Annabelle’s Bastion

Gromak assured Aria that finding someone who could teleport should be simple, barring it somehow being kept secret. Regardless, he’d also look for people with a tangible presence. He didn’t say anything about her decision to spare Scott, but he didn’t seem to care much—it was her downfall, not his.

Aria returned to her room shortly after, needing to prepare some kind of plan for the night.

Getting to Theo Walsh could be annoying.

Aria didn’t know much about him, and she never found a deeper link between him and Ashton beyond them being close. But Ashton was close to a lot of people. She investigated many of them as best as she was able, but nothing usable came from it.

She flipped through her notebook, looking for the name she had written down months ago.

Eventually, she found it written on a long list of names: Theo Walsh, dorm 4B. Ashton’s partner in the expedition. Few instances of communication—not worth my time unless I hear his name again or see them together frequently. The roommate spends an inordinate amount of time sneaking into the female floor.

Theo Walsh was a part of the expedition, and that was where his friendship with Ashton was formed. She watched him for a bit after, but there just weren’t any roads.

Ashton didn’t talk to anybody much after the expedition ended. While he was always on the higher end of her list of possible targets, she wanted something concrete before she decided.

Like all the other names, she just had to wait until after Gregory to find which one to go after.

But she finally got it.

She closed her notebook and slid it into her drawer full of various other papers and other notebooks.

If everything went well, Theo would be the one to lead her to Ashton Wells.

But how should she do it?

Calling out to Theo on Gregory’s phone would seem too out of character. Scott did have his number saved, but they had no communication other than exchanging names.

Gregory being an easy target was a result of many fortunate circumstances, such as him not keeping his barrier up and the dorm manager being gone. Furthermore, his ostracization of his dorm mates made it so Aria didn’t have to worry about interference. Unfortunately, Theo Walsh likely had none of that.

Aria pulled out Gregory’s phone and navigated to his exchanges of texts with Theo.

There were only a few times in the texts that Gregory said something to Theo, and most of it was his dismissive responses.

Perhaps she could use Ashton’s mission as a pretext? But it would be suspicious for Gregory to go to Theo instead of Ashton—a number he also had.

She returned the phone to her drawer.

An ambush was also possible… but few people on the island traveled alone through the forest paths at night. Plus, she needed to interrogate him.

As much as she’d like further investigation, she needed to see Theo tonight. In fact, she’d ideally go straight from him to Ashton before the sun rose the next morning.

The only possible route was getting into Theo’s dorm room.

Aria pushed her chair out and stood. Just in case, she slid Gregory’s phone into her pocket.

She had one person she could likely use for this, someone who wasn’t bound by heavy chains.

At the very least, he could check a few things for Aria.

And so she left her dorm, her destination the cafeteria on the opposite end of the island. If she recalled correctly, he usually preferred eating alone behind that building.

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“You’re speaking to me for the first time in months… just to implicate me in your revenge?”

“Will you do it?” Aria asked.

Cole Anderson was a trustworthy man, one Annabelle saw fit to make a deal with. Even if that deal was necessary, she didn’t think her friend would make it unless she was confident of his character.

He had trimmed his once long brown hair since the expedition, likely in response to requests he appeared more presentable after winning the last tournament.

Aria could tell he absorbed the Apex Sigil. The man before her felt beastly, but not like he was a monster in human skin. Sometimes, her senses confused even her—but that was likely just a result of his Apex Sigil.

Regardless, he had a powerful ability. But if that beast mimicry was as restrictive as her Apex Sigil, then he likely couldn’t show its full power any time soon.

At least publically.

But Cole Anderson had the special, secretive attention from a teacher. Similar to how Gromak gave her simple weapons, Cole’s teacher probably gave him minor beasts.

Including small animals.

“Theo Walsh,” Cole whispered, then nodded. “I can see why you’d want him; he was part of our expedition.”

“Yes, but he had scarce communication with Ashton publically after.”

Aria had leaned more toward him only being a temporary ally until he saw the phone.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen him much, either.”

“Does his name mean anything to you?” Aria asked.

“Well, not really—but I was moved to Ashton’s team due to Annabelle staying behind for support on the first day.”

She did remember that.

“What can you tell me about him?”

“What do you intend to do, Aria?” Cole asked, looking into her eyes as if to glean something. An impossible task, of course.

“Use him to get to Ashton without drawing suspicion.”

“Yeah,” Cole sighed, nodding once. “But you intend to kill him, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That easily?”

“Yes.”

His brows went deeper. “Because of Annabelle?”

“Yes.”

Finally, he tore his eyes away and sighed once more. “I can’t tell if you’re a psychopath or just incredibly loyal.”

“I want to see Annabelle again.”

“And you’ll get to her through a bridge of bodies.” He shook his head. “I don’t care if they die, but this definitely isn’t the way.”

Aria lightly squinted. “They tried to have me— us, killed.”

“I reported it and was assured proper action would be taken.”

“You’re not that naïve.”

It had been six months since the expedition. If something was going to happen to those who abandoned Annabelle on the planet—almost left Jaxon, Aria, and Cole—it’d have happened.

At most, it was likely just mentioned in their record. After all, far worse things have been happening in the expeditions after. Most likely, the officials considered those who returned wise for not risking their lives for a single student and teacher.

Jaxon was investigating the rest, but he was likely having difficulty justifying punishing 57 people.

Again, Cole sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“And you’re fine letting them get away with it?”

“No,” he immediately replied, glaring at her. “But, what, kill them? To what end? Feeling better? I would—easily. But that would ruin my future in Bastion.” He shook his head. “To them, those who returned made the wise decision.”

“Ashton and Theo—the rest are just cowards.”

“They don’t have that distinction.” He looked away from her. “I can’t help you with this.”

She was getting annoyed.

“You owe Annabelle your life.”

He paused mid-grabbing his food and returned his glare to her. “Is that the card you want to play with me?”

“It’s a simple truth.”

If Annabelle hadn’t agreed to stay behind with whoever that entity was, they’d all have been killed.

“And that debt is worth me dying for?”

Yes, it was.

But Aria held her tongue.

She wished she had half the speaking ability that Annabelle had.

“The only thing I require you for is investigation; I will be the one doing it.”

“And if you get caught, then I will get caught—we will both be executed. When Annabelle returns, the only thing she’ll see is your corpse. How do you think she’d feel knowing that her sacrifice only resulted in that?”

Aria clenched her fists.

Of course, she thought of that. How could she not? Annabelle stayed behind so Aria could live and obtain power to protect herself. How would she feel to return to news of her death? To learn that her sacrifice meant nothing… of course, Aria thought of that.

But the other option was more likely—Annabelle dying because she didn’t have Aria there to protect her.

“I… need to save her,” Aria said, looking Cole in the eyes. “She has no strength of her own, no survival instincts to protect her, and trusts far too easily… I need to save her.”

That was incredibly embarrassing, but it felt like using her true feelings was the only way to convince him.

Cole stared at her for a while as if trying to judge the veracity of her words. Eventually, he sighed once more. “This is deja vu for me… You want them to die for revenge, but what makes you want to interrogate them?”

“Because teleportation gates work twice, sometimes three times,” Aria immediately replied, detecting the less forceful nature of his tone.

His eyes widened, and he paused for a few seconds. “Ah, I see… If you can get to the people behind Ashton, you can try to use their gate to return to Sorana early.”

“Yes.”

Cole stood, looking into the clear skies as he stretched. “This feels incredibly illogical, borderline insane.” He smiled at her. “But I’ll make you a deal.”

“What?”

She’d agree to almost anything if it meant getting into that dorm.

“When Annabelle—”

“Call her Anna,” Aria suddenly said, surprising even herself.

He wryly chuckled but nodded. “I think you got the order mixed up, but ok.”

Anna was technically the nickname used for those closer, but Aria liked Annabelle more. Regardless, why did she care?

The academy was bringing more emotional states she was unfamiliar with than any of the years she had before.

“I apologize,” Aria said.

“Well, anyway… when Anna faced the Core, she also pleaded with me to allow her to take the Apex Sigil for your sake. Now, it’s the opposite.”

Aria lightly nodded, her chest feeling lighter and her resolve becoming firmer.

She would return to that planet before the permanent gate was built.

“What deal?” she asked.

“First, I do need to protect myself. I won’t do anything more than aid your meeting with Theo Walsh. I will be gone the moment you see him, and you won’t see or hear from me again for a few months after.”

“Acceptable.”

“I doubt this will happen, but if I do get harshly interrogated, I will rat you out.  We need to make this as natural as possible. I don’t mind taking questions, but if it starts to look like I’m going to be accused…” he trailed off.

“Fine.”

It was the same thing with Gromak, basically.

“Alright,” he said. “I know I sound cowardly, but I want to graduate from this damn place and return to my family on Earth.”

That made more sense.

“What is your request of me?” Aria asked.

“Do you remember what Jaxon said to us during that expedition?”

Great, another person who couldn’t just get to the point.

“Yes—he said many things.”

Cole nodded. “Sorry, I mean in relation to your capacity to protect Annabe— Anna. He said you were stronger than all of us, and I objected.”

She did recall that. He wanted to fight her back then, that much she could tell. It wasn’t something fueled by ill intent but a genuine desire for a clean fight. Annabelle had that, but it was more akin to them testing things on each other.

Cole just wanted to see who was stronger.

“You want to fight me?” Aria asked. She was certainly not opposed to it—she had no opponents in this academy, especially now that she had an Apex Sigil.

“No, I don’t want a simple spar,” Cole said, shaking his head. His brows squinted, and he looked more serious than even when he objected to her plan. “I want you to fight me—publically—with everything you have. I mean everything. Like you want me dead, and I will return in kind.”

“Publically? I can’t reveal my—”

“Once Anna returns, everybody will know that you absorbed that Apex Sigil.”

That was true, and it didn’t even consider the fact that Annabelle had an Apex Sigil, too. Regardless, if Aria ever wanted to fight in any event or competition, that would be revealed even if Annabelle wanted to hide it.

“Why public?”

“Because you’re widely viewed as the strongest person on this island, and I want that spot.”

“That’s it?” Aria asked, stunned. That was enough for him?

Aria would never purposefully lose, so he was just asking for a chance to be defeated by her.

He nodded seriously. “I want everyone—teachers and students—to think that Cole Anderson was the shining star of this academy.”

That sounded like it was something his mentor needed him to do. There was probably a deeper meaning to it, but she didn’t really care.

“Fine,” Aria said. She’d never deny a battle, especially not with someone who could give her a challenge. “We will fight after Annabelle returns.”

“Perfect,” Cole said, smiling as he extended his hand. “I’d say just let it happen naturally in a tournament, but I want your full, undivided attention—as I will give to you.”

Aria grabbed his hand and shook it. “It isn’t unlikely you walk out of that fight permanently damaged.”

She wouldn’t hold back, after all—not if it was public.

Everyone should know that she was the strongest, regardless of what meaningless vices they attempted to place on her.

“Same to you, Aria.” Cole chuckled. He returned to his rock, picking up his dishes from his now-cold lunch. “By the time this fight happens, we’ll already be seen as the top of this academy... Our battle will be legendary.”

“I need you to—”

“Get you access to Theo,” Cole interrupted, smiling at her. “I can do that easily.”

“How? It has to be in his dorm room.”

“Right, which just means the dorm master has to be gone past curfew so you can sneak in.”

“Yes, but how will you accomplish that?”

“Just make sure you’re near the dorm at 10.”

So he wanted to keep his methods secret. That was fine; he likely had some kind of beast form he intended to use.

How good were they at fooling mages senses? Being around people on the level of Gromak and Alisha often made Aria forget that they were far, far above the average mages on the island.

“Fine.”