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"Every two days?"

"Four people isn't enough."

"Four is enough."

A girl across from them says quietly,

"Maybe they did something."

The conversation changes.

I stop eating. "What?"

Her friend shrugs. "Maybe the missing people had something in common."

"Like what?" I ask.

"I don't know."

"Maybe Jonas was involved in something."

"Or the baker."

Someone else adds, "Maybe Mara knew something she wasn't supposed to." My jaw tightens. Nyra notices. Her hand closes around my wrist beneath the table. Not to stop me. To warn me. Don't. I know. Still...The girl continues.

"People don't just disappear." No. Apparently they do.

Cassian turns around. His voice is light. Almost casual. "You're right." The students look toward him.

He smiles. "People don't just disappear." A pause. "They also don't deserve to become suspects because they did." Silence. No joke. No grin after. Just that.

The girl looks away. Cassian turns back toward us.

Nyra studies him. He reaches for his coffee. "What."

"Nothing."

He narrows his eyes. "I hate that answer."

I smile faintly. Good. He's learning.

My dragon examination begins at nine. Because apparently the Academy has decided terror and academic humiliation should coexist. Professor Kaelis stands at the front of the lecture hall with a stack of papers thick enough to kill someone if dropped correctly. "No discussion." He says. "No shared answers. No manifestations."

Cassian raises his hand. "Can I manifest knowledge?"

Professor Kaelis doesn't blink. "No."

"Shame."

A few students laugh. Kaelis waits until it dies. "One mistake involving dragon behavior can kill multiple people." Everyone straightens. "Good luck."

Cassian looks offended.

"He gets to say it." I whisper.

Nyra opens her exam. "He outranks you."

"Temporarily."