Kieran's POV
Astrid was the last person I imagined would step out from those trees.
She has always been a strict disciplinarian so I found it hard to believe that she would come herself to look for students that had sneaked out of the Academy and left against her orders.
"You all look like you've seen a ghost," Astrid said coolly.
No one answered.
Her gaze moved over each of us in turn, Alistair's rigid posture, Kaelani clutching ground like an anchor, Varya's trembling hands still on Felix's body, and then her eyes landed on the still body on the forest floor.
"What's wrong with Felix?" she asked.
That was a question we were all struggling to answer.
"He isn't waking up," Varya said, her voice shaking despite the way she tried to hold herself together. "His pulse is fading fast. He's dying."
