Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171

Cage

The world is still black when something slams into my consciousness-hard, sharp, jarring enough that for one fractured second I think I’m back home, in the cold stone room that smelled of iron and damp magic, waiting for the sound of chains. My eyes snap open, and the ceiling of my Thornhill dorm swims into place, unfamiliar and unkind, just as the door bursts inward like it’s being ripped from its hinges.

“Get up,” my father commands, voice slicing through the darkness like a blade drawn across a whetstone.

The sky outside the window hasn’t even begun to pale. And still-still-he is here, standing in my doorway, boots muddy from the courtyard, magic prickling

off him in cold, metallic waves that make my pulse stutter.

I push myself upright, blinking the sleep from my eyes. “Father-?”

“Up,” he snaps again, pacing into the room as if it belongs to him, as if everything does. “We don’t have the luxury of lying about when there is work to be

done.”

My body obeys before my mind catches up-the old habits too deeply carved into bone to resist. I stand, heart pounding, the remnants of sleep falling away under the weight of his presence. He scans the room once, dismissively, like he expected more from me, like even the air has somehow disappointed him.

“What’s going on?” I ask, though the answer flashes through me before the words finish leaving my mouth.

He doesn’t bother softening the blow. “Hill is gone.”

My stomach drops. “Cassian?”

“Don’t act surprised.” He waves a hand sharply, agitation flickering across his features. “He vanished before dawn. Left his post. His duties. His responsibilities. The moment your little siphon girl disappeared, he showed his true colours.”

The memory of yesterday crashes back so violently I have to brace myself-Allison’s scream, the burst of magic erupting through the air, the way the shadows wrapped around her like they knew her name, the moment her eyes met mine, and I felt something break open in my chest. And then she was gone. And I did nothing. And Cassian ran after her. And Rhaziel… gods, who knows what he felt when she vanished, or what he has planned for revenge.

My father is still talking. “We have a trail,” he says, tone clipped. “A faint one, but enough to begin.”

“How?” My voice is hoarse, unsteady.

He turns sharply, irritation flashing across his face. “Do not insult me with stupidity. The Archives, of course. Every student who enters Thornhill is scanned. their Core Signature recorded and stored. The imprint reacts when the student emits a resonance spike-which your siphon girl did quite spectacularly last

night.”

The air leaves my lungs. Her Core Signature-her magical fingerprint-responding to another eruption of power. My brain races. Is she in trouble? Did she have to defend herself? Is she…dead?

He continues pacing, hands clasped behind his back. “We retrieved her Core Resonance from the Archive records and initiated a Pulse. It gives us a bearing. it’s directional, not precise. She is somewhere to the northwest, toward the wilderness. The Pulse will guide us until her resonance dips below threshold”

“And then?” I whisper.

His eyes narrow as if I’ve missed something obvious. “Then you refine it.”

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hu, Jan

Chapter 171

My throat tightens. “Me?”

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“Yes, you.” He steps closer, the shadows bending with him. “You carry a bond. Weak, perhaps, because you were foolish enough not to claim it when you had the chance, but present nonetheless. If only you had proved yourself useful enough to complete the bond, then we would have a better tracker, but you will have to do as is. Once the Enforcers reach the Pulse’s quadrant, you will feel her more clearly than any spell. You will lead them directly to her.”

A rush of heat filled with anger, panic and guilt surges through me. “Father, I don’t think-

He cuts me off with a look that freezes blood. “Do not finish that sentence. Whatever softness has taken root in you, rip it out. She is not a girl. She is not your friend. She is not your burden. She is a weapon with power our warfront hasn’t seen in years. If you insist on treating her like something delicate, perhaps I should remind you what happens to things that disappoint me.”

His magic flares and for a moment the room feels smaller, like the walls are bending inward, like the air itself remembers the shape of the cage he kept me in as a child-cold iron bars that dug crescents into my palms when I tried to climb them, spells laced through every hinge so I could never break free, the echo of his voice telling me obedience is survival.

He steps closer, his voice soft and venomous. “Do not forget, Cage. Sentiment has never served you. But discipline? Pain? Those made you what you are. And

I can refresh those lessons if necessary.”

A tremor runs through me, small but impossible to hide.

“I understand,” I manage, forcing the words through numb lips.

“Good.” He turns toward the door, cloak flaring behind him. “The Enforcers are waiting at the gate. You leave immediately.”

He pauses, glancing over his shoulder one last time.

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