NO UPDATE 4th JULY - Please read if wondering where chapter is

I'm sad to say my beloved dog of ten years, who you've probably been hearing about vet visits of for the last month or two, had to be put down early on Friday 3rd July morning. It was a devastating moment after all we'd done and all the improvements he was making. He lived a good life long past the expectation the vets gave him when he was diagnosed with a raft of illnesses. He wasn't expected to live past 5-6, but survived a happy 10 years. I'm relieved to say that despite the lock down and social distancing, the vets were willing to let me be there with him at the end, and he died with his head in my lap, tail wagging, which is perhaps all you can ask for.

I can't write like this, however. There will be no updates this weekend. I'll pick back up Monday with Null, though even that might be a slightly reduced chapter. It's going to depend on whether or not I'm in the right mood.

Thank you all for understanding.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 47

Ruby desperately wished she could take the word `Wildmage` back. The second it crossed her lips, the Wildmage's eyes narrowed and his body tensed up. The crackling energy around him intensified, warping the air like smoke over an open fire. Ruby drew in a deep breath and slowly raised her hands up to show him they were empty. Despite the fear leeching through her, there was something else. Something urgent and tickling beneath the surface.

Excitement. Another Wildmage. One who was free and surviving outside the Sanctum like her. She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to know, but the way his blue eyes pierced her through made it clear he didn't want to hear them.

"Collegium," he said, biting off the word. "Which Collegium?"

"Who are-"

"Collegium!" the Wildmage snapped, twisting his sword Merlot's way for the interruption. "Answer me or I'll kill you both!"

"Vale." His eyes came back to her, narrowed and angry. Ruby swallowed and kept speaking. "You're close to Vale's Collegium. We're not that far out – maybe forty miles to the east. Might be a little less."

"That close…?"

He chuckled bitterly. Madly. Ruby knew why. They'd come so close before deciding to set up camp here, and if they'd only kept going, they'd have escaped. Maybe. She didn't have any idea which direction they were going, and the Archives seemingly went on forever. They could just as easily have gone another way, missed Vale, and wandered for years. With vision blocked by the bookcases, you wouldn't even notice Vale's portal area unless you walked right into it or came close enough to hear people. Finding the portal was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"We are no threat to you," Merlot said. "Please put your weapon – and your magic – away."

"No threat?" He fixed his eyes on them again. His hand tightened on his weapon. It looked to her like he might strike regardless of the consequences. She had to do something. "I highly doubt that. Either way, I'm not in the mood to take chances-"

"I'm a Wildmage!" Ruby blurted out.

"Miss Rose, no!" Merlot cried. "That is not something to admit-"

"I'm a Wildmage as well," she said, staring at him, trying to show him. Little by little, she released the control she had, causing nearby tables to shake and rattle. His eyes widened just a little. "I'm like you. I'm a Wildmage. In hiding," she explained, able to read the confusion clear on his face. "I've been trying to find out how to control my powers and I snuck into the Collegium."

"Initiate Rose! He does not need your life story!"

"You…" The sword lowered a little. He glanced to the tables and back to her. Ruby felt something tickle her left arm. The faintest of breezes in a place where that was unnatural. She willed him to feel the same in return and was rewarded by the rustling of his left sleeve.

The sword fell the rest of the way, point to the ground.

"A Wildmage infiltrating a Collegium." He said with sheer amazement. Like she did with him, his eyes roved up and down her. She wasn't the only one unused to seeing another Wildmage in the flesh, it seemed. "Now I've heard everything. This one is beholden to you?" he asked with a nod toward Merlot. "He's loyal to you?"

"We're working together," she answered. "He's acting like I'm his apprentice to keep me out of trouble. We were exploring the Archives for more answers on Wildmages." And Grimm, but this guy didn't need to know that. "We found a dead body from Menagerie about three days west of here. Came back but ran into the Grimm."

"They've been active lately. I wasn't sure why, but if we're as Close to Vale's Collegium as you say, they may have sensed the magic." He sheathed his sword, stepping back to give her room and letting the power surging around him dissipate. "Adam," he grunted. "Adam Taurus."

Relief rushed through her. It felt like the weight hanging over her head disappeared. The simple introduction was as close to a gesture of peace as they'd receive. If nothing else, it suggested blood wouldn't be drawn here. Just being a Wildmage like him had opened doors she wasn't sure would have otherwise been there. It made sense. There was no way to fake what she was at her age, and they both knew it was the world against them.

"I'm Ruby," she said. "This is Merlot."

"A pleasure," the Azure Arcanist said smoothly. "And I shall say I care little for the White's obsession hunting you down." He'd also sensed the mood and was quick to make himself as unthreatening as possible. If she was already considered so strong as a new Wildmage, then how powerful was one with time and experience under his belt? The thought was as exciting as it was terrifying. "I am only interested in one thing and one thing only. Knowledge."

"Spoken like a true Azure. Kali was the same…" He had a faraway look in his eyes before he shook his head. "I'm not going to kill you, Arcanist. As long as you don't make a move toward me, your life is safe."

"You're really a Wildmage," Ruby breathed out, stumbling up to him with sparkling eyes. "I have so many questions! How do you handle your magic? What do you do about surges? Do you know why we're hated? How do-"

"I don't." Adam stepped away from her. "I doubt I can answer any of those. I was captured young. My mother…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "My mother noticed I had a talent for healing sick animals. Sold my services to local farmers so we could eat better. The Menagerie Collegium caught wind and I was thrown in the Sanctum the second they realised what I was. Before I even knew what I was."

Ruby's face fell. He was like Cinder. Just like Cinder. Wildmages really didn't survive long on their own. "Then you don't know anything…?"

"Only what the Sanctum Guards would tell me. Precious little."

"You can fight," Merlot noted. "And not only with magic…"

"One of the guards took pity on the prisoners. He'd teach us swordplay – said a healthy body and something to work on would keep us sane. Worked." Adam rolled one shoulder and patted the weapon at his side. "If not for his teachings, I'd be dead or mad by now. If I'm not already and dreaming up this encounter. It's been months since I've seen people." He winced. "Living people. At least I think it's been. Days are… hard to track down here. How long has it been since Menagerie fell?"

"A while, Mr Taurus. Around half a year."

"Six months. Have I really been down here that long?" He clutched his face, staring out from between his fingers.

"Six months give or take," Merlot said. "The details of dates are all quite vague now. If I may, and I do hate to interrupt, we are not safe here. The Grimm have caught the scent of Vale and are attacking en masse. If we do not leave the Archives soon, we may lose the chance to do so at all."

"Leave…? Yes. I would like that." Adam took a deep breath. "To smell the air again, feel the sun and see the moon." He cut off suddenly. "I will join you. How far is this portal of yours? Forty miles, you said. A day and a bit if we keep good pace."

"The journey is less the problem compared to the Grimm."

Adam snorted. "I've not survived out here thanks to my ability to hide from them. We will be fine."

"As you say." Merlot gave up easily. "Well in that case, I have no complaints, good sir. We can travel now if you wish it, though we will have to find somewhere to camp before arriving tomorrow. I doubt we can make the journey in a single day."

"You're this willing to accept me into your group?"

"I'm eager to survive. You will increase our chances of that. Besides, you would follow us either way. Does it not make sense for us to work together?"

"It does." Adam moved past her and stooped in a corner, picking up a pack she hadn't noticed before. It was huddled between a few others, as worn and threadbare as the clothes he wore. He turned back to them. "Let us be off then. I've no desire to stay here longer than I have to."

/-/

It was quiet.

Ruby hadn't expected chatter, but the quiet was oppressive all the same. Merlot walked in the lead while Adam trailed behind, and neither man spoke to the other. She walked in the centre of the column, hands holding the straps of her pack tight and eyes scanning every shelf. It would have been easier to float their luggage behind them but that would only attract the Grimm. In their absence, the silence between them was oppressive.

Merlot had accepted this offer way too quickly. Adam had too. While she was excited to see another Wildmage and felt a strange bond of trust with him through that – forged more from both being victims to the White's hunts than anything else – she couldn't help but think Merlot accepting Adam into their group when they knew so little about him was a bad idea. He could have been anyone. They didn't know if he was even sane.

Yes, she wanted to know more about him being a Wildmage, but Merlot didn't – and shouldn't. It was risky enough for him to be covering for her, but two would almost certainly get him caught. And yet Merlot was willing to let him.

It was strange from Adam too. Maybe he was desperate and they were the only people he'd seen in months, and maybe he felt he was strong enough not to be afraid of them as well, but he'd left what little he had behind to come with them when all they had to prove their integrity was the fact she just so happened to be a Wildmage as well.

This is like when Yang and Junior have one of their discussions and I don't know what's been agreed and what hasn't. Junior had a way with words while Yang could go cold as ice when she thought you were cheating her. Adam and Merlot may have looked like they were fine with one another, but the atmosphere was too tense for that. Merlot has power over me because he knows I need him and would be the main suspect if he died. Adam doesn't. He could kill Merlot, and no one would intervene.

On the other hand, Merlot had no reason to help Adam. He already had her to act as Grimm bait while he did his experiments and looking after two Wildmages was going to be a big risk.

Unable to handle it any longer, Ruby slowed her pace until she was walking next to the other Wildmage. With how quiet the Archives were, there was no whispering that Merlot wouldn't hear, so she chose to speak loudly instead.

"So, Adam. It sounded like the Arcanists came to respect you in the end." Ruby noticed Merlot's head tilt just a little. He was listening. "Did they look past you being a Wildmage and accept you as normal?"

"Read the traitor's diary, did you?" Adam sighed and shook his head. He didn't look tired despite the many hours they'd travelled. "There was respect, but to call it acceptance would be wrong. They found value in what I could bring. I protected them and, after a while, came to lead them. They continued to look at me like I was a wild animal, however. A trained wolf that would defend the flock, but which might snap at the slightest provocation. The traitor may have been the only one to act on his fears, but he wasn't the only one who felt them."

"Oh…" Ruby watched her feet. "I thought…"

"You thought it might be proof that things could be changed? Don't. I'm not the happy case study for you to follow. It took the complete destruction of Menagerie for them to put even the slightest trust in me – and even that didn't last. Do you think they'll side with you for any less?"

"I… I have friends among them. They would."

"Would they?" Adam stared at her but didn't argue it. "You'd know them better than I. Of course, siding with you wouldn't change anything. My mother tried to keep hold of me. She begged and cried and told the Arcanists I would never use magic again. They wouldn't listen."

At least his mother loved him. Unlike Cinder's. "Did she visit you in the Sanctum?"

"No."

"Oh… I… well, I…"

"Don't misunderstand," he said, sighing. "My mother loved me. The reason she didn't visit was because she tried to take a pitchfork to the Arcanists taking me away." His lips peeled back. "A Huntsman cut her down on the spot. The Arcanists burned her – my – home down to destroy the evidence, then dragged me away while her body burned inside."

"That's horrible!"

"The White does not falter," Adam recited, eyes ahead. "Not when it comes to killing loving mothers, innocent people or even their own. He laughed at the end. The traitor, that is. As everyone demanded answers as to why he killed them, he laughed and laughed and told everyone he'd saved them."

"Had he gone insane…?"

"Possibly. We were all a little mad by then. The Emerald tried to find a way to heal it, but whatever it was he used wasn't natural. Probably some specific poison from the White. Something that couldn't be healed by magic. It didn't affect me as it did them."

"W-Was it gentle…?"

The anger that flashed over his face suggested otherwise. Ruby was relieved when he refused to answer. "There was one among them who listened. The wife of the Grand Arcanist. Her name was Kali. Kali Belladonna."

Lowering her voice to a whisper, Ruby said, "I need to tell you something tonight."

Adam's eyes slid to her and he nodded once. Louder, and before the quiet could become suspicious, he said, "Unfortunately, the traitor killed her. My only relief is that she died quickly and without realising it."

"Were you the one who killed him?" Ruby asked, now at her normal volume. The whispering had been so quick and quiet that Merlot had surely missed it. "I saw he had a knife in him."

"No. That was one of the others. Their child was among the poisoned. I let her have the killing blow. For what little good it did. The ones you saw asleep were the lucky ones. We laid them down and the Emerald Arcana put them into a state of deep slumber. It was supposed to buy us time to find a cure but, well, that didn't happen. They died peacefully that way. Small mercies, I suppose."

"Ahem." Merlot cleared his throat loudly. "I think we should make camp here for the night. Vale is less than a day away but we're sure to come upon Grimm soon if we continue. I daresay we would fare better rested."

"Agreed, Arcanist." Adam swung his bag down.

"Good. Good. I was worried you might want to push on. Ruby, would you share some of our supplies with our new ally? I'm sure he would appreciate a change of diet. You can have some of mine."

Ruby opened her pack and looked over at Merlot curiously. "Why am I eating yours and giving mine to Adam? Wouldn't it make more sense for you to-"

"He thinks I won't take food from an Arcanist after what happened to me," Adam interrupted. "And he'd be right."

Ruby's eyes bulged. How did I not think of that? Adam saw everyone poisoned by an Arcanist who was part of the Azure. Why would he trust Merlot!?

"I'm sorry!" she said, hurrying over with her pack. "Take what you want. We have enough for tomorrow. And I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Adam grunted and sat, pulling out a wrapped package and opening it. Despite his gruff appearance and snappy attitude, his eyes lit up with joy at seeing cold beef and sauces draped over a bread roll. His hand was visibly shaking as he tore off a large chunk and chewed. It reminded her of how she'd been on arriving at the Collegium.

"Do try not to antagonise our guest," Merlot whispered to her when she came to take some food from him. "He may appear of sound mind, but we have no idea how far that goes. Even before he was trapped down here, he was locked in the Sanctum for what I assume is over a decade. That changes a person."

It hadn't Cinder. Had it? Ruby mumbled an apology and took some food, making to move away but for Merlot to catch her wrist. He leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"This will not have a happy ending, Ruby. How do you imagine us returning to the Collegium with him in tow shall end?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Even if he carries a Menagerie Arcanum, he will be questioned. Interrogated. They will know no simple Arcanist could survive down here. They will discover the truth. We can bring him out the Archives, but we can't promise him the sunlight he craves." Merlot's eyes bore into hers. "His destination is set in stone. The Sanctum awaits him."

Her heart dropped out. "But-"

"But nothing!" he hissed. "Argue on his behalf and you shall be investigated as well. Along with myself. Play along for now," he said. "Our only hope is that he hasn't realised this, or he may well kill us to escape."

"He saved those Arcanist's lives," she argued. "He's helping us."

"And I, for one, am grateful. The White Arcana will not share that sentiment, however, and any amount of arguing on our part will only draw their attention. That wouldn't matter if we had nothing to hide, but we both know that isn't the case. I'm warning you for a reason. Cause trouble and it won't only be him thrown into the Sanctum. Think on that."

/-/

Ruby offered to take the first watch. Merlot didn't find that suspicious given her anxiety the night before, and Adam accepted it thanks to her being a Wildmage. Neither would have felt comfortable with the other awake, though Ruby knew it wasn't any better for Adam her way. He rolled up under a blanket with his back to a bookcase, but she felt his eyes on her long after Merlot fell asleep.

Her experience sneaking around was useful for something, it seemed. Ruby was able to crawl over to Adam without making a sound. He still moved to sit up, but she knew it was because he'd never fallen asleep in the first place. He stood, held a finger to his lips and nodded for them to move aside. He then waved his hand toward their feet, and suddenly she could move without causing footsteps at all.

I hope this doesn't alert any Grimm…

Adam waved for her to follow and they walked a short distance away. They were still in sight of Merlot – it was too much of a risk to leave entirely – but they could whisper without being overheard.

"You said you had something for me," he said.

"Yeah. I… I think I do." Seeing his raised eyebrow, she hurried on, voice hushed. "You said Kali Belladonna, right? There's an Arcanist out in Vale who has been helping me. It's her who helped disguise me as being from Menagerie. Her name is Blake. Blake Bell-"

"Blake Belladonna. I know of her. Kali spoke of her often, always praying she might have made it out alive." Adam allowed a rare smile to appear. "That's good news. Even if she couldn't have lived long enough to find out, it's good to know her daughter lives. There's a letter in my pack," he said. "I was never sure if there was any hope, but it made Kali happier to write letters for her daughter. When she died, I took them."

"I can try and deliver them to her."

"Thank you." Adam looked back toward Merlot. "I doubt I'll be in a position to."

"Y-You overheard us…?"

"No. I don't need to have heard anything to know what will happen once we reach Vale. I'm a Wildmage. As are you. You know what awaits me, don't you?"

"The Sanctum. I've been there…"

He frowned. "As a prisoner?"

"I had a detention there." Ruby blushed as he looked even more incredulous. "There's another Wildmage in there that's a friend of mine. Her name is Cinder. I'd been visiting her before but, well, I started surging. It got detected and now Atlas is here looking for me. They've shut off the Sanctum because it plays havoc with their tracking spells." Idly, she showed him her bracelet.

"Atlas is here? That's bad news for you."

"Is it…?"

"Atlas are the most aggressive of the Collegium," Adam said. "Even though I grew up in the Sanctum for the most part, Menagerie was more… let's say `progressive` in how they treated us. We were allowed limited freedoms, to contact family and even to walk outside so long as we were monitored. It wasn't much better – we were diseased rather than criminals – but it's far more than what I've heard of Atlas."

"Atlas despises Wildmages," he said. "The Atlas Collegium is almost entirely under the control of the White Arcana. Kali told me we'd be heading to Vale because Atlas would never accept them, solely because they dared to trust me. Even as Arcanists themselves, they might all have been thrown in the Sanctum for merely being in my presence."

"Why?" she asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Your guess is as good as mine. Atlas and Menagerie had issues. That much, I heard from Kali, and she got it from her husband, the Grand Arcanist. The White's presence in Menagerie was small. Ghira wasn't even of the White, and that, I'm told, caused problems. Toward the end, Atlas had cut off trade with the Collegium. There was plenty of problems going on. They were even calling for the Shadow Arcana to be branded a forbidden Arcana."

"You know a lot…"

"Kali liked to talk about matters of home. I think it helped distract her from the fact her husband was dead and her daughter likely the same. Regardless, you need to be wary of the Atlas Arcanists. They'll stop at nothing to find you. They're ruthless. In Atlas, it's mandatory for every Arcanist to carry a white gem."

Ruby couldn't hide her shock. "They force people into the White!?"

"As I'm told. You can confirm it yourself outside." He looked back to Merlot. "But the simple fact is, I'm not going to be walking out of here a free man. We both know that. Your Arcanist does as well, which is why he's so nervous around me. Afraid I'll figure this all out and strike him down in my rage."

Adam didn't look lost to rage, nor to despair. His face was set in perfect neutrality. It was honestly all the more worrying. "Why aren't you afraid?"

"I've seen nothing but bookshelves for half a year. I would give anything to see the sun again, even if it means watching it through a window covered by bars."

He turned back to her and Ruby recoiled at the look in his eyes. He looked like a walking corpse. His eyes were flat, misty, and distant. So close, she could see the subtle signs of poor nutrition in the colour of his skin and the way his cheekbones stuck out. It hadn't been so obvious before, but Adam was a very gaunt man.

There were people in the slums who looked like him. Those that had lost everything to the floods and wandered aimlessly, waiting for the next water to take them. Yang called them `dead men walking` and said she was to stay away from them. They weren't bad people, she'd say, but those that are dead inside no longer care for the living. With nothing to live for, they weren't after of the consequences of their actions.

Cross them, and they might kill you just because they wanted to die themselves and hoped you'd fight back. Maybe Merlot had more than one reason to be afraid of Adam. Maybe she did too. It didn't make sense, then, for her to say what she did.

"Merlot wants me to let the White Arcana take you…"

"Not surprising." Adam chuckled. "It's an easy way for you to avoid detection. How did you survive the Grimm? Obviously, because I defeated them. It's a neat little excuse, don't you think?"

Ruby bit her lip. "I don't want to hand you in."

His smile fell. "Why? We're strangers but for one chance meeting."

"Because you're a Wildmage. We both are."

"And does that make us the same? Does it make us allies?"

"Yep!" If anything, it was his turn to be surprised. Ruby stuck her jaw out stubbornly. "It does. Wildmages need to stick together. Cinder helped me and I'm going to help you. We're on the same side."

"I'm on no one's side. I couldn't care less what happens to Vale. If I've brought the Grimm with me as the traitor thought, so be it. I've no reason to care about Arcanists after what they did to me and my family."

"You're on your side…"

He frowned. "That goes without saying."

"And I'm on your side," she argued, "I'm on the side of all Wildmages. Therefore, we're on the same side."

"Ha." He snorted amusedly. "What circular reasoning. You really are Azure. Tell me then, what is our side? What is our goal?"

"Freedom."

His eyebrow rose. "Freedom? And how do you intend to win us that? The White hunt us and the Collegiums bow to them. The Sanctums are prisons form which no magic can be used, even our own. What will you do? Storm the Sanctum and free those trapped within?"

"If I have to."

"You're less sound in the head than I am."

"M-Maybe I am," she snapped. "But I'm sick and tired of being afraid of all this. We're hunted down and thrown away because what, they're afraid of our power? Because we might go bad and use it against them? They're the ones who are afraid of us, yet we're the ones being locked away."

"There's strength in organisation. They have numbers, coordination and support."

"Then we'll get those things. All of them."

"All of them? You want to make a group of Wildmages working together…?" Adam crossed his arms. "That… I don't think it's been done before. As far as I know. Most Wildmages are hunted down so fervently that it's hard to even meet another as we have here, let alone build trust."

"Exactly. If we're as powerful as they say, we should be able to speak evenly with them."

"Do you think it works that way, Ruby? If two Wildmages worked together, it would only have the White Arcana driven into a frenzy. They'd come from all four remaining Collegiums, piling down on Vale to squash us."

"Then we'll have three Wildmages with Cinder. Or more."

"What you're suggesting is war."

"It's not!" she argued, struggling to stay quiet. "It's only war if they attack us-"

"Which they certainly will."

"Then we should fight back!"

"We should," he said, surprising her. "That is something I never had the opportunity to do when I was a child. It's something few Wildmages are afforded a chance at. We're taken as children and locked away for the crimes we might commit. By the time I was old enough to fight, it was already too late." He looked down on her. "But I hope you know what you're suggesting. This isn't a case of arguing with your friends. If you reveal yourself, you will be declaring war on the Collegium of Vale and every Arcanist within it. That will include your friends."

It wouldn't. Weiss and Jaune and Sun wouldn't attack her. She was sure Ren and Nora wouldn't either. Even if Weiss had joined the White Arcana, she was still her roommate and friend. It just wouldn't happen.

"Would you still be willing?" Adam asked her. "Are you prepared for what fighting means?"

"I…" If she didn't, she was only waiting to be captured and torn away from Yang forever. "Yes. I'm ready. I thought I could find a way to control my power, but the surges aren't going away. It's not going to happen, is it?"

"Surges come when we don't use our power enough. I've had months down here alone to learn that. Using my magic every day as I have, I've not experienced a surge since the moment I entered the Archives. The only reason we `surge` is because we have to withhold it to stay hidden."

Like the wild magic was fighting to come out and be used. When she had time to bleed it, it was less powerful. Less demanding. If the Collegium just made a safe place for Wildmages to let it go, accidents wouldn't happen. Who am I kidding? They don't want to help Wildmages. They want to forget we even exist.

"I'll fight," Ruby said. "I'll fight with you tomorrow."

"No." Adam shook his head with finality. Ruby opened her mouth to argue but he beat her to it, closing his hand over her lips. "Fighting tomorrow doesn't help either of us. What you will do tomorrow is stand with your Arcanist as I am taken. You will watch as I am beaten. You will cheer as I am taken prisoner. You will tell them that I threatened to kill you both if you did not pretend I was an Arcanist from Menagerie."

"Admrmm," she mumbled, trying to shake her head.

"You will do this because it will satisfy the White. Because so long as you avoid surging for a few weeks after, they will believe that all the surges that came before were my own."

Her eyes widened. The Azure Archives was technically in each Collegium, which meant that when she entered it, the bracelet showed her as being in the Collegium even if she walked days in any direction. That would work the same for Adam, wouldn't it? If he surged, then the bells would toll to detect him. That they hadn't already was because he wasn't surging and was in control of his power, but the White Arcana didn't know that.

"Under interrogation I shall tell them that I approached Vale under surge," he said. "That I tried to break through the Archives and out by lashing up toward the ceiling." He cracked a tiny smile. "I will even tell them that I felt walls shatter under my power."

Ruby dragged his hand down. "You can't!" she hissed. "You're taking the blame for everything I've done!"

"I am. If they are convinced I am the Wildmage they seek, Atlas will have no reason to stay. The curfew you spoke of will lift. You will be able to reach Blake to deliver Kali's letters, but you'll also be able to enter the Sanctum once more."

"But you'll be locked away…"

"I am going to be locked away whether or not we fight together tomorrow. As strong as we might be together, we are nothing compared to them. Yet. But if you are half as determined to see this through as you say you are, I won't be in the Sanctum long. Will I…?"

A deal. Or a test. Yang would have screamed for her to not promise anything, but Ruby already had a hand out. "You won't. I'm going to free the Wildmages. I'll get you and Cinder out. I promise!"

No combat this chapter I'm afraid, but we'll be getting a very clear idea of what a Wildmage is capable of next chapter thanks to Adam. It's worth remembering that Ruby is still very much an amateur with her power, whereas Adam has had half a year against the Grimm for practice.

Next Chapter: 12th July

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur