Chapter 34: Chapter THIRTY FOUR

The trio had accompanied Mia and Ethan to the Heart, leaving them in front of the metal door in the hallway that would lead them to Ellana's office, where they assumed they were expected. They had chosen to use the stairs rather than the magic elevator to prolong their possible last moments together. The tension was palpable in the bodies of the two young soul mates, and even the older couple struggled to maintain unflinching optimism as they got closer to military quarters. It was just Liam who was squirming around, happy to be included in the walk and totally unaware of the heavy atmosphere that reigned over the group.
In reality, the child's enthusiasm and naivety managed to lighten the atmosphere slightly without him even realizing it. Not to the point of cracking a smile on their face, admittedly, but they had managed to maintain normal conversations the whole way. It was only when they arrived in front of the famous metal door that their features regained their tense appearance.

An awkward silence of a few seconds dragged on between the adults, no one knowing what to say. Was it better to bid them farewell? Or just tell them "see you later" assuming they'll be back no matter what? Irina ended up breaking the ice by wrapping her arms around Mia to hug her and wish her good luck. She repeated the gesture with Ethan who, although the affective display made him uncomfortable, let her do it anyway when he noticed that her eyes were wet. Adam contented himself with a handshake for each and a stern nod.

"It's okay, we're not going to die, right," Mia felt obliged to say in a tone that she hoped would be humorous when she noticed that Irina had indeed tears in her eyes.

"You're right, we'll see each other soon enough!" she finally conceded, getting rid of tear fluid that threatened to flow with her fingers.

"Where are you going ?" Liam asked for the second time, finally noticing the weird vibe between the two couples.

"Ethan and Mia are going on a mission abroad, sweetheart. They'll be back soon," Irina explained, smiling to hide her anguish.

"Wow cool! I want to go on a mission too!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Maybe when you're older," Adam said, placing his palm on the boy's head, "but only if you're behaving well."

"I am always behaving well!" Liam pouted, grimacing.

His annoyed childish pout elicited a slight chuckle from Mia and a smirk from Ethan until the seriousness of the situation caught up with them when the metal door opened to let a guard through. He watched them carefully before passing them, probably recognizing them. With a nod, he greeted the couple of former Sentinels and then disappeared down the stairs.

"I think it's time to go, we block the way here," Mia said in an almost trembling voice.

"Good luck," the host couple encouraged them one last time before returning to the city.

The blonde's gaze plunged into Ethan's, who seemed almost to be waiting for her to take the first step. As if he was giving her one last chance to flee before there was no turning back. His question confirmed to her that he was still trying to leave her an escape:

"Are you sure you want to fight?"

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"Yeah," she replied bluntly. "There's no way I'm letting you go alone."

The Vila sighed before pushing the heavy door open and letting her pass. The darkness that reigned in the reception room coming from outside did nothing to fix the anguish that tensed the young human muscles. As her footsteps echoed down the stone hallway and closer to the General's office, she felt her throat go dry and a ball of stress making it difficult to swallow. With each meter she walked towards the great hall, her hands shook more and more. When Ethan intertwined his fingers with hers to calm her down, stroking her tenderly with his thumb, she silently thanked him with a look. She slowly forced the next breath, trying to slow her breathing to calm herself down. The exercise didn't ease her tumultuous mind, but her muscles relaxed enough that she didn't feel like she was walking like a robot.

The hall buzzed with people talking and running around preparing for the assault. There were some in Sentinel uniforms like themselves, others who wore a cape similar to Igor's – wizard engineers, she guessed – and a few deputies with their ornamental capes similar to the one Adam had worn at the meeting. All the military, scientific and political elite of the city had gathered for the operation to liberate the school.

"Nice pressure, seeing so many people counting on us absolutely does not stress me like crazy," she said ironically to the Vila.

"You won't be alone," came a voice that broke away from a group of people to their right, whom she quickly recognized as Vassili.

Ethan's face immediately darkened when his gaze met the vampire's. He was doing his best not to be hostile, but his eyes were unmistakable and clearly reflected his hatred for his teacher.

"You'll have to trust us if you want everything to go well, Ethan," the vampire sighed, tired of the Vila's animosity.

"I don't have to trust you in particular," he said venomously.

A new sigh escaped Vassili's lips, who preferred to drop the matter and invite them with a wave of his hand to follow him to enter Ellana's office. Robert, Zerkan, and Igor sat nonchalantly at the large table, while the General paced the rest of the room. Mia could easily guess that they were all used to this kind of risky operation since, although the seriousness of the situation was written on their faces, their bodies were not as tense, and they even smiled when they saw the couple arrive, satisfied that the two kindred spirits had not changed their minds.

"Perfect, you're here! We are finalizing the final details. Perhaps you will have some suggestions for us," Zerkan greeted them. "We still have to confirm with Tishuan that the weather will be good enough for the wyverns to be able to fly tonight, and the outline of the plan will thus be validated."

"To fly?!" exclaimed the blonde, flabbergasted.

Suffice it to say that she expected everything, except that.

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