Chloe and Ethan exchange one of their famous veiled looks, and my stomach turns.

"Well, you did cause a lot of damage," Ethan says sternly.

"You blew out the glass in every window and the dome. And the entire structure is now glowing purple. The clean-up crew has a big job ahead of them."

"So what's my punishment?" My voice cracks.

"We don't know about that yet," Chloe says, worry in her eyes. "It'll be weeks before the Society finishes with all their meetings and questions and decisions. You got a lot of people's attention today."

I gulp. That doesn't sound great. "So... are you two here to take me to Guardian jail or something while we wait?"

"Nope!" Chloe shakes her head. "We're taking you to your temporary lodging. You are going to train for the Entrance Trials. And you're going to pass them. I'm sure of it."

"Jeez, why didn't you say that first?" Hope alights in my chest, but I don't trust it. "But... after everything I did... ArchGuardian Visconti is still letting me—"

"Oh, she was ready to hand you over to Dubois when she saw that building," Ethan says. "He was in the hall with his whole team, waiting for you to wake up. But then... the chancellor changed her mind."

"Because... you two convinced her to let me stay?"

"Ah-well," Chloe reddens. "We did stand up for you... but I don't think we changed her mind. I think you may have Mr. Westgard to thank for that."

Now my cheeks are red. "Oh?"

She nods. "Caelum was at the hospital too, for a few hours, just being monitored. The chancellor came to check in on him, and when she came out of his room, she ordered Dubois and team to leave the base and told us you would be permitted to participate in the Entrance Trials. Ten minutes later, Ferrero was here dropping off the key to your room."

Ethan's nodding along with her story, but they both look as confused as I'm feeling about the chancellor's decision. What did Caelum say to her?

Chloe reaches under her seat and pulls out her giant purse. "We do have some questions for you... about everything that happened. I want to get your statement. Just let me grab my tablet."

"My memory's all... jumbled."

"Let's just start with a few questions." Chloe switches her tablet on. "How did you connect with the Aether?"

"I don't know. Honestly. It was like... humming or something, and it just got louder and louder. And then... I was connected to it. I think."

"Okay... Well, how did you manage to do that thing... where you used the Aether to destroy the ArchGuardian's severance sigil?"

"What? What thing? What sigil?" I comb my brain, trying to remember, but... what is she talking about?

"The chancellor's sigil."

I shake my head, and my stomach growls loudly again.

"Well, what about the...?" Chloe glances down at her tablet. "How did you attach the Aether to the building so it would stay there?"

I shrug. "I think... I just let it go?"

Chloe's getting frustrated with my non-answers. "What about...? Caelum said that when the dome shattered, some kind of magickal barrier deflected all the glass and saved you both."

I make a face, annoyed my brain is drawing so many blanks. "Look, all I know is... I was in a lot of pain, but I knew I had to hold on to the Aether until everyone was out of the building, or they would die. And... I remember Caelum being next to me at the end. But... that's really all. I'm sorry."

Ethan clears his throat and taps his wrist. "Let her eat and get dressed. Opening ceremony's in less than three hours."

"But—"

"There will be plenty of time for this later."

Chloe wrinkles her nose, looking disappointed. "Right. Well..." she licks her lips, hesitating, then meets my eyes. "Just one more question, then."

"Yes?" The chili's getting cold, and I've never wanted to eat beans so much in my life.

"What was it like? When you merged with the Aether?"

Ethan and Chloe both lean toward me, their eyes burning with the same intensity.

"Um... Bad."

"Yeah-but..." Chloe sputters. "Details?"

My memory might be patchy at the moment, but I do remember that pain clearly. "It was like being eaten from the inside. Like being burned alive. It's the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. And after the week I've had, that's saying a lot."

They both nod solemnly, going ashen.

"I don't recommend it," I say. "And... What even is Aether? The other Elements never hurt that much." I can't resist the chili for another second, so I shove a giant spoonful into my mouth.

Chloe and Ethan both stand up.

"Aether is the Element from which the other four arise." Chloe grabs her purse. "That's why it's so powerful—and often deadly. It's also very rare and tightly rationed."

"Hmm." I swallow my mouthful of beans. "Probably not great that I wasted so much then."

"Finish your food. Then get dressed," Ethan says gruffly. "You still have a big night ahead of you."

"Your clothes are in the cabinet." Chloe points to the metal cabinet across from my bed. "Freshly laundered. We'll wait in the hall."

They both leave, shutting the door behind them.

Excitement and anxiety are doing battle in my newly healed body... and I don't know which one should be winning.

I plow through my food and get dressed as fast as I can, trying to distract myself so my brain doesn't start Walter Mittying.

Six hours ago, I had no future.

Now I do.

And that's all that matters.

Chloe and Ethan are waiting for me on a bench just outside my room.

They lead me down a sterile white hallway with no windows and only one door at the very end.

When we step through the door, my jaw drops.

Windows, windows, everywhere. Dark polished wood floors. A woman in white scrubs sits behind a large desk. Stylized bronze sculptures decorate the wall behind her.

There's a fountain emerging from stone boulders in the center of the room, in front of revolving glass doors.

And... do I smell lavender?

I think we're at the entrance.

It's false advertising if all the rooms are like the closet I woke up in.

But something tells me they gave me the crappy room.

I follow Ethan and Chloe outside and realize that, with the exception of the revolving front doors, the hospital looks a hell of a lot like the main building.

Well... It looks like how the main building used to look.

Oops.

The driverless black SUV pulls up right as we reach the curb, and the falcon doors swing upward.

I slide into the backseat as Chloe and Ethan take the front seats. My ruined bag's on the floor at my feet, and I'm glad someone remembered to grab it from the building. I just hope there's a washer and dryer at the temporary lodging... 'cause I still only have two pairs of underwear.

Once all the doors click shut, the SUV takes off again, all by itself.

And my mood starts improving by the second. Because I'm not going to jail! Yeah, it's a low bar, but so what.

The Tesla reaches a crossroads and makes a right.

"Man, I will never get used to that," I say, half to myself.

"To what?" Chloe asks.

"The whole driverless car thing."

"Well you'd better," Ethan replies. "Don't know if you've noticed, but the Society has a whole fleet like this. Brand new too." He pats the steering wheel lovingly. "Wonderful upgrade."

"And the only reason I let you 'drive.'" Chloe rolls her eyes.

I choke back a giggle. "Ya know... there's so much I don't get about this place..."

"Like?" Chloe asks.

"Well... how do you keep it all hidden? Magick, magick, blah, blah, blah, I know, but you have to ship stuff in, right? Like the food... the medical supplies."

"We have our ways," Chloe says mysteriously.

"Is it only... magickal ways? Or do you send Cerberus Agents to warehouses to steal pallets of food in the night?" My brain's enjoying this new line of thinking. "I mean, even this car. How do you place a giant order for a bunch of Teslas and no one even bats an eyelash? You would think someone would be like... 'Gee, who are these weirdos with all the Metatron pins and way too much money?'"

Chloe laughs. "Well that one's easy. Elon's one of us."

Oh.

Wait. The man who invented this car is Atlantean?

Oh.

"Sooo... is it software or... magick?"

Ethan and Chloe exchange an amused look.

"There's something under your seat," Chloe says, apparently changing the subject. "Go ahead and see what it is."

I reach my hand under there and pull it out. It's a brand new backpack. Deep navy blue, with a white Metatron's Cube embroidered on the front.

"It's from the student supply store," Chloe says. "Ethan grabbed it for you after we saw what happened to your bag."

"Thank you." My eyes burn. "I... I have some cash... How much was this?"

"Don't worry about it." Chloe waves her hand at me. "Go ahead and move all your stuff into it. You can leave the old one with us, if you want. We can toss it. Better hurry, though. We'll be at your lodging soon. Oh! And the key to your room's in that front zippered pocket."

There's a lump in my throat as I move all my junk from my old bag to the brand new one. I'm not used to people just... giving me a gift like that. And I don't really feel like I deserve it, not after everything I just did.

But I have to admit... it's nice having a backpack that zips shut.

By the time I'm finished, the Tesla is slowing to a stop.

"We're here!" Chloe excitedly opens her door and hops out.