Page 28 of Raelia

Branch by branch, Alex slowly lowered herself, wincing as she grappled with the rough bark. Her palms were shredded from all the climbing she’d endured, but that was nothing compared to the throbbing gashes across her back.

When Alex reached the ground she stretched out her cramping arms and legs before setting off through the last of thinning forest. Within a few short steps the academy came into view, and she felt like dropping to her knees in relief. The only reason she didn’t was because she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get back up again.

It took her a while to walk around the edge of Lake Fee and hike across the massive field, but eventually Alex made it to the campus and she headed straight for the Medical Ward.

The sight that met her inside Fletcher’s domain was not what she’d expected. The Ward was so full of patients that she wondered if she should leave and come back later, but then her back throbbed its disagreement and she grimaced at the pain.

“Alex,” Fletcher greeted her, more frazzled than she’d ever seen him. “I take it you’re here for the same reason as your classmates?”

She frowned in confusion and looked around the room, noting that the patients were all fourth year students.

“What happened?” she asked, feeling a stab of concern as she searched for the familiar faces of her friends. She relaxed slightly when she couldn’t see them anywhere.

“Weren’t you with them?”

“No, I was… elsewhere,” she said meaningfully.

Fletcher’s eyes lit with understanding. “Oh. I see. Well, some of your classmates pushed themselves too far in their pursuit of a position in Hunter’s class. Nothing too serious, mind you, but they certainly weren’t being very careful.”

Alex looked around the room once more and noticed the various injuries. Cuts and bruises seemed to be the most common ailments, but she also saw a number of bandaged limbs.

“Since you weren’t with them, can I assume you’ll live until I’ve herded them all out of here?” Fletcher asked.

Alex swallowed, wondering how long that would take. But she’d already managed on her own while forging through the forest, surely she could wait just a little longer? Her pain spiked again at the thought, but she ignored it and nodded to Fletcher.

The doctor sent her a grateful smile and indicated towards a spare bed in the corner of the room. “I won’t be too long,” he promised, hurrying off to assist his other patients.

Alex stumbled over to the bed, careful to keep her back to the wall and away from curious eyes. She was wearing a black shirt, which helped conceal the bloodstains, but she was certain the material was ripped from the creature’s claws. She sat on the bed with her legs dangling over the edge of the mattress and waited. She couldn’t lie down and she couldn’t lean on anything—not unless she wanted to stain the white bed sheets or walls with her blood.

She was tired, she was hungry and she was in some serious agony now that she wasn’t doing anything to pump her adrenaline and keep her mind off her injury. If only she’d had the foresight to ask Fletcher for some of his pain relief medicine. Then at least she could have been more comfortable while waiting.

It took half an hour for the majority of her classmates to be discharged, but there were still a few left with whom Fletcher was finishing up. She wished they would heal faster.

“Don’t tell me you fell out of a tree, too?”

Alex looked up and found herself face to face with Kaiden. She sent him a baffled look. “Why would I have fallen out of a tree?”

Really, considering everything else, it was a miracle shehadn’tfallen out of a tree. But how could he have known about that?

“Isn’t that what happened to most of your classmates?” he said, leaning against the bed. She turned towards him, attempting to keep her shredded flesh out of sight.

“I’m not sure what happened to them,” Alex admitted. “Fletcher said they went a bit crazy in the SAS trial.”

Kaiden’s eyes flickered briefly over her body, as if examining her for injury. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How did you go in the trial?”

She blinked at him. “I didn’t do it.”

He looked surprised. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Alex huffed. Why was it so hard for people to believe she didn’t want any part of Hunter’s class?

“How… unexpected.” His lips curled into a secretive smile. “I’ve never heard of anyonenottrying out for SAS.”

Alex floundered for a response and settled on a lame, “Well, now you have.”

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