The first thing Solene knew again was warmth. Perhaps she had not realized how cold she truly was until then. The warmth of blankets surrounded her, sank into her like a bath. She delighted in the sensation, burrowed deeper into them as her consciousness rose. But any comfort that could be derived was quickly negated by the second thing she knew—rising shouts.

She opened her eyes, everything blurry as she struggled to make out the shape of the words. She propped herself up on her elbows, sending a wave of dizziness through her form. It was with this dizziness, however, that everything came into sudden, startling clarity.

"—Absolutely not! Mr. Beltane is still recovering from the cold exposure, and as such will not be interrogated by the likes of you today—"

"Oh, shut up, Honor, you and I both know what he is!"

Solene blinked—she had to be in the nurse's office, and by the door was none other than the Chancellor, who appeared to be arguing ferociously with a witch she recognized from appearing to her mother or Horus on official Covenant business.

What was her name again? Solene struggled to recall.

But there were bigger things to worry about than the Covenant witch's name— they were talking about Dorian.

The nausea renewed, and with it a panic that sent ice down her spine, tingling through her limbs. With a newfound urgency, she pushed herself up and off the mattress and onto her knees as she looked around for him.

"Solene!" Her eyes found his, just as he looked to her.

He looked to be completely unhurt, unlike herself, and had the dignity of sitting up in one of the spare chairs. Relieved to see him, Solene glanced over her shoulder. On the other side was another cot, where Willa was already sitting up, looking to be in far greater shape than Solene was.

When she looked back, Dorian had left his chair and was by her side.

"You should lie back down," he said, a guiding hand on her shoulder. "You were exposed to raw ice magic for a long time—"

"I'm fine," Solene protested, and she pried his hand off of her. "Are you okay?"

"Of course." He bit his lip and his eyes flicked down to the floor. "I have resistance to the effects of ice magic. An advantage, I guess, given. . . "

"—He's the Badwolf, he's Fenrir, everyone saw it!" The witch from the Covenant raised her voice further, drowning out Dorian's quiet one. "We cannot simply let him go out of here without a plan, or without—"

"I don't care who he is, Hazel." Chancellor Lavenza's words were firm. "Mr. Beltane is one of my students, and as such, for the time being, he is under my care and custody and I will not allow this. If you want to take it up with his father, I suggest you do so off of the grounds of my school."

"You have some nerve," snarled the Covenant witch. "You're assuming you will hold this school for much longer!"

"I do not assume such things." Chancellor Lavenza regarded the witch coldly. "In fact, I suspect in a month's time this school will no longer be operating. I certainly do not intend to leave this school open for the rest of the year. Unlike my predecessors who faced similar challenges, I do not intend to bury my head in the sand and continue, business as usual."

The Covenant witch stopped, clearly off-balance by this revelation. "It's true, then? You're closing the school?"

Chancellor Lavenza nodded. "All students not currently under the care of the school nurse are being told to pack up as we speak—including my own daughter."

Solene could only hope that Roxana and the others were alright, having been frozen. 

Could they see and hear, while they were trapped in the ice? How much did they really know of what had taken place in the ballroom that night?

She supposed they had to be, otherwise the entire school would have been there. Perhaps there was some strangely protective element to the magic that kept the victims of it safe, just merely. . . frozen.

The more Solene thought she understood magic, sometimes, the less she really knew.

Chancellor Lavenza seized the moment provided by the Covenant witch's shock. "Now, I must ask you to leave, or I will personally escort you out. Are we understood, Hazel?"

The witch paused, sizing Chancellor Lavenza up. "Crystal."

With that and a flounce of her long-coat, she was gone, and with a tipping of Chancellor Lavenza's staff, the doors slammed shut.

"Well then, I see that you are awake, Miss Frey," she said as she turned around.

"Excellent. I would presume that your account of events will match Miss Lorraine's and

Mr. Beltane's, then?"

"Probably." Solene shrugged.

"Not that it matters anyhow, as there isn't much that would change my decision at this point,"Chancellor Lavenza continued. "Roxana agreed to help you pack your things. The Anouir Institute is closing for the rest of the year."

"What?" Solene blinked. "Why?"

"The student aligned with the Astarte Institute, a character confirmed to be Valo Durendal, son of the Queen of the Kitsunes, had managed to successfully infiltrate our school for months with no one realizing that he was not supposed to be here, or that he was even here at all." 

Chancellor Lavenza strode towards one of the windows, her arms folded in front of her and her long red braid flowing down her back like a veil. "I take the Astarte very seriously."

She gave a long sigh looking out into the night before she continued. "I do not have sufficient trust in our ability to keep them out while keeping the school operational. And I would prefer no further tragedies like what happened tonight or what happened to my own sister occur again."

She turned back towards Solene, Dorian, and Willa. "I must, however, thank you three for your quick action. Especially you, Mr. Beltane. Your actions saved lives tonight."

"Thanks." Dorian shifted uncomfortably.

"And don't think that it escapes me, that you revealed your secret at a great personal cost, in order to do so." Chancellor Lavenza pressed her lips together into a thin line. "I will do my utmost to keep the Covenant from taking you, now and when you return to the Beltane Manor."

"I appreciate that, but I know there isn't much you can do."

"You'd be surprised." Chancellor Lavenza sighed. "Do you three have any questions for me? You deserve that much, given that you did what well-trained faculty failed to do, including myself."

"What happened to Valo?" Willa asked, her voice more small and vulnerable than Solene had ever heard her dare to be before.

"Aurinko Durendal claimed custody of him for the time being and has declared it her jurisdiction to handle the consequences of what happens to him now. You needn't worry about him anymore."

Willa looked uncertain about this.

Before she could voice whatever was on her mind, or Solene or Dorian could ask a question, the doors burst open again to the nurse's office. Luckily, it wasn't the Covenant witch again. Solene even recognized him—Willa's father, with dark blue-gray eyes like a frost-covered sea, dark hair, and a certain cold aura surrounding him. She'd only seen him a few times, the drop-off to school and the rare occasion Solene hung out at Willa's house during the summer vacations.

"Willa!" He cried as he approached. "You're alright? I heard you confronted a madman, a kitsune associated with the Astarte—"

"I'm fine, Father." Willa clutched fistfuls of sheets, turning her knuckles the shame shade of white. "He didn't hurt me, he didn't want to hurt me."

This made Mr. Lorraine stop in his tracks entirely. "What?"

"He was Valo Durendal, I guess he claimed to be the son of the Empress of Kitsunes." Hesitation crossed Willa's face. "He said something about how we were alike, how we were born out of the same tragedy, so he didn't want to hurt me." She met her father's eyes. "He said that you used to live among the kitsunes, and you left them behind. He said that you were—that I was—"

"Enough." Mr. Lorraine was pale, nearly as wide-eyed as his daughter. But his quiet voice still commanded gravitas. "This isn't the place for secrets that were best left on the mountain, a long time ago, far away."

"But I have to know," Willa insisted. "At least this—is it true? Are you. . . a kitsune? Am I one?"

Mr. Lorraine inhaled sharply. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Willa blinked rapidly, tears appearing. "Does Mom know?"

"No, she doesn't know." Mr. Lorraine looked to his boots and sighed again. "I'll tell you everything, I promise."

His eyes then flicked up, to Solene, brushing over her before landing on Dorian as he tensed. "But not here. I've come to take you home." 

"Oh." Willa looked away from her father.

Mr. Lorraine looked to the Chancellor helplessly. He didn't seem to Solene to be the type of man who was used to being helpless.

"Ah." Chancellor Lavenza tapped the edge of her scepter onto the ground, and a folding screen sprang from the wall. Solene could now no longer see or hear Mr. Lorraine or Willa. The Chancellor then turned to Solene and Dorian.

"We should leave them to their business," Chancellor Lavenza said softly. "Mr. Beltane, I believe your father should be arriving soon. And Miss Frey, I believe your mother—"

The door opened again, but it wasn't Luna Danaan who walked in.

No, it was Soleil, in her fur-lined coat and short dress with the orange and yellow and pink flower pattern. Her curls still shown white-gold with the last embers of sunlight, her very steps bouncing with the sort of vibrancy found in the height of summer.

"Hey kid," she said with a grin. "Your mom sent me to take you home. Wanna get out of here?"

Solene looked to Dorian. "I don't want to leave you."

"It's okay." He smiled, a sad, brave sort of thing. "We'll find each other again." Solene blinked.

He wanted to see her again.

Something had changed, against all odds. Maybe because everyone knew now.

Maybe because he'd saved the school to save her.

"Mr. Beltane is in good, safe hands, I assure you, Miss Frey." Chancellor Lavenza's voice was soft.

"Yeah, come on, kid." Soleil clapped a hand on Solene's shoulder. "We should drive through and get a burger, on our way back to your mom's place."

Walking away from Dorian felt more like getting ripped away, no matter how willingly she followed her aunt. And yet, she found herself looking over her shoulder at him one last time as she left the nurse's office.

"We'll find each other again."

She could only hope that they would.