Even though the chunk we smashed wasn’t Edgar’s core, it was a mass of his finest blood. He bled like a breached dam and couldn’t hold that sludge together. The huge thing caved in like a landslide.

When Edgar dropped the form, he spat a mouthful of bright blood, like dark petals hitting snow. “Fine… you’re good. This grudge is set today!”

Blood mist bloomed under his boots with a wet whoosh. He vanished like smoke in wind.

My pulse eased like a tide going out. “Not chasing…?” I glanced back at Qianya’s fingers curled around my left hand.

“No need.” Her voice was a still lake. “He’s not actually that hurt.”

Edgar Warren could keep burning his blood because he was siphoning Qianya’s magic, so his own Blood Reservoir barely dipped. He ran because Kerlinveil Xuewei was on her way back. He had no faith against someone near divine, so he slipped off like a fox before dawn.

“It’s just the two of us here… Where are Her Highness the Holy Maiden and that idiot?”

“Didn’t see them. They probably went back.” Her tone was flat as a slate.

“Then we should hurry back too. The other battlefield’s still boiling.”

“As if.” Qianya rolled her eyes, a pale crescent under cloud. “I’m guessing Edgar used the ward to kick those two out. Once the original barrier was lifted, his blood thralls and lackeys scattered like spooked crows.”

“And… a Vampire that anxious to flee? I’d bet Teacher Xuewei is back.”

“Um… Qianya, could you maybe… not mention what happened today?”

“…Oh? Xiaoxue, which part?” Qianya smiled like an imp behind a silk fan. “Whatever it is, I can keep quiet. But—if you want the queen to seal her lips, there’s a price.”

Silence. Her devilish smile curled like a red ribbon, and a chill crept up my back like night fog.

It turned out just as Qianya said. Those two really were sealed outside the barrier. The Holy Maiden kept bathing that lump of sludge in holy light, so the Vampire had to split his focus and toss them out like ballast.

As for Xuewei… the moment the news reached her, she stormed back to Starfate City like thunder chasing a ridge line. They say a few rebel Blood Clan counts surfaced late in the fight, even a duke. But they scattered like birds before a hawk the instant they sensed her. One duke couldn’t run fast enough; Xuewei caught him mid-flight and speared him clean through.

I’m guessing the Radiant Empire and the Duskmoon Empire will be butting heads in a nasty diplomatic squall. But with the Blood Clan’s queen standing on our side, that Vampire won’t kick up a real storm.

Afterward, the four of us were crowned as the city’s saviors in Starfate City. We climbed the stage under a tide of faces and lantern light and soaked in a wave of cheers.

We didn’t need the city lord’s reward. The academy would give us anything we wanted. We did the heavy lifting this time. Even our teacher… well, she didn’t get to do much. She couldn’t even pin Edgar down for ten minutes. When we got back, Qianya roasted her like chestnuts over a fire.

But what stuck under my ribs was Xuewei. She looked ready to drown in her own gloom, and I had no idea why.

“Come in. I know you’re here for me.”

“Forgive the intrusion… Teacher.”

“You’re still calling me ‘Teacher’ after showing your hand? I doubt I’ve anything left to teach you, Your Majesty of the Blood Clan—Vinoena Qianya.”

“At least you taught me once, didn’t you? To me, you’re one of the very few teachers in my life.”

“That’s an honor I’ll wear like a medal.”

“So, what did you come here for, Miss Qianya?”

“Teacher Xuewei, I…”

“If you want me to deal with that Vampire, sorry. I’m not leaving the city to chase a bat across the continent. I’m staying put for a while, and even if I did go, I can’t kill him if he bolts.”

“Teacher… that’s not what I wanted to ask.”

“Oh? Then what?”

“I… I wanted to ask what your brother is like.”

Xuewei’s eyes narrowed like slits of moon. “…Why ask that?”

“Just curious. That’s all.”

“…My brother is simple. Simple like a blank page. Whatever you write on it, that’s what stays. The man you see now? My oh-so-good captain rubbed off on him, hee-hee.”

“Back then, he was like a child, a few years old and new to the world. But when he clung to something, he was a machine made of vows. Once he promised, he’d spend decades if he had to, grinding at it until it was done.” Lost in the past, Xuewei smiled without noticing, sweet as spring thaw.

“I remember when I was five…”

Qianya had what she came for. She didn’t stay to hear the story unwind like a long river. She closed the door with a soft click, leaving Xuewei alone with her memories.

“What are you doing, sitting alone on a mountaintop?” Wings rustled; Qianya landed beside me like a swan on still water.

“…Oh, Qianya. I’m letting the cold wind comb through me.” I breathed in air sharp as pine needles. “It feels good.”

“Just don’t catch a chill.”

“Please. I don’t catch chills.” I laughed, a little cloud in the dusk.

“Fair point.”

“…Xiaoxue, come with me.”

“…?”

“That Vampire was right. Your identity is too sensitive on this continent. The longer you stay, the thicker the wolves gather in the trees.”

“I know. But… there are people here I can’t bear to leave.” I looked down the mountain toward a certain spot, a soft smile rising like a lantern behind my lips.