Chapter 47 Rune
rune
. . .
Eleanor and I claimed the kitchen before dawn.
She pulled jars from the top shelf filled with tapioca pearls, brown sugar syrup, and tea bags. Steam fogged the windows, and we made the house smell delicious.
“It’s Boba,” she told me, delighted. “You’ll love it.”
“I know I will if it’s dangerous,” I promised sweetly.
“Oh, you can absolutely poison the balls.” She giggled. “Micro-dose them, I mean. Stop looking at me like that.”
We simmered the pearls in molasses-sweet water until they turned soft. Eleanor taught me how to shake the tea with ice in a steel tumbler to make it cold, and then, we poured the tea over the pearls—mine had poison on them.
“Can’t forget the straw!” She stopped me from sipping and plopped a wide straw in.
I took a sip, and one of the balls was sucked into my mouth. The spicy taste flooded my mouth instantly as I chewed it. My eyes widened. “Oh, my Fates!”
“I told you.” She smiled widely, nodding.
Aura walked in with Vel trailing behind her.
“Don’t start,” Aura told her, groaning. She played with the ring on her finger.
“You know I’m right, darling,” she told her. “Think about it. Good morning, little legends.” Vel wiggled her fingers at us before leaving.
“Good morning!” Eleanor smiled at Aura. “We’re making tea.”
Aura’s eyes flicked to my cup. “Poisoned Boba?”
“Mine’s normal,” Eleanor assured her.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to read a message.
Drecken Grimsworn
I am confused by my disappointment when my sheet did not contain your name this morning.
Rune Bloodwyne
I’m confused as to why you’re confused. You barely looked at me in your class.
Drecken Grimsworn
That is because I experience butterfly feelings when I do. It is disruptive. I prefer to function.
Heat rushed up my neck.
Eleanor grinned over her straw.
Aura pretended not to read over my shoulder, but I knew she was.
“Class,” I announced loudly. “We get to meet Professor Rionyx. Eight sharp, you know.”
“Aren’t I usually the one getting everyone out of here in the mornings for class?” Dimitri crossed his arms as he stood in front of the door. “What happened to make you be the one?”
“She’s flirting with a professor,” Aura said simply, winking at me as she started for the door.
“A professor?” Hawk gasped. “Who?”
Slater grinned. “How is our brother-mate?”
“Fine.” I blushed.
Zuko kissed my cheek, and we left for Data to Decisions.
House of Intellect was a classroom that mainly reminded me of a library. There were tall windows, shelves filled with books, and desks made of dark wood.
Professor Rionyx stood in front of her desk in heels.
She was tall and graceful, dressed in the academy suit but with a long black robe accompanying it.
Her crimson-gold hair was pulled into a loose braid down her back.
Her roots were streaked with glowing embers, and her amber eyes ringed with a flickering flame.
“Data to Decisions,” she welcomed us in that clipped tone she always seemed to use. “Week two. We will be focusing on a multi-source incident breakdown. Your data is in your email. You have one hour. Decide what happened and what to do about it as a squad.”
I pulled up the email with the data and images.
Magical traces: Drake fire near civilians
Civilian chatter: A rogue coyote shifter caused it
Aura scans: Phoenix energy at the impact center
Surveillance: Looped, maybe edited
Dimitri and I stood at the same desk.
“That signature is a drake’s,” he mumbled, scrolling through the data. “So why was there magical energy of a phoenix in the center?”
“Look.” I magnified the first five-second screenshot from surveillance. “You can see both fire blooms from the aura scans. The drake fire hits first. The aura is aggressive. Phoenix fire spikes after. The aura is concerned. Response, not trigger.”
“You’re guessing,” he told me. “There’s no possible way you could know that.”
“I’m reading,” I snapped. “Not everything is difficult. Sometimes, instincts see clearer than logic.”
“Instincts mislead,” he countered. “That’s the point of this exercise.”
“Uh, guys?” Hawk muttered.
“No, the point is knowing what happened. You’re so busy chasing facts you’re forgetting that the evidence isn’t clear,” I told him.
“Let them argue it out,” Zuko groaned.
Dimitri pushed back from the tablet. “And you’re so certain you’re right that you’d override hard data for a gut feeling. You always do this.”
“It’s their foreplay,” Slater whispered.
I scowled. We’d been butting heads in this class since it started two weeks ago. “I do this because I’ve been right. Every time.”
“That’s not the same as thinking things through, Rune.” Dimitri narrowed his gaze at me.
“And you think cold calculations make you smarter?” I crossed my arms.
“No, but we should recommend containment,” he replied tightly. “Flag the phoenix and the drake. Investigate the rest after neutralization.”
I crossed my arms. “And if that phoenix saved those people? We flag him, and we make him a villain instead of the hero he probably is.”
“What if it was just a fight between the two?” Hawk offered from two rows back.
Koa frowned. “There’s no drake signature. The arcane specialist on the scene confirmed that. So, that means the drake attacked from above. If it were a fight, it would make no sense that he came from above. It doesn’t seem like the phoenix was the target.”
Dimitri’s jaw flexed. “So what’s our call?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Trace the source. De-escalate. Release the phoenix.”
He exhaled slowly; his fangs catching the light in a way that warmed my blood. “One day, that trust in people is going to get you killed.”
“And one day, you’ll realize not everyone is an enemy.” My breath hitched.
We were way too close.
“Told you it’s foreplay,” Slater whispered.
“Totally,” Zuko agreed.
“We’ll submit both solutions.” I pretended I didn’t hear my boyfriends. “Let Rionyx decide.”
“Not confident in your answer?” Dimitri taunted.
“I am.” I frowned. “I’m trying to compromise.”
He nodded before sighing. “Go with your instinct. I trust you.”
Rionyx walked over with her hands clasped in front of her.
“Analysis: fire drake attacked the town first is correct. Phoenix response is consistent with rescue. Surveillance loops confirm misdirection. Recommended action: trace drake source, de-escalate crowd, and release the phoenix with witness statements. Good. Dimitri, good job listening to Rune’s gut.
Evidence is just as important as instinct, but when there’s not enough, trust something.
Better it be instinct. Next time, argue faster. Squad passed.”
We packed up and attended Peace Craft with Galeclaw; a class that I not-so surprisingly had little interest in.