The room felt colder than usual.
Maybe it was the rain outside. Or maybe it was the silence that had been building every day since they vanished.
Lucy stood in the center of the office, arms crossed, gaze sharp. Her dark eyes didn’t blink as they pinned Garos to his chair like a blade to the throat.
"They’re still not back," she said quietly.
Garos rubbed the side of his temple, his face tired—older than usual. "Yes," he muttered. "I know."
"You said you’d find them."
Garos dropped his hand and looked up at her, the patience in his eyes already worn thin. "Miss Lucy, we are doing everything we can. I’ve got scouts searching every known gate site, every trace of spatial distortion, every hidden channel."
Garos continued, voice harder now. "And if you haven’t heard the news, my daughter—Vyn—is missing too. So don’t stand there like you’re the only one who’s lost something."
Lucy’s eyes twitched, but she didn’t interrupt.
Garos leaned forward, the calm in his tone barely holding together. "Your brother was too stubborn to listen. He could’ve graduated peacefully. Stayed protected. But he walked out. Took the others with him. So now we’re in this mess."
He stood from behind the desk.
"Either they’ve been captured by the ones hunting them—or Lucian’s up to something."
He looked straight into her eyes.
"And knowing your brother... it’s the second one."
Lucy’s jaw tightened.
Garos waved his hand dismissively and turned away. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to do than stand here and listen to tantrums."
There was a shift in the air.
A subtle flicker. Like the temperature dropped a few degrees in a second.
Athena, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened up immediately.
Garos paused. Slowly turned his head.
Black flames had started curling around Lucy’s feet—slithering up her legs like smoke from a furnace. Her eyes had gone dark, burning with shadowfire, her voice low but vibrating.
"I don’t care what you think," she said. "I just want my brother found."
The flames licked the floor but didn’t burn it. They pulsed with restraint—but only barely.
"I’ll burn this place down if I have to. And I won’t regret it."
Garos’s fingers twitched toward the emergency rune on the wall, but then—
"Mmm. That’s enough, dear."
The voice cut through the tension like a calm breeze through fog.
Lady Merrin stepped forward from the corner where she had been sipping tea, her silver cane tapping lightly as she walked. Her white hair was pinned back in a simple braid, and her eyes—gentle but not soft—landed on Lucy with quiet weight.
"Let’s not char the old man just yet."
Lucy’s flames hissed—then slowly flickered out.
She looked away, breathing hard.
Lady Merrin walked between them, resting one hand on Lucy’s shoulder. "I understand your anger," she said gently. "Truly. But don’t let it cloud the fact that we still need each other."
Garos turned fully now, arms crossed.
"With all due respect, Lady Merrin, you’re not part of this Academy. You don’t answer to the board."
"I don’t," she replied casually. "But that doesn’t mean I’m blind."
She tapped her cane twice on the floor. "The fact that six of the most talented young hunters this world has seen vanished under your watch is already a stain. If this gets out..."
Garos’s jaw tightened. "We’re keeping it under wraps for now."
"You won’t be able to forever," Merrin said softly. "The name Lucian Black isn’t small anymore. Neither is Class Zero. That gate they cleared? The one your systems don’t even recognize? That’ll come out eventually. And when it does... this little cover-up you’re playing is going to look a lot like abandonment."
Lucy turned away, still fuming but quiet now.
Lady Merrin looked at Garos, her tone shifting from gentle to pointed. "You said you have people searching. But are they really searching—or just going through motions?"
Garos narrowed his eyes. "My people are risking their lives out there."
"Then risk more," she said plainly. "Or give me access to your archives. I’ll find them myself."
Garos raised an eyebrow. "You think you can do what trained trackers couldn’t?"
"I know Evelyn," she said. "And I’ve seen what that boy is capable of. If Lucian doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him with soldiers. But you can find traces. Patterns. If he left behind anything, I’ll see it."
Garos stared at her for a long second... then finally nodded.
"Fine. I’ll grant you access to the logs."
"Thank you," Merrin said with a faint smile.
Athena exhaled and relaxed against the wall again.
Lucy glanced back toward Garos. "And what if they’re in danger?"
Garos met her eyes. "Then we’ll bring them back."
Lucy held his gaze, long and hard.
Then she turned away, her voice low. "You better."
Lady Merrin moved to the window, looking out at the distant training fields below.
"Two months..." she murmured. "And not a whisper. Not a footprint. No gate residue. No flare."
She turned to Garos again. "Do you believe they’re still alive?"
Garos didn’t speak right away.
Then, quietly, he said, "I believe... they’re not dead."
"That’s not the same thing," Merrin said.
"No," Garos agreed. "It’s not."
A soft knock came on the door.
One of the board agents stepped in, holding a crystal tablet.
"Sir," she said. "New spatial fluctuations. Northwest ridge. No origin point. No distortion signature."
Garos took the tablet, eyes scanning it.
Lady Merrin’s eyes narrowed. "That’s them."
"You don’t know that."
"I do," she said. "Because it’s the first time something’s moved... and didn’t leave a trace."
Lucy’s head snapped around. "You’re sure?"
"Lucian’s not the subtle type," Merrin said, lips curling into the slightest grin. "But he’s not careless either. If they’re back, they’ll make it known."
Garos sighed. "Then I’ll dispatch a scout team—"
"No," Merrin interrupted. "Don’t send anyone."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
She stepped closer. "Because if they are back, and you move on them like you’re still trying to cage them... they might not come home at all."