62. Escape
A eden breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes fell on Nyra. The entrance to her pen was open and she was already equipped with her rider’s seat.
“ Aeden! ” she called out, her head twisting in pure joy of seeing him.
“Nyra!” He rushed over to her. “Are you okay? Have you been hurt?” He quickly checked her over for injuries.
“ I’m fine ,” she said, “ the guards have kept us safe, all of us .”
Aeden spun back around, realising they were not alone in the room.
Kael, Rowan, Cassian, and the rest of the privileged students were standing ashen-faced beside their Aer-Kin, along with Lyric.
“I was worried that you hadn’t made it,” Lyric said with a grimaced smile.
“What’s going on out there?” Rowan asked.
“We’re under fucking attack,” Kael said, “that’s what’s fucking happening.”
“I think it’s the Sable twins,” Aeden said, catching his breath. “I think they came back with reinforcements.”
“Aeden, your leg!” Rowan gasped as she pointed towards it.
Looking down, Aeden could see some shrapnel protruding out of it. That would explain why it wasn’t moving as usual.
“I’ll be okay,” he said. “ Nyra, can you give me a little help? ”
“ It’s no use healing it until we’ve removed whatever that is .”
“Here, I’ll help,” the large Guardian class student said, moving towards Aeden. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a deep voice. “You’re probably going to want to bite down on something.”
Cassian reached for a broom and snapped it with his knee before passing it to Aeden. “Here, take this,” he said.
“Thanks,” Aeden said. “Do it.” He bit down on the wood and braced himself.
The Guardian student gave Aeden a subtle nod before grabbing hold of the shrapnel. “This is going to hurt like shit,” he said. His bedside manner could have done with some work, but at this moment in time, Aeden didn’t care, he just needed to get his leg healed.
Pain erupted down the entirety of Aeden’s right leg, forcing him to bite down hard on the broom handle. He cried out as he felt the shard slide out of his flesh.
Aeden spat the broom handle form his mouth, panting. “Thank you?— ”
“Corwin, Corwin Miresen,” the young man said. “It’s bleeding a lot!” Corwin looked up at the others. Cassian tore a piece from his sleeve and passed it to Corwin, who scrunched it up into a tight ball and pressed it tightly to Aeden’s leg.
Aeden let out another cry of pain. “ Nyra, a little help! ”
He was struggling to concentrate so he was grateful when he could sense Nyra taking the lead. As she channelled the power of their Weave, light erupted in his vision, wrapping around his injured leg. Almost instantaneously, the pain became nothing more than a tolerable throb.
“Holy shit,” Cassian said as Aeden’s leg continued to heal.
Warmth soothed the pain until it was completely gone, and Aeden gave Corwin a nod. “You can let go now,” he said. “It should be okay. Thank you ,” he added, reaching out to Nyra, who gave a satisfied chitter.
“Now that we’ve finished this little love-in, can we decide what the fuck we need to do?
” Kael said. He was agitated, and understandably so.
Threxel let out a disapproving grumble, with Kael looking down at him then back at the others.
“Threxel thinks we should fight, and I have to admit, I agree with him.” They were like two peas in a pod, aggressive and eager to fight.
Great.
“They’re too strong for us,” Aeden said. “There are not just riders attacking the academy, but there are soldiers on foot, too. If we dive straight into the fight, we won’t last two seconds. We would be more of a hindrance than a help to those who are able to fight.”
“Aeden is right,” Lyric said. “We came back to get you all and take you to the cellar below the Great Hall. It’s the most fortified point, and at least there we can keep you and your newly bonded Aer-Kin as safe as possible.”
A loud bang came from overhead, followed by a shriek.
“And the sooner we leave here, the better,” he finished, gathering up scrolls from his desk and placing them into a satchel.
“So we just sit and hide away while everyone else fights?” Kael demanded.
“That’s exactly what we do,” Rowan said.
“I want to defend the academy the same as you, but we have literally only just bonded with our Aer-Kin. I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how to fight alongside Vorne.
” Her hand was resting on the head of her obsidian Aer-Kin.
“All I know is that I will fight if I have to but only to protect him.”
Aeden could relate to how Rowan was feeling. He would do exactly the same for Nyra.
“Besides that, other than Aeden, none of us have had any time for our powers to manifest,” she finished. “So when everyone is ready, I think we need to get to the cellar as soon as possible.”
“Ain’t no ifs or buts about it,” Lyric said. “I’m here to escort you all back to the Great Hall and into the cellar.” He tossed his satchel over his shoulder and set off for the door. “Galen, can you help escort the students to safety?”
“Of course,” the old guard said, “all three of us will. There’s spare weaponry in your workshop. May I suggest we gather some supplies before leaving?”
Lyric nodded. “Then that settles it. Gather your Aer-Kin, you should all be able to communicate with them, so keep them under control. None of them have experienced anything like this before, so they may be scared and they may get spooked by the noises of battle. You need to support them, calm them, reassure them. We’ll have you all safe in the cellar in no time. ”
“What if we don’t want to come?” Kael said, Threxel letting out a low grumble.
“Now isn’t the time for this shit, Kael,” Cassian said. “Just get your shit and come with the rest of us or stay here. Either way, don’t slow the rest of us down.”
Kael puffed up his chest and Aeden shook his head in disbelief. Even now, in these circumstances, Kael would rather fight someone from the academy over simply doing as he was told.
“ Come on, Nyra, let’s go ,” Aeden said, taking the lead. He nodded to Lyric and headed for the door alongside him. Nyra followed, and so did the rest of the room.
“Fine,” Kael said, “but if any of you get in my way, I won’t hesitate to leave you behind or cut you down.”
“ I’d like to see him try ,” Aeden said to Nyra through the Weave.
“Let’s go,” Lyric said. Galen opened the door to the hatchery for everyone to exit. The group headed around to the workshop, hurriedly gathering what weapons they could.
“You know how to handle this?” Lyric asked as he passed a sword to Aeden.
Cold gripped Aeden’s hand as he was caught off guard by the weight of the weapon. Sure, he had sparred more than he cared to remember with Master Storme, but only on a couple of occasions with weapons, and these had been training weapons, lighter and easier to wield.
That said, this wasn’t a usual situation. Nothing could have prepared them for this scale of an attack. Aeden didn’t think this would have been possible, which led him to wonder yet again just who the Sable twins were fighting for.
They headed back to the front of the hatchery where Galen was waiting with all the Aer-Kin. Aside from Threxel, they were timid in nature, flinching at the blasts of power radiating from above, shaking at the thought of stepping outside the hatchery.
Despite this being what they were bred for, what their purpose was, they were nowhere near battle ready, which was what surprised Aeden the most when he saw Nyra standing stoically in front of them, her bound wings tucked under her rider’s seat.
Despite not being able to take to the skies to fight, she seemed unfazed and ready to fight if she had to.
“ Are you okay? ” Aeden asked. It felt like a stupid question but one that needed to be asked nonetheless.
“ I’m fine, I just want to get you and the younglings to safety ,” she said – a far cry from when she was chastising them for the noise they were making. That seemed like such a long time ago go. What Aeden would give to go back to those days.
“Right, everybody listen closely,” Lyric said as they approached the exit of the hatchery grounds. “Stay as close to one another as possible. Do what you can to reassure your Aer-Kin. I will aid as best I can, but they will respond best to you.”
The rest of the students gave Lyric a puzzled look; they were probably unaware that Lyric had the capability to speak to them through the Weave. This wasn’t the time to start explaining this.
“Keep close as a group, do not get separated, we need to stick together,” Lyric said. “Follow me, and I will lead us back to the Great Hall. The sooner we can get all of you to the cellar, the better.”
“Remember, this is not war games,” Galen said, his tone deep and serious, understandably so.
“This is real. We’re under attack, we’re not looking for heroes.
Let those who know how to fight protect you.
You are all the future of this academy. That said, if the situation does arise, you are all equipped; if for any reason we do get separated, then get to the Great Hall as fast as you can.
We’ll do our best to protect each and every one of you. ”
“Thank you,” Rowan said. She was clutching an old, rusted hatchet in her hand, and there was a slight tremor in her voice.
Cassian placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to be okay,” he said calmly. “All of us are.”
Lyric led the way, rushing out of the hatchery gates and back into the academy grounds.
As soon as they passed through the gates, Nyra stopped. “ Do you wish to ride me? ” she asked.
“ Not yet ,” Aeden said, clasping his sword. “ I think defensively, we’ll be better separate for now, as I can fight too if needed .”
“ Are you sure? ”
“ I think so ,” was the best that he could offer.
“ Very well, but please listen to me if I tell you to ride .”
“ I will ,” he said before following the rest of the group.