Page 82 of Radiant Shadows

“Besides, it’s already done,” Kai added.

Igneaus had pulled out his phone and was flicking his finger as he read. “The poor fool’s right! He’s no longer listed as an active teacher.”

“Which means your military tech will be going down in quality,” Kai quipped, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

A small cough came from just behind the seething kitsune, and my eyes fell on the next visitor.

“Arya!” I said, painting a smile on my face. It was harder than I expected. “Come in, come in.”

Her eyes were red like she’d been crying recently, and her hair had been thrown into a messy ponytail, with strands jutting out this way and that. She looked tired and hunched over as if she were carrying a bag of bricks on her back. And metaphorically, she was.

Kai stepped to the side, and Arya timidly entered the hostile space. Her anxiety was justified: she’d been summoned to a room containing five military soldiers.

“Igneaus,” I said, turning to the lieutenant general. “One last favor. May I have a moment alone with Arya?”

Igneaus shook his head. “You heard General Dracul’s orders, Caesar. We’re supposed to keep tabs on you until you’ve left the Dome.”

I sighed. “That’s why I’m asking you as a friend, not a prison guard. It will only take a moment, and then I’ll be out of your hair for good.”

He mulled it over for a moment, chewing his bottom lip. “Five minutes. You get five minutes with the girl, and then you’re done.”

“Sir,” one of the other soldiers—the naga—said, “I must question such an allowance. General Dracul explicitly—”

“It’s not an allowance, Captain Bender,” Igneaus growled. “It’s an order.”

The four shifter soldiers saluted, then spilled out of the room. Igneaus followed behind them but turned around once he reached the door’s threshold. “Your time starts now.”

I nodded, then looked at Kai. “The same goes for you. I’ll be done in a bit. Why don’t you go and get your things, then come back?”

Kai still looked as if he were ready to shoot volts of electricity at anybody who got too close, but he nodded and swept out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I had to make this quick, but I also had to be gentle with her. The girl looked like she was about to shatter.

“Arya, you seem distraught. Is everything okay?”

Her emotions were so raw, my words seemed to be the final blow to the cracking dam, and she burst into heavy sobs.

Instinctively, I went to her and drew her into an embrace. She stood stiffly but rested her head on my chest as fresh tears soaked into my shirt.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I said soothingly, both for her sake and my own.

“Nothing is okay,” Arya sobbed, shaking her head against my chest.

Did she already know I was leaving? Surely, she wasn’t this sad over my departure.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly.

She sniffled. “It feels like the world is falling apart.”

I nodded in agreement but didn’t vocalize it.

“I’m an ursa,” she said as a fresh sob released. “And I destroyed one of the greenhouses. And you’re leaving the Dome!” Her body trembled. “And Tobias lied to me.”

Her shoulders shook against me, and I held her closer, providing as much comfort as I could. The bit about her being an ursa was something I’d been meaning to discuss with her but hadn’t had the time. Ms. Heather had explicitly told me that she needed space and rest as she dealt with her new shift. And Kai had gone off about a greenhouse being ruined—now I knew who the culprit was. As for the general’s son...

“Why are you leaving?” she wept. “Is it because of me? You can’t handle teaching me anymore?”

“No, of course not,” I whispered as I patted down her hair. “Quite the opposite, really.”

---