Chapter 48. The Promised Day - Final Part
Footsteps crunched in the snow outside Xerkes' walls. Back and forth, back and forth, leaving messy tracks in the pristine white.
"What do I do what do I do what do I DO?!"
Sam's voice cracked on the last word. He kept pacing, hands buried in his hair, completely ignoring the fact that it was way past curfew and that standing outside in the snow wearing only his academy uniform was probably not the smartest idea he'd had today.
Not that this day had seen many smart ideas to begin with.
"Sam." Eren's voice came from where he sat on a fallen log, somehow managing to look both concerned and done with this shit. "You need to calm-"
"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" Sam spun toward his friend, arms flailing. "How am I supposed to calm down?! There are soldiers about to get their faces kicked in by Commander Arthur! ARTHUR SYLLA! You know, Adom's dad? The guy leading the freaking Iron wolves?!"
"That's a bi-"
"And Adom's probably in trouble right now and it's all my fault and what if he dies and then his dad kills everyone and then kills me and then brings me back to kill me again and-" Sam's voice rose with each word until it was practically a squeak.
A chunk of snow fell from a nearby tree. Sam jumped about three feet in the air.
"You're being dramatic," Eren said, in the tone of someone who knew perfectly well that pointing this out wouldn't help but felt compelled to try anyway.
"I'm being REALISTIC!" Sam resumed his pacing, leaving even messier tracks in the snow. "This is bad. This is so bad. This is the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of bad things happening."
Another chunk of snow fell. This time Sam didn't even flinch, too busy having his breakdown to notice.
"Okay, but consider this," Eren said, brushing snow off his coat. "Standing out here freezing our asses off isn't helping anyone."
Sam sighed, shoulders slumping. "I know. I know, but I just- I can't calm down. I tried everything to get to Merris. Everything. But with all this chaos..." He gestured vaguely at nothing. "I couldn't even get near him. And now? When Adom needs us the most? It might be too late."
"Where's Aunty Maria? She was supposed to be here an hour ago," Sam said, checking his pocket watch again.
"Maybe something delayed her?" Eren suggested.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Sam shook his head. "She promised she'd come as soon as she got my message. If something's keeping her away..." He trailed off, kicking at the snow. "We can't just sit here doing nothing."
"So what do we do? Create some chaos? Get the council's attention?"
Sam's head snapped up. "No. We need to go to the meeting itself." He started pacing again, but slower now, thinking. "I couldn't reach Merris because I had no idea where he was these past few days. But now? Now I know exactly where he is. In the council."
"Wait." Eren's voice went up an octave. "You want to disrupt the council?"
Sam let out a laugh that sounded a bit unhinged even to his own ears. Then, "Fuck. Yeah. Yeah, I do."
Eren's eyes went wide.
"I know it's crazy, but-"
"Oh no, I'm not surprised by your idea. I mean, I am - it's completely insane. The highest graded mages in the empire are there. The Archmage himself is there. But..." Eren shook his head. "I'm more surprised you just swore. I've never heard you curse before."
Sam blinked. "I... right." He ran a hand through his snow-dusted hair. "Only that idiot Adom gets me like this. All the crazy stuff he gets himself into..."
"Like what?"
"Did I tell you some people tried to abduct us? In broad daylight? In the middle of the city, with everyone around?" Sam's voice rose again. "They were ready to kill us too!"
"Well, he did kind of start a war between two prominent factions in the Undertow." Eren scratched his head. "Which then escalated into an all-out war with multiple factions, from what I heard."
"Of fucking course he did." Sam threw his hands up. "What the fuck is wrong with this guy?"
"Look, I'm not a student here. Maybe I could-" Eren started.
"We're all going." Sam's voice had that tone. The one that meant his mind was made up, consequences be damned.
"All?"
Sam pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time. "I told the club members everything. They're helping us." He snapped the watch shut. "They'll be here in about twenty minutes. Then we're getting to the council, guards or no guards, and telling Merris what's happening."
"And if Merris can't do anything?" Eren shifted on the log. "I mean, yeah, he's the headmaster, but there are way more powerful mages in there. The council isn't exactly known for listening to-"
"Adom told me something the last time we talked." Sam stopped pacing, looking at the academy's towers rising against the night sky. "He said if anyone would listen about a student of this academy being in danger, it would be Merris." He shoved his hands in his pockets, shoulders set. "We have to try. That's all we can do."
Thirty minutes later, the wind had picked up. Snow whirled through the air, obscuring the academy's towers. Sam hadn't stopped pacing.
"THE IRON WOLVES ARE AT THE GATES!"
The shout cut through the howling wind. A man ran past, repeating the warning to anyone who'd listen. Sam's breath caught in his throat. His hands were shaking - from cold or fear, he couldn't tell anymore. Everything felt wrong. The snow. The wind. The screaming. His heart beating too fast.
Adom could be dying right now.
The thought hit him like a physical blow. His friend could be dying, and here he was, standing in the snow, doing nothing. What if they were too late? What if they couldn't reach Merris? What if they did reach him and he couldn't help? What if-
"Psst!"
Sam spun around. Through the swirling snow, he made out several figures at the gates. The barrier flickered, partially disabled. Phil's grinning face emerged from the darkness, followed by Petra, Clyde, Diana and the others.
"You guys!" Sam ran toward them, snow crunching under his feet. "You're late!"
"Sorry!" Phil rubbed the back of his head. "The wards were trickier than we thought. Petra had to-"
"Thank you." Sam cut him off, looking at each of them in turn. "Really, I... thank you for-"
His eyes met Damus'.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Sam looked away. "I just..."
Damus scoffed. "We should move. Before it's too late."
"Hey-" Phil squinted through the snow at Eren. "You're Adom's friend, right? From that time at the-"
"Hi," Eren replied quietly.
"Oh yeah!" Diana perked up, adjusting her scarf. "I remember you!"
"You should come too!" Petra said, already moving to include him in their huddle against the wind.
"Guys," Clyde cut in, breath fogging in the cold, "maybe we save the introductions for when we're not about to freeze solid?"
"He's right," Jenny said, but she was smiling. "We've got a council to crash."
Despite everything - the blizzard, the danger, the fear clawing at his chest - Sam felt something warm in his chest. These people had come. They'd actually come.
"Let's go save that idiot," Damus muttered, already moving toward the academy proper.
They fell in behind him, a strange group of kids about to do something incredibly stupid. But they were together. Maybe that would be enough.
It had to be enough.
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