Carried into some sort of medical room, Freya lay me down on a bed and tore my jacket open, revealing my bare shoulder, which was rapidly turning purple. Around the room, there were several other beds, all empty, but two large bubbling tanks at the back unsettled me. Apart from my breathing, they were the only source of noise in the bright and sterile room.

  “I know it sounds silly, but everything appears far more advanced than what exists outside. Why aren’t you sharing it with us?” I asked nervously.

  “We did, a little. A hint here, a nudge there; things needed to be discovered on their own, otherwise innovation would stagnate if everything were handed over freely. Imagine trying to explain microbiology to someone from the early Middle Ages. Also, not everything can be made here. I apologise for this.”

  With guilt in her eyes, I suddenly arched my back and screamed, feeling as though she was tearing my arm off. A deep vibration coursed through my body before the pain began to subside, and my scream waned as tears streamed down my face. “What have you done?” I cried, attempting to look over, but she turned my head away with her hand, covering my eyes.

  “Sorry, the strengthening method you used caused your bones to knit together incorrectly. You need to be careful, as doing things like that without training will only lead to more accidents. Please promise me you won’t do that again until you know what you’re doing. Mithros had to absorb as much of the blow as he could to avoid shattering your whole body. Against a regular Minotaur, you would have been almost fine, but he was on a scale far beyond your own.”

  Acknowledging her stern warning, she wrapped bandages around my arm and secured a brace to hold it in place. “I suppose that means I’m out of action for a few weeks then,” I sighed, lying back down after examining it.

  “You should be fine within a week. Your new body will heal much faster, even if I cannot use my healing magic on you. In time, you will be able to adapt and grow, being able to push your own healing abilities.” After admiring her work, she stepped away and began to clean up the mess she had made while treating me. “Leave it alone for seven days; even if you feel fine, do not touch it. If it still hurts after three, come back to see me.”

  “I should be fine,” I offered a weak smile as she scowled at my remark but remained silent.

  “That’s the positive attitude I want to see,” I heard, turning to my left in surprise to see Athena seated on a chair at the far end of the room. I hadn’t noticed her arrival, but Freya appeared unfazed by the interruption. “It’s time for you to return home and start preparing for the future,” she said, standing up and approaching with two boxes, which I assumed were more gifts.

  “After a week of bed rest.” Freya warned, scowling at me.

  Looking over her shoulder, a rift appeared, and Ashley rushed through, followed by an angel and a devil—the Twins, no doubt. Meadhbh had warned me about their constant bickering, but they were some of the best mages around and ideal for Ashley. Upon seeing me, she hurried across the room and stood staring at me with the cast on my arm.

  “Oh, look at you; I'd hate to see the other chap," the devil twin remarked, peering over Athena’s shoulder to glance at me.

  “Don’t encourage her, Belial,” Athena barked as he shrank back from her before she turned to glance at Ashley and me, her face softening. “It’s time for you to head back to London. Now that we’ve had our official introductions, we’re going to gradually lift the last of the limitations on the Spire. Use this time to grow in strength and gather a circle of friends and allies.”

  “What do we do after that?” Ashley asked, grabbing my uninjured arm to help me sit up.

  “The life you’ve lived until now is truly behind you. Sadie, your fighting techniques are terrible, nonexistent; I have arranged for an instructor to assist you.” Lifting the lid of one of the boxes, a golden light beamed from within, and my eyes widened with delight at the sight of my third essence crystal. “Ashley, I regret that I don’t have a specific gift for you, but Master has requested that I convey this message: ‘Listen to the whisperings and use them to guide you toward what you want to achieve.’”

  I was confused by what she meant, but seeing her face light up, she smiled slightly and nodded her head. “Tell him I said thank you.”

  “He can undoubtedly hear us, so don’t worry. Now, we have one last box of clothes to give you; it should help when you return and provide you with some breathing room to go shopping.” Passing the second box, Ashley took the two and brought them into my core since I was unable to carry them.

  “Thanks for everything, sorry if I was angry about the memory thing, I think I understand why you did it, but as long as its temporary, there isn’t much I can do now. Oh, Freya, thanks for the last few days, and I’m sorry for saying I wish you’d die.” Leaning over, I gave her a one-armed hug. “Oh, and tell Chuck that I’m sorry for losing his hammer.”

  “Chuck?” Ashley asked, reappearing suddenly.

  “Thor’s secret identity off the Isle, Chuck Thunder.” I chuckled as she suppressed her laughter and the others groaned. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word to anyone.”

  “Please don’t, goodbye.” Receiving a brief hug from Athena, the Twins bowed slightly in respect as a rift opened at the end of the room.

  “Wait,” Ashley called out, “if you’re suddenly going to increase the strength of the rifts, people need to be warned.”

  Athena pondered for a moment and nodded once. “I suppose it’s only fair. I’ll see what we can do.”

  Taking a deep breath, I felt as though I was on the verge of stepping into a new life. Hand in hand with Ashley, we stepped through together, moving from the strange medical room of the Spire into the bright light of an office. Hearing the rift close, I turned around to see where we were, only to find Terence glaring at me from behind a desk with his name emblazoned on a plaque in the centre.

  “Well, this is rather awkward,” I sighed. I had hoped they would send me to Mum’s house or, at the very least, my dingy apartment, but this situation was infinitely worse.

  “Welcome back, ladies. It seems you’ve had quite an interesting experience.” I glanced at my arm, noticing that the sleeve of my jacket had ripped off, with the white badges wrapped tightly around it and the splint. “May I ask what happened? Were you attacked by one of them?”

  “This?” I inquired, shifting my arm and regretting it immediately. “I merely had a minor disagreement with a minotaur; nothing serious.”

  “A Minotaur? You mean you were mad enough to actually fight the bloody thing?” Ashley shouted, releasing my other hand and folding her arms. “Honestly, did you learn nothing whilst navigating that maze?”

  ‘Oh, the first one was accidentally flattened by a trap. They just sent a Guardian minotaur after me, and it broke my arm when I punched it in the chest. He was fine, but Freya cancelled the trial.’ I blurted to Ashley as she glared at me angrily.

  “A Minotaur? You mean they actually exist?” Terence asked, his face turning pale.

  “Yeah, apparently so,” Ashley said, turning to look at him while still keeping her arms crossed. “And this numbskull decided to face it head-on. We’re sorry to trouble you like this, but could you take us downstairs? I really want to go home and sleep in my own bed for once.”

  As he rose from his chair, he said, "I would, but I have other orders, to take you upstairs to the Minister; he—"

  “What if we refuse?” I asked coldly. “I’m exhausted, sore, and, like Ashley, I want to sleep in my own bed. Also, I’d love something greasy and filling.”

  “Look, ladies, I’m not doubting that you’re unhappy with this, but there are many unanswered questions. At present, you two are perceived as significant security risks, and I fear that if we provoke you, I won’t be breathing for much longer. I would very much like to get home to feed my cat tonight. So please, can we avert this threat of mutually assured destruction and discuss matters peacefully?” I could hear the pleading tone in his voice, a stark contrast to the confident tone he had maintained previously whenever I saw him.

  “Fine, to spare your poor kitty,” I sighed in exasperation. “But on one condition, Little Sun Dragon: Wilton Road, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, also a black bean chow mein, and two servings of spring rolls.”

  “Double that, and add a half aromatic duck starter as well. I’m starving! Ever since we bonded, my appetite has been insatiable,” Ashley added, and I nodded in agreement. It had been alarming how hungry we were, and Mum had been appalled when we had to order thirds in the hotel.

  Scrambling to find a pen and paper, Terence jotted down our order, and my mood lifted slightly, making me more agreeable to their demands to meet, provided we were at least getting fed in return. Following him into the corridor, we passed several other offices as staff poked their heads above cubicle walls to observe us. Technically, we had intruded, and I wondered why Athena had dropped us off here instead of at my apartment. Did Mum have to endure the same? She still possessed Meadhbh’s crystal, which thankfully offered me a respite from her snarky attitude.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  We paraded through the office, and thankfully, the elevator ride to the top was short. As the doors opened, we followed Terence into the penthouse office of the British Ministry of Defence and Arcane Matters, where the man himself sat at his desk. Looking dark and broody, he leaned on his desk, his piercing blue eyes studying us, and I felt a slight apprehension.

  “Ladies, you’ve been causing quite a stir, particularly you, Miss Whittaker. You are Miss Whittaker, aren’t you?” His deep voice resonated from across the room. The entire office occupied the top floor, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows all around, with the only solid walls being the elevator in the centre of the space.

  “In the flesh; I wasn’t swapped or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.” We stood in the middle of the room while Terence moved behind Anthony, observing us. “If you’d like proof, I can have someone from the Spire verify our identities, but I’m uncertain how much you’d trust what they say.”

  Waving his hand dismissively, Anthony shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine, I’ll trust that what you’re saying is the truth. So, tell me, how much of a threat are you two to us?” Clasping his hands in front of his face while studying us, I sensed the implied threat in his words as a flicker of mana leaked out, no doubt reflecting his intention.

  She placed her hand on my shoulder. ‘We should go; I don’t like this.’ As I looked around, I noticed her eyes flickering between me and the other two before returning to me.

  I crossed my arms and gazed at them. “Why do you suddenly assume we’re a threat?” I asked, tilting my head slightly and sizing them up. “I-”

  “We are not a threat,” Ashley said angrily, cutting me off. “But we certainly can be if you’re going to be this rude towards us. This is a waste of time; let’s go, Sadie.” Leading me by the hand, I simply turned to follow her towards the lift.

  “I heard what you told Mr Waters, perhaps not word for word, but enough to get the gist of it.” The Minister said, maintaining eye contact with us. “While I am sceptical about what I heard, I wish to learn the truth, the whole truth. I may not be a Truthseeker like the paladins in the Justice Department, but I can read people well enough to know when they are lying.”

  ‘Don’t, Sadie,' Ashley pleaded, tugging on my hand towards the elevator we had just stepped off. ‘Let’s just go before they try to lock us up.’

  Hanging my head as I exhaled, I freed myself from her grasp and turned to face the two of them. “Two conditions: food and a promise to keep an open mind. Things are complicated, and you’re not going to enjoy what you hear as your entire worldview is about to be shattered.”

  The tension in the air was palpable, the Minister conjuring a storm with his mana as it surged from his body. He was a legend for his remarkable feats, having survived the dragon and countless dungeon raids, defying all odds. Beneath his suit, he still possessed much of the strength of his youth, and his mere presence in a room felt menacing.

  “Fair enough, Terence, fetch the girls some food. You two, take a seat, and we’ll have a chat.” His voice urged me to walk towards the couches he had gestured to, and we sat opposite his armchair.

  “To preface a few questions, I want to introduce you to my Guardians.” Whistling a short note, more for his benefit than for mine, Munin and Vonga, my remaining two wolves, emerged from my core behind us, padding softly across the wooden floor to sit beside us. Ruffling his mane, Munin rested his head in my lap, while Vonga did the same with Ashley. I glanced at the Minister as he sat there, staring at them intently, yet made no other move to react.

  Introductions made, I recounted our story from the beginning—not the wolf lair incident, but as far back as I could remember—providing him with the full history as I understood it. Attempting to jump back and forth would have been exhausting, so I maintained a chronological order, hoping to at least convince him I wasn’t fabricating it all. True to his word, the food arrived halfway through, and we continued to regale our tale while demolishing the take-out. Ashley nearly bit my hand off when I reached for a piece of her duck, eliciting the only facial reaction from him as I shared everything.

  Finally arriving in the present, he stood up and moved to the window, hands in his pockets as he gazed out at the city. Terence had remained as well to listen and looked as if his life had been a lie, unsure of what to do with himself. Neither had asked any questions, which I hoped was due to my efforts in explaining everything as best as I could, and we sat there contemplating our words while looking at his back.

  “I do not want to believe it,” he finally said without turning around. “Your story sounds fantastical and wild, yet it fills in too many gaps. There’s so much we don’t know, but if you’re telling the truth, it makes sense.”

  I squeezed Ashley’s hand as I sensed her anger rising, hoping to avert any antagonism. “If you’re looking for more proof, I could likely arrange for you to meet Athena; honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to burst in now, yelling.” I paused for a moment, steeling myself for my prediction to hold true, but it didn’t.

  “Whatever you were doing in Ireland last week was detected globally; did you know that? We’re working to develop a system to detect when and where rifts are created, and every single one of them lit up like a Christmas tree. Ten of our highest-ranked mages can’t even get it to more than a blip if they pour out all of their mana five feet from it, yet you two managed to achieve what they couldn’t, globally. Twice. Can you guess when the first time was?” Turning around, his eyebrows nearly joined together as he glared at us. Nodding, I had a pretty good idea of exactly what he was talking about.

  “I hadn’t heard of this, Sir,” Terence said, glancing at him. Whenever I had met him in hospital, he had been calm and composed, but now I was witnessing a completely different side to him.

  “No, we kept it quiet. Watching and waiting to see what would come of it. The Caretakers out in greater numbers, the rifts beginning to change; we’re not blind to such matters. If what the two ladies said is true, we’re completely unprepared for what is to come.”

  Rubbing the back of his head, I noticed the scar running down it, a thin bald line amidst the white hair that had been hidden until now. I winced slightly, wondering how horrific it must have been to sustain such an injury. Glancing away, I spotted a display cabinet around the corner of the lift shaft that I hadn’t noticed until now. Various mana stones glimmered from behind the glass panes, but it was the treasure in the centre that captured my attention.

  ‘Sadie?’ Ashley called as I nearly dashed across the room for a closer look, drooling at the enormous essence crystal perched on the shelf. Meadhbh and Rylock were about the size of a football, but this one was double, or perhaps even triple, that size. The Minister’s aura had concealed it, but standing so near, I could hear the frenzied roars emanating from within without even touching it.

  “The black dragon,” I heard the Minister grumble as he followed me, standing beside me as I pressed my hand against the glass. “Pray tell me, why did they unleash such a disaster upon us?”

  I shook my head, recalling the same questions I had asked Meadhbh before. “They didn’t. Not everything perished in the millennia following the Scouring. Devoid of mana, beings that had never known life without it found themselves unable to survive, and some discovered a way to hibernate, reawakening with the sudden resurgence. That’s why it felt as though the apocalypse had come; the enemy’s remnants joined in on the slaughter.”

  Straightening up to look him directly in the eyes, I held firm as he scrutinised me. “Are you ready to accept the responsibility that has been thrust upon you?” I blinked in surprise at his question and looked down at the floor, uncertain of how to respond. “And what about you, Miss Burbit? Are you ready?”

  “Ready?” she stammered. “I haven’t even graduated yet, having to repeat my final year at the Academy and being kicked out of my study group for being useless. How can I possibly be ready for this?”

  To my surprise, he placed his hand on my shoulder, causing my head to shoot up in concern as I noticed a smile that possessed genuine warmth. “If you had said yes, I would have called you both fools.” Letting his hand drop, he returned to his desk and sat down behind it, signifying that he was shifting into business mode.

  “Tony?” Terence inquired, turning to face him in bewilderment.

  “Now, ladies, I have three options before me. First, I could throw you out and dismiss everything as the fantasy of two young huntresses. Second, I could still throw you out, but I would bear in mind what you’ve told us. Third,”—pausing, he raised a hand to silence me as I began to argue—“third, we work together to weather the impending storm.”

  “Isn’t that treason?” Terence inquired, glancing nervously at each of us in turn. “You’re effectively proposing to assist them in undermining all the world’s governments, especially by disregarding your oath to the King.”

  “Yes,” he nodded gravely. “I understand, but what choice do we have? Let’s say we arrest them now—then what? I would certainly believe that a reprisal force may come, and do you think we can stand against the Caretakers? Sadie, Ashley, do you think we can work together?”

  As he switched to using our first names, I felt he was ready to treat us as equals, so I crossed the room and took the open seat beside Terence, facing the Minister. “What are you thinking?”

  Picking up a pen, I watched as he sat there, tapping it on the notepad in front of him, the soft tapping noises being the only sounds apart from our breathing. There was a rustling of leather as Ashley approached, and I felt her reassuring hand slide across my shoulder, but I didn’t look up, merely reaching up and placing my own hand on hers for a moment.

  “All I can ask of you at this moment is to keep the two of us informed about what is happening. In return, I’ll offer my support in addressing any issues that may arise from your activities. Now, this isn’t a limitless ‘get out of jail free card’, so you’d better have a very good justification if it comes to that. Additionally, I am reassigning Mr Waters and his team to liaise with you.”

  “Assign them as your eyes and ears over us?” Ashley scoffed, and I arched my neck back, tapping her stomach to coax her into dropping the antagonism.

  “Yes, Sir,” Terence replied simply, and I looked at him, hoping to gauge his reaction, but his expression remained neutral.

  “I believe we can start with this, Sir.” I nodded solemnly, extending a hand to shake on it.

  “Call me Anthony,” he said with a smile, leaning across his desk. “Terence, could you see the two girls out? I need to have a quick word with the Prime Minister.”

  Dismissed, I gazed at the enormous essence crystal again as we proceeded towards the elevator. The descent to the main lobby of the Ministry felt awkward, where we found Mum waiting with a driver. As we emerged, she hurried across the floor to embrace us both and pulled us out into the chilly evening air.

  “Ashley, you’re coming to our house,” Mum announced matter-of-factly as she ushered us towards a waiting car. “I’ve already informed your parents that you’ll be staying with me for a bit for some extended training.”

  We were taken aback by her ease in lying, and I realised I had completely forgotten about Angela and Peter. Ashley didn’t want to see them yet, and I hadn’t had a chance to ask her why, having barely had a moment alone to discuss it. She wore a sad expression as she simply nodded, and I squeezed her hand in support as we climbed into the car.

  Arriving at Mum’s house, I showed her to the room opposite mine and then retreated to my own, where I discovered a closet completely filled with better-fitting clothes. After a shower, I lay in bed, stroking Munin’s fur, when the door opened and she slipped in, her eyes red from crying. Lifting my duvet, I allowed her to climb underneath, gently stroking her back as she silently wept herself to sleep.