Chapter 49: Chapter FOURTY NINE

Everyone was silent, but the sound of their footsteps echoed in the damp underground corridors. Sounds were amplified here, and Mia had discovered during her weeks at the Arena that vampires were mostly very light sleepers. So it didn't surprise anyone when they heard knocking on the wood of the door.

The spell Andrei had used was rather simple in concept: it fused the stone of the doorframe with the wood of the door itself, making it impossible to open without destroying it. A thin layer of rock covered everything to reinforce the resistance of the door. The spell was only visible from the outside, so the students could not suspect anything. The vampires had started by simply trying to push the door open, but had quickly realized that they couldn't do it without using force.

"Hurry up," Zerkan whispered to the students who weren't fast enough for him.

Stealth was no longer important now that they were spotted. As the last magicians disappeared down the hallway that would lead them down the underground path toward the arena, the door to the vampire quarter exploded. The couple, Arry, and the rest of the rebels were only a few meters from the detonation and had to duck to dodge the few pieces of debris that waltzed in front of them. Zerkan and Vassili immediately placed themselves between the students and the group, the werewolf growling and the vampire presenting his dagger and fangs to their enemies.

They had a dozen students in their vampiric form in front of them, with their emaciated features and grayish complexion. All were ready to pounce on the two men if they dared make the slightest move. Yet no one moved for three seconds after the encounter. Finally, Vasily spoke in a firm voice:

"Solomon is gone, and you won't win against us," warned the professor. "The magicians have escaped. You are all alone. Go join your families."

Some hesitant faces ended up regaining their human appearance before being imitated by the most recalcitrant. It was exactly as Colonel Finnegan had explained: their resolve was weakening considerably now that Solomon could no longer compel them to fight. Whether out of fear, convenience, or adherence to Impervia's ideology that they allied with Solomon, the Arena students didn't want to fight. They had never known war, they had never known humans. Even if they joined relatives who were ready to take up arms to defend and apply their anti-human ideas, they had no desire to die tonight.

When the last vampires turned their backs on them to go to their room and let them go, the rest of the group lowered their arms and resumed their walk to join the arena. They were only a few meters from their vanishing point, and they crossed them walking quickly. Mia paid no attention to her surroundings and focused entirely on the exit. She didn't want to fall back into the room where Andrei had held her captive, and she didn't want Ethan to sense her distress and decide to want to punish the rebels responsible again. They were rebels now too. Or, at least, their allies.

Five minutes later, a spring breeze caressed their cheeks as they finally found themselves outside. Most of the students had already dispersed through the visitors' entrance which opened directly onto the forest behind the mountain. Mia would never have thought she would be so happy to find Taure, and yet, a smile of pure happiness lit up her face when she reached the height of the animal.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist to turn her around and her magician friend's arms wrapped around her shoulders. The young human immediately understood the meaning of the gesture of the redhead. She was going to explain the same thing to her as Lily.

"I can't thank you enough for coming to save us, Mia," Arry said emotionally, "but I have to find my family first. I have to make sure they're okay and respect whatever position the elders have chosen for our family in this war. They're pro-human, you know. There's a good chance they'll ally with the Resistance. We'll see you again very soon, I'm sure!"

"Take care of yourself," Mia replied simply, already resigned to not seeing her friends again anytime soon.

Arry's gaze landed one last time on Andrei who was watching her shamelessly. The wizard looked tortured between the need to slip her a few words and the desire to respect the young woman's anger. He ultimately decided to do nothing and just watch her disappear with the other students at the visitor's entrance.

By the time everyone climbed into the saddle of their mount, the group of resistance fighters was all alone. No student would come to Callis with them. They all had a place to return to now, and the time for alliances and reunions would come soon enough. Besides, they didn't have enough wyverns to transport more individuals, especially after the loss of one of their own.

Mia climbed on Taure's back alone, followed by Ethan who settled himself comfortably behind her. The return was not going to be easy if Impervia had planned to try to intercept them on the way, but the group was much calmer than on the way out. The worst was behind them, or so they all told each other.

"Congratulations to all, the operation was a success. It's time to go home!" Zerkan announced, clicking his tongue against his palate to give Alfa the green light.

The other wyverns rushed after them and began to run a few dozen meters to gain enough speed before spreading their wings and flying away. Take-off was slower and more complicated when the animal couldn't just jump off the ground, but Mia had gotten used to the concept and it didn't scare her. Besides, she was all too happy to come home, shower and sleep. The night was well advanced, dawn would show up in a few hours, which left them enough to rest in the night to be fresh the next morning.

Yeah, I'm certainly not waking up before noon after all this, she told herself, having already decided that she deserved her sleep in.

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