Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196

Cassian

Shadow-travelling is… wrong. Every instinct in my body recoils from the sensation the way the world folds inward, the way gravity slides sideways, the way breath and time suspend in one shared, suffocating moment. It feels like being dismantled and rebuilt between heartbeats, like my bones forget how to exist and then snap back into place a fraction too late. And then the world slams back around me. Cold air. Damp earth. The metallic tang of old blood. The Wall. My boots hit soil that remembers me. The ground here has soaked up too much violence to ever forget the shape of men like me. Memories hit like thrown stones – the screaming, the fires, the bodies piled after each assault, the stench of burning magic and burnt-out siphons, the endless roar of Council horns demanding another wave of soldiers. My hands curl into fists before I can stop them. But the strangest part? There’s nothing here. No camps. No command tents. No sharpened barricades. No rows of soldiers chanting the Council’s will like a hymn. Just the Wall. Grey. Immovable. Ancient. Stretching into the clouds like a scar carved between realms. And forest. Thick, silent forest. It feels wrong. Too quiet. Too empty. The enemy was supposed to be relentless – swarming, savage, chaotic. But there is no chaos here. No rebel soldiers are attacking. No rebels screaming war cries. Only trees. Only quiet. Only… peace, in the place I thought incapable of it. One by one, bodies materialise around me as the shadow-travel finishes. Kael stumbles out with a curse about his hair. Evander lands lightly, already assessing terrain. Rynor and Tessa step from darkness as though born of it. And Rhaziel arrives with Allison beside me like the world itself formed her from shadow and dawnlight. I take one step closer without thinking. It’s instinct, reflex, need. The Wall took everything from me once. I’m not letting it take anything from her.

A sharp whistle cuts through the trees, and every head snaps up. My hand reaches for a weapon I’m no longer supposed to carry. But the sound isn’t quite right… It’s not a bird or an animal. It’s a signal. Rhaziel senses it too. Shadows ripple at his feet. Something moves between the trees, flowing through the forest like smoke. A figure breaks from the brush, dressed head to toe in camouflage netting, face painted in ash and greens, eyes sharp and intelligent. Rebellion. He raises two fingers in a quick coded gesture. Rhaziel answers with one I’ve never seen fluid, ancient, unmistakably royal.

The figure steps closer, bows his head once, brisk and practised. “King. You’re early.”

Rhaziel lifts one brow. “You’re late.”

The man huffs. “Traffic at the border. And by traffic, I mean patrols who don’t know how to mind their godsdamn business.” His gaze flicks behind Rhaziel to the rest of us. He freezes on me for a beat, assessing, reading-whatever he sees makes his brows rise. Then he nods toward the trees. “Come. Away from

the Wall. Quickly.”

He whistles once, soft, and three more figures melt out of the foliage around him, all camouflaged, all alert, all watching us with the kind of readiness the Council always claimed rebels didn’t have. Allison takes a slow step forward. Her shadows curl tight/to her ankles, but her chin lifts, steady. As she moves, my hand twitches. I follow her automatically. The guide turns and starts deeper into the woods. ‘No hesitation. No fear. No wasted movement. A soldier, a real one, but not Council-trained, not Council-broken. Something old and cold coils in my stomach.

“Cassian, Allison murmurs, her voice low enough to be for me alone. “You okay?”

No. This is the last place in any realm where I should feel steady. But she’s here. So-

“I’m fine,” I lie smoothly. “Stay close.”

Her eyes soften with worry, warmth, something like trust, and it does something violent to my chest. We move. The forest shifts with us. No birdsong. No wind. Just the soft crunch of our footsteps and the faint glimmer of sigils glowing on Allison’s and Rhaziel’s skin. Every so often, the guide lifts a hand, signalling us to stop, listen, and wait. No noise. No movement. Then-

“Clear,” he whispers, and we press on.

I keep Allison in my periphery the entire time. Evander flanks her left. Kael stays half a step behind, more serious than I’ve ever seen him. Tessa walks with the confidence of someone who absolutely does not understand the danger she’s in. Rynor keeps one hand around her upper arm like she might sprint face- first into a trap. And Rhaziel…Rhaziel walks like he owns the forest. Like the shadows bow to him. Like the rebellion should fear him and worship him in equal measure. We break through a line of trees onto a small ridge and my breath catches. Below us, tucked into the terrain so perfectly it might as well be

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17:23 Thu, Jan 1

Chapter 196

ETTA

part of the earth itself, is a hidden encampment, nothing like the Council’s sprawling militant monstrosities. This one is quiet. Self-contained. Efficient. Smoke hidden. Tents camouflaged. Ward sigils carved into bark and stone. People moving with purpose, not panic…This isn’t chaos. This isn’t savagery. This is an organisation. A community. Defense. Strategy. Everything the Council said the rebellion lacked. Everything the Council lied about. My heart thuds-and then drops entirely when eyes from the camp lift toward us. They see Rhaziel first, then Allison. Then the rest of us.

The guide lifts his arm. “They’re with me!”

Several figures nod and return to their duties, but some continue staring – lingering too long on Allison, longer still on me. I square my shoulders. If they want her, they’ll have to kill me first. Rhaziel glances over, as if hearing the thought. His tail flicks once in amused approval and we descend into the camp.

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