Kai didn’t trust this.

It was strange for the academy to let them see their families like this.

Other students were also the same; understanding that the academy isn’t this kind.

Normally, the academy ought to do everything to make their lives more miserable than they already were, so this skepticism was completely justified. It wasn’t a surprise that the students were all nervous as they headed to the back gate in an orderly manner.

Kai slipped through the crowd and approached Professor Hera.

"Is this another test?" He asked without looking, keeping his gaze ahead.

"No," Professor Hera replied in the same manner. "It’s genuinely not a test. As I told you, the academy viewed Blooded Angels higher. As much as the academy wanted to have fewer Angels, there needs to be some remaining to fight the Sky Gates."

But that’s assuming there’s already enough dead Angels.

Kai didn’t say it aloud.

However, Professor Hera’s explanation would work if there were enough dead Angels already.

Assuming that the number of dead Angels was acceptable, then it’s logical for the academy to give them a reason to stay alive by having them meet with their family members again. It will serve as motivation to go against the Sky Gates.

If the number of dead Angels was not enough, then there’s no reason for the academy to stop.

And right now, Kai has no idea which stance the academy was on. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Regardless, this at least eased the nervousness in him a bit.

Even though he had no family waiting for him, not anymore—he at least could rest easy with the knowledge that there was a chance nothing would go wrong. That this wasn’t some kind of elaborate test.

Kai let himself drift into the current of students flowing toward the back gate.

Outside, a handful of professors stood waiting in the golden morning light. Two of them, Kai recognized immediately: the bald professor and Professor Evie. They stood with the patient stillness of authority, waiting for the students to arrange themselves into tidy rows.

Kai had taken a look around the outside perimeter of the academy.

North of the academy was the Aerial Stable, and there was a hangar west that was quite big.

As far as he knew, there shouldn’t be anything east and south of the academy.

It seemed he was wrong.

Once the students had assembled, the bald professor announced with a firm voice that their family members were stationed across different hives. A hive, he explained, was a small town built near the academy.

Or at least close enough for Supernals like them, about fifty miles south.

In order to accommodate the families of every student in Eventide Academy, three hives had been established. Professor Evie, the bald professor, and the other professor would each lead their assigned classes to one of the hives.

Kai’s class was unfortunately paired up with Chester’s class.

Both classes would be following the bald professor.

As soon as each class knew which professor they should follow, the three professors turned around and launched themselves forward, soaring through the sky with their Winged-boots, catching the entire students off guard.

Seems like when they said lead, they meant going ahead without caring about the students.

High Angels were allowed to go first.

A few dozen students surged ahead—following the trail of mana the three professors had left in their wake. Matilda and Bree were among them. Matilda pushed forward with everything she had, driven by the desperate need to see her family, while Bree trailed behind at a leisurely jog, unhurried and untroubled.

Kai remembered Bree telling him that she became an Angel to avoid her siblings.

So, like him, she doesn’t have anyone waiting on the other side.

Angels went next at the signal from another professor.

One by one, the Angels sprinted toward the horizon with everything they had—their figures swallowed by the soft, rolling clouds ahead that rose and fell like mounds and valleys sculpted from breath.

Dorian lagged at the rear, his pace faltering, until Bryan circled back and hauled him forward.

Just as Kai expected, those two got closer.

And eventually, Kai was the only one remaining. The signaling professor didn’t even look at him—just turned and walked back into the academy. Professor Hera alone acknowledged his presence, offering a brief nod that told him to go.

Kai didn’t run. Didn’t even jog. He only walked, following the bald professor’s trail.

It was quite a long walk.

Nothing much for him, though, as he was already accustomed to walking.

Forced to walk in the House of Night for months made him fully adapted to a long walk.

Frankly, Kai was confused as to why the academy didn’t even let them use the shuttle ships to get to the hives. But then again, perhaps it came down to saving fuel. If he tried to be a bit positive, maybe the academy wanted them to feel every mile.

So that the distance would sharpen the longing ache to make the reunion strike deeper.

But that doesn’t have anything to do with him.

Kai arrived at the hive when the sun was already past his head. He was planning to walk the entire way, but since today was basically a holiday, he decided to pick up his pace so that he could rest a bit.

Sleep is not necessary for him, but that doesn’t mean his mind couldn’t get tired.

After mining until the break of dawn for days straight, it’s starting to get to him.

Especially since the others took nap breaks while he kept going.

Kai looked up, staring at the trail of mana that thinned to a silver whisper. He kept following it until the whisper vanished into a wall of cloud that churned like a slow-moving tornado. It rose quite high; outer edges spinning with deceptive calm, producing a low hum that vibrated in his molars.

He had already seen this from afar.

But he didn’t expect the bald professor’s trail to go straight through this column.

Kai inhaled and stepped into the clouds.

One thing he noticed almost instantly was that the cloud wasn’t soft.

It pressed against his skin in lumps of thick, damp air, like walking through a field of goo that is both sticky and wet. Each step required a little bit of effort—the pressure molding against his limbs before finally releasing him with a wet exhale.

As he emerged on the other side, the scenery struck him like a slap.

Just earlier, the bald professor had described a hive as similar to a small town.

Kai immediately thought of a small, secluded town on the surface that wasn’t developed, but one with nature. A place that would allow the family members of the Angels to live peacefully and independently from the academy’s reach.

Mostly farmers and herders.

But that wasn’t the case.

Instead, Kai was greeted by a rundown medieval town. No walls ringed the town. Not even a watchtower in sight. Just a sprawling, damp land of mud and brick hovels that sagged against one another like tired drunks.

Beneath his boots, the street was a ribbon of churned filth—mud, animal shits, and grease.

Not to mention the stench; it was a mixture of sewage and sweat.

Reunions were already unfolding—in that squalor. Students embraced thin, hollow-cheeked figures in torn tunics. Kai saw a girl from his class sink to her knees in the muck to hold onto an old woman whose wrists were little more than bone wrapped in papery skin.

A young man on the other side wept on the shoulder of an older man.

Another student cried when she couldn’t find he family.

Despite their tireless days, their families had it worse.

Living like this is worse than a few hours of mining and squabbles here and there.

Almost like they were peasants from a history book.

Kai walked deeper, his gaze dragged across the buildings—Taverns and what looked like a levy post stood as the only structures of any substance. Timber-framed, clean, and even almost respectable in a way.

Everything else was mud and crumbling brick; walls that could crumble at any moment.

The people mirrored the houses. Dirty, and some bore the hollow stares of the malnourished.

But the younger ones—those in their teens, twenties, all the way up to their forties—wore exhaustion like a second skin. Kai did not know the shape of their daily lives, but he was fairly certain they were put to work, just as Talitha had been.

Some might even be covering the work of their family members who are too old.

As Talitha said, those who can’t work would get into trouble.

And perhaps she was one of the lucky ones to be able to work as his servant.

Gradually, as Kai walked deeper, the street began to change.

The mud underfoot hardened into cobblestone, uneven at first, then neatly laid. The houses on either side shed their mud skins and rose in clean, polished stones. Roofs made of proper tiles. Windows fitted with actual glass. Even the air lightened.

Now, the people around wore proper tunics, their faces fuller, and their postures stronger.

Kai stopped at the seam between the squalor and the cleanliness.

It was then that he realized the outskirts, the mud, the hunger, and the torn tunics were all for families of Angels. The inner hive, with its polished stone and full bellies, was reserved for the families of High Angels.

Just like in the academy, the class system was prominent here.

It had sorted them into a brutal hierarchy.

Kai stood there, at the edge of the clean street, and clenched both of his fists.

Once again, the academy had found a way to remind him that the class system reached into every corner of the sky. Bella’s death remained the darkest day he had ever lived through. But standing here, surrounded by mud and hunger and hollow faces, a terrible thought crept in.

Perhaps it was better that she had left this world quietly.

Better than living like this.

Soon, Kai found a wooden chair on the outskirts, inside an alley, far away from people.

He leaned his head back against the wet brick wall and closed his eyes.

For a good moment, he simply listened. Taking in the soft patter of water dripping onto mud. The murmur of families reuniting. The low, constant hum of the clouds churning around the hive. He let the sounds settle into him, searching for something good in this dark world.

And his mind drifted to Bella.

At the same time, when her face appeared in his mind, a gentle brush touched his hand.

Then, he smelled the fragrant perfume of roses.

Kai opened his eyes and saw that Bree was sitting beside him, holding his hand.

"I hope you don’t mind me sitting with you," She said without looking. "I also don’t have anyone here."