Zephyrion allowed the punch to happen.

It slammed into the side of his head, almost knocking him unconscious. His vision swam. He felt a faint hum ripple through the air and glanced down, catching sight of the blade forming along Lumi’s arm. He squeezed her arm.

Lumi’s icy eyes seemed to regain clarity, and she blinked at him, countless meanings passing through her stare. She’d never communicated with him using words, and over the years, he’d learned to read everything going through her mind from the slightest change in her eyes.

Sorry. I remember the plan.

Zephyrion gave an almost imperceptible nod and released his grip.

Another punch came flying at him. He allowed this one to land as well, a spray of blood bursting from his mouth. Through blurred vision, he caught sight of several crimson-eyed figures bursting into the room.

Before he could think, Zephyrion threw himself over Lumi.

A barrage of blows rained down from every direction. They hammered into his head, back, and sides. Were it not for his metallic bones, several would have shattered.

He felt Lumi’s breath against him and realized how close they were, their faces barely inches apart. They’d never been this close before. He could see into her eyes.

Had they always been so brown?

Funny. He was so hyperactive, always noticing everything, yet he’d somehow overlooked something so beautiful.

Then he noticed the way her face twisted, the sheen gathering in her eyes, and realized she was about to cry. Why...

Drip. Drip.

Ah...

The blood from his split lip was dripping onto her face. He wanted to tell her it was all part of the plan. That it was only pain. Temporary. But he couldn’t. After all, they were being watched.

"Damn, what the fuck’s he made of? Get these lovebirds off each other!"

One of them yanked him off Lumi. He watched as she whimpered and lurched after him. He instinctively reached toward her, but another grabbed her by the hair and jerked her back.

Zephyrion felt his blood turn to ice.

Several blows crashed into him. Face. Mouth. Chest. Stomach. None of them registered.

He watched the grinning sanguine hold Lumi up by the hair. She glared at him, struggling to wrench herself free, then turned that same glare on the sanguine.

"What’s with those eyes, you little shit?" he sneered, driving his fist into her stomach. The blow blasted the air from her lungs along with a spray of spittle.

For the first time in his life, Zephyrion had never regretted his plan more.

Five foot nine. Short crimson hair. Broad shoulders. A cleanly shaven beard. A hawkish face with small, thin eyes.

Zephyrion’s eyes were glacial as he burned the sanguine’s features into memory.

His death would be painful.

"Alright, enough screwing around! Tie ’em up! We’re burning time!"

Tied and gagged, they were herded into the hallway.

The chaos reached him then. Shouts. Screams. Blows. Loud bangs reverberated throughout the fortress.

Everywhere they passed, cadets were beaten, bound, and gagged. Zephyrion watched as Kaiden tried to fight back against one sanguine, but he was unable to summon his element. One uppercut later, and he was on the ground.

It was the same throughout the fortress. None of the cadets were able to summon their powers. Zephyrion knew why.

Soon, they were thrown onto a hard surface hovering midair in the courtyard. The metallic tang reached him, and he realized it was hardened blood.

’So they can use their elements.’

Several cadets were thrown onto it with them. Zephyrion spotted Kaiden’s unconscious figure, Tobias’s trembling form, Fiona, Kaelion, the other Calderalth cadets, a few city lords’ descendants, and several others. Each bound, gagged, and bloodied.

Across the courtyard, several other hovering platforms carried hundreds more cadets bundled together.

’They can’t take all of us. Too many. Only a few. Targets,’ Zephyrion thought, noting how few cadets had been taken compared to the thousands within the academy.

"Alright! Wrap it up! We’re moving!"

The platform rose slowly into the night sky. The next moment, it shot away from the fortress.

The platform remained gloomy and quiet, broken only by the hushed chatter of the sanguines.

Ten of them were scattered across it. One stood at the front, eyes fixed ahead, likely controlling the platform. The one he’d promised to kill stood near the front, bantering with another sanguine.

It was the same on the other platforms. Across five platforms, that made fifty. Still, it was only a rough estimate of their numbers. There could be more waiting wherever they were headed.

Zephyrion moved toward the others. Lumi silently leaned against him, somewhat calmer now, as though simply being beside him had eased her. The smear of blood across her lips twisted his heart. He looked away before he went on a carnage.

Kaiden had woken up, but his eyes were still dazed, struggling to find his bearings. Tobias found him after composing himself and now stared at him. Fiona, Kaelion, and the other Calderalth cadets were no different. They all looked at him, as though waiting for something.

Zephyrion could see the trust in their eyes, the quiet belief that somehow he would get them out of this.

Still, he took note of their unfocused gazes. They still wouldn’t be able to use their elements, especially not after what had been laced into dinner the previous night.

’Marrowmint.’

A potent substance capable of inducing severe numbness of the mind. None of them could focus enough to visualize their runes and form metal.

He’d taken it as well, but in a significantly smaller quantity than the others. With his already hyperactive mind, he could still think.

He could still visualize.

Like always, his connection to the World Pulse made no sound. Metal slowly formed inside his mouth, gradually forcing the gag loose.

"Urggh!"

Ahead, a cadet suddenly lurched forward, vomiting. The gag trapped most of it inside, though a few slimy clumps dripped onto the hardened surface. Zephyrion caught the disgusted glance the sanguine controlling the platform threw over his shoulder.

It was his blood, after all.

One of the sanguines, the same man he’d promised to kill, strode toward the cadet.

"You rotten little bastard!" He slammed a kick into the cadet’s stomach. "The fuck do you think this is? Your mother’s house? You just puke wherever you feel like it? Hm? Hm!?"

More kicks slammed into the cadet.