Noah woke to gentle sunlight warming his face. Plushy vines cradled his body in a comfortable embrace. A small smile pulled across his lips. He knew this place better than just about any other. It was Moxie’s bed.

He didn’t even open his eyes. If something had gone wrong, he wouldn’t have been here. His presence in this bed meant there was nothing to worry about. A rare moment of stillness. Of peace. And, for the first time that he could remember in a very long time, there wasn’t a single ache in his entire—

A weight crashed down on his stomach. It was paradoxically about as soft as it was fast, knocking the air from his lungs with a surprised wheeze. He let out a strangled curse as his eyes snapped open.

“Lee, seriously? Come on! I was—”

Noah trailed off.

Lee wasn’t the one sitting on him.

“Took you long enough,” Moxie said, an unabashed grin on her lips. “Were you just planning on sleeping the day away while everyone else slaved away working? No rest for the—”

The rest of her sentence was lost as Noah twisted his body in a sharp jerk, shamelessly abusing the increased reflexes the Fragment of Self gave him to throw Moxie down to the bed beside him. She hit the vines with a whump and let out something between a grunt and a laugh.

“That was rude,” Noah said, rolling over to pin her to the bed before she could escape. “I was trying to daydream.”

“You already spent enough time dreaming,” Moxie said, raising her head to press her forehead against his. Noah felt her raise an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you rather get back to the real world?”

“Depends. I can think of a different world I’d like to get to,” Noah said.

Dots of red colored Moxie’s cheeks. She closed what little distance that remained between them to press her lips to his in a brief kiss. Then she twisted, flipping Noah off her and rolling out of the bed in the same motion, her laughter following her to her feet.

“Get up,” Moxie said with an amused shake of her head. “The others have been waiting for you to wake up. We’ll find time for just the two of us later.”

The bed didn’t give Noah much choice in the matter. Vines pressed up against Noah’s back, hoisting him upright before plopping him down beside Moxie.

“Bah. Responsibilities,” Noah grumbled. He adjusted his jacket, then paused. Even though he was certain Moxie would have told him something had happened if anything had gone wrong, he still couldn’t keep the intrusive thought from flashing through his mind. “Did everything go well?”

“Yeah. It’s ridiculous, really.” Moxie’s smile fell away as awe replaced it. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. That many people advancing in rank. Not from some noble house’s elite forces or leading family being fed specific combinations, but all with their own unique paths. You should have felt the pressure. It was like the world was trying to squeeze everyone to death.”

“Then…” Noah reached for his domain, letting it unfurl around him and brush over Moxie. Power tingled against his senses. A lot of it. Certainly more than he’d felt the last time he’d sensed her. There was no doubt about it. A grin split Noah’s lips. “You’re a Rank 5!”

“It feels a bit embarrassing. Having you and Grim just… hand me the runes,” Moxie admitted. Then her cheeks colored again. “But at the same time, I kind of like it. It makes me feel like a noble.”

“Are you telling me you like to be spoiled?” Noah asked, copying Moxie’s trademark eyebrow raise.

“I’m more than capable of providing for myself. I’ve gotten far on my own. I don’t need handouts.” Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red as her eyes flicked to the side. “But a little never hurts.”

Noah’s smile faltered as he realized the Torrins probably hadn’t done much in the way of treating her at all. She’d been raised to be a tool for their house. Evergreen hadn’t been worried about keeping Moxie happy — just effective.

“A little can be arranged.” Noah put a hand on the top of Moxie’s head and pulled her against his chest. “Just… not always from Grim. I don’t want that bastard book stealing all the credit for my incredible generosity.”

Moxie let out a muffled laugh. She let herself rest against him for a moment longer before pulling back and flicking him in the shoulder. “Come on. I wasn’t joking about the others waiting on you. There are some very excited students who have been twitching to get a chance to show off their progress. It’s a pretty tight squeeze, but it’s safer than leaving anyone unprotected.”

Stolen from NovelBin, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Things have gotten worse, then?”

“Incredibly so,” Moxie said with a grim nod. “The empire is collapsing. The Herron House imploded yesterday. We only got news of it this morning, a few hours ago. Turns out, Biya dropping dead out of nowhere left a big power vacuum. The house is at war against itself — and nobody’s going to win.”

Noah grunted. He wished he could have cared more. That probably would have been the right thing to do. But he simply didn’t. They’d come for his students. The moment Biya had turned her gaze in Isabel’s direction, her death had been set in stone. As for the Torrins — the vast majority of that wretched family could fall right into the Damned Plains for all he cared.

“Any more attacks?” Noah asked.

“Not on us. I think you got your message across,” Moxie said.

“Good,” Noah said. “And Revin? Tillian?”

“Tillian is back. He showed up together with Fuyin. They’re in the cannon with the others. As for Revin — you can guess that bit.”

“No sign,” Noah said with a sigh. “Eline?”

“Sticks to herself. She doesn’t have many friends among ours. I think James has some sympathy for her, but the others are still holding out judgement. She didn’t exactly have the best introduction to them.”

Noah’s nose scrunched. “Fair enough. Not going to force them to play nice. They’re not being assholes, at least?”

“No, nothing like that. They’re just observing her for the time being.”

“Then that’s all we can ask,” Noah said with a shrug. “I’m doing the same. I still don’t know where she stands — but you were right. There’s no point standing around when they’re waiting on us to come back. Let’s go say hi, shall we?”

***

The Transport Cannon’s lift rattled to a halt, depositing Noah and Moxie into an absolutely packed room. Information had already been pouring into Noah’s domain before it came to a stop, but it was nothing compared to being right in the middle of what could only be described as a tiny storm.

Holy shit. The average power in this room is so much higher than it used to be. Even if the majority of the changes are only Rank 3s to Rank 4s, this is ridiculous. Did Grim stuff them full of steroids as they ranked up?

To one corner, Torrick stood with a tiny match pinched between his fingers. He stared at a dancing flame in delight as it shifted and flowed like a leaf bobbing in a river. Edda sat right beside him, her hands extended toward a bubble of water floating in the air above his head in wait to drop.

Just beside them was Violet. Her attention was split between keeping an eye on her siblings and watching arcs of electricity that sprung between her fingers with happy, crackling pops.

Todd and Isabel weren’t too far away. Todd had a small blade in one hand and squinted at his other with an intense focus hardening his features. Isabel, on the other hand, almost looked like she were meditating. A small gemstone rested within her cupped palms, energy shimmering within it like a trapped flame.

Sticky sat across the room. Strands of gossamer thread wove between her fingers. She was caught in a quiet conversation with Silvertide, who had taken up residence against the wall beside her. Silvertide’s apprentice, Tyler, sat near them and listened in with interest.

Aylin and Vrith were in the shadows just under the window, leaning against each other’s backs. Both of them were hunched over books and reading intently, the chaos of the room around them unable to penetrate their concentration.

Yulin, Alexandra, Tillian, and Fuyin were gathered in a small group along with Yoru. The lot of them were in a discussion of their own. Eline stood near them, clearly listening in. Nobody seemed to mind.

Even Ulya was there. She stood alongside her cloaked puppet and flanked by Brayden and Bird. They all stood near Tim, who was fiddling with something on the Transport Cannon’s settings.

Noah hadn’t thought the Transport Cannon was anywhere near large enough to fit literally everyone. But, as it turned out, it was. The only people missing seemed to be Karina and Contessa.

Holy shit. Moxie wasn’t wrong about everyone being here.

“Noah!” Lee called from the beam on the ceiling that she was hanging from. She held the massive grimoire that was Grim’s home from one hand. Evidently, the abomination had taken a liking to her. “You’re back! And you don’t smell half-dead anymore!”

“A good nap can do wonders,” Noah said. He felt every single eye in the room boring into him. For the first time since he’d started teaching in Arbitage, he actually felt a twinge of worry.

That’s a hell of a lot of people depending on me.

“I’m Rank 2!” Sticky proclaimed proudly.

“Me too,” Torrick said. Then he sneezed. The flame above his hand flickered.

Edda dropped the bubble of water on him. He sputtered as the fire went out.

“Sorry,” Edda said.

“Vermil—Noah— whatever it is you go by!” Bird exclaimed. She picked at some bandages covering her wrists that poked out from beneath her clothes. “What have you done to everyone? Why are they all so strong? Is this a new technique?”

“Terrifying, more like,” Ulya said. She swallowed. “How are some of these children the same strength as me? I understand the demons… but this is just ridiculous. Such a speed of growth should be impossible.”

“No such thing as impossible,” Brayden said with a chuckle. There were faint bags under his eyes that spoke to many sleepless nights, but it did nothing to weaken the grin on his square face. “Not here. It’s good to have you back, brother.”

The intonation of Brayden’s voice made it clear that the brother he was referring to wasn’t one of blood.

A small smile pulled across Noah’s lips as he nodded in response.

“Glad to be back. I do my best to avoid making a habit of sending myself into a coma, but it does seem to keep happening. Now, fill me in, would you? Moxie gave me the brief update, but it looks like I’ve missed a fair bit.”