Chapter 21 · Dropped Into Witch Academy at Midnight - Chapter 21: The Second Arrival

Mara's pulse is steady under my fingertips. That should feel like a win. It doesn't.

"Someone else came from your world."

The words hang in the medical bay air like smoke. I'm still kneeling on the floor, still got two fingers pressed to Mara's wrist because I don't trust anything in this place to tell me the truth. Not the monitors. Not the magic. Definitely not the ice-queen instructor standing three feet away, watching me like I'm a specimen she's deciding whether to preserve or incinerate.

Cassandra hasn't moved since Mara spoke. That's worse than if she'd pulled a weapon.

"What do you mean, someone else?" My voice comes out steadier than I feel. ER training. You don't get to panic when someone's bleeding out. You don't get to panic when your patient says something that flips your entire world sideways either.

Mara's eyes are glassy. Pupils still blown. She's not all the way back yet. "Saw them. In the dark. When I was... when I wasn't..." Her hand twitches toward her chest. "They were falling too."

"Where?" Cassandra's question cuts like a scalpel. She's moved now. Closer. Her shadow falls across Mara's face. "Where did they fall?"

"I don't—