alex shrugged. “He probably stayed back at the Library to try and trace where Aven disappeared to. The others would have had to follow the headmaster in and back out. Who were they, by the way? The others?”

“Half the teaching staff,” Jordan said. “Maggie, Karter, Finn, Varin, Caspar Lennox and Luranda.”

“So much for the Library being a secret,” Alex mumbled. “Now the whole world practically knows about it.”

“We heard Hunter went in as well, but we didn’t see him on this side,” Bear said, ignoring her comment. “It just confirms what we already know about Ghost: unless he wants you to see him, you won’t.”

Alex looked at Bear for a moment before she burst out laughing.

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