A few days in theory, shouldn't really seem that long.

How many 'a few days' have I already lived through that were nonconsequential, boring, nothing to talk about days? I probably went days before without evening thinking of the fact that days were passing. Even here, in The Hub, the first week plus some flew by without barely a second thought.

But these few days...

Knowing that the special groups had left to confront a very likely hostile werewolf pack was bad enough. Being the only one who knew, was even worse. Being the only one who knew my friends were out there battling a pack of werewolves was painful. I spent every second worrying, then pretending not to be worrying so no one would ask why I was worried, and then worrying that I looked like I was trying not to look like I was worrying.

I wanted to ask someone how often we lost Custodes in battle, but it seemed like a loaded question, and also like something that would only stress me out even more if the answer was a big number. Being honest with myself, even if I was told one Custode dies a year, I'd still be stressed. If that one that died was one of my friends, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

I can't imagine continuing this without Maxum, or Bryn, or Opall, or Tonyedda, or Oliver. They were my friends. They were the ones I started this whole journey with. Without them, I wouldn't even be here.

One bad thing about having friends is all the worry that comes with them. It was so much easier when it was just me and Tawny. She was hard enough to look out for as it was. I felt this deep need in me to be able to protect everyone I loved, even knowing it wasn't possible.

As if the stress of worrying wasn't enough though, I had Oliver in general to think about.

I should stay away from him.

I should ignore him.

I should tell him no.

I should focus all of my energies into being the best Newb in this class and kicking my final's butts. It was so much easier said than done though. I tossed and turned every night thinking about his offer. The one he's assured me would still be open should I change my mind about going with him.

The temptation was beyond strong. I could see everything. The whole of it, all of the realms at my fingertips. I could actually experience them instead of reading about them. I wanted that. So badly. But I also didn't want to get in trouble. If we were meant to visit multiple realms in our lifetimes, we all would. We don't though. I should consider myself lucky to have seen two.

But, Gods, every time I'd decided to be mature and stick to what I said to Oliver the last time I saw him, the more I'm torn up. All the reasons I should go just battle the reasons I shouldn't over and over until it's time to get out of bed again.

I could see Tawny again.

I bet she's worried about me too, after the way I left so quickly. I bet she'd be so happy to see me, almost as happy as me. I know I can't though. Oliver said it himself that it was illegal and that he'd stolen the talisman. That wasn't something I needed to be mixed up in.

That's it.

It's decided.

I am not going under any circumstances.

"Um, Mal-pal?"

I jerk to the side, looking up at Yael where he is standing beside my seat. "Huh? Yeah?"

Yael looks around the nearly empty classroom and then back down at me. "Class is over." He points out. "You coming to lunch or planning to stay here contemplating life a bit longer? Because I can wait if you're not done." He grins.

I roll my eyes and gather up my things. My body is stiff from sitting so long and I really hope nothing important happened in class today since I'm pretty sure I was asleep during class with my eyes open. I stretch, wishing for the millionth time that these Newb jumpsuits were a little less constricting. I almost laugh at myself for the thought. I used to have hardly anything to wear and no shoes, now I'm complaining about not having enough range of motion in my outfits and multiple pairs of shoes.

I stop myself before I add forgetting where I came from as a pro for why I should go back, and turn to Yael instead. "Thanks for waiting."

"Any and every time." He grins cheerily, practically skipping up the hall. "Hey Paulie," He waves to a boy on one side of the hall and then runs to hug a girl on the opposite side. "See you later, Kathlyn."

I don't know when I'll stop being impressed. Every day it seems that Yael has managed to make more and more friends around here. Before long he won't even need me anymore.

"When you get looks like that," Yael pokes me in the cheek. "It makes me wish I could still read people. I miss that."

"How did it work?" I ask, looping my arm with his.

He looks down, smiling reminiscently. "It was easy, just second nature." He says. "I'd see colors of the emotion the person was feeling, and I could tell how people reacted to me."

"That sounds cool." I nudge him with my arm. "What color would I be?"

I watch him curiously, but he thinks longer than I'd thought he'd have to. Especially for him. Yael rarely thinks too long before he speaks. The lines of his smile weaken slowly and he looks up the hallway. "I take it back," he says after a beat. "I don't miss it that much."

I feel his mood shift. Not in some weird magical ability type of way, but just in that he is my friend and I'm tuned into him enough to know that something is wrong. "Do you want to talk about it?" I take a chance and ask, knowing I hate it when people say it to me, but thinking he might actually want to.

For a second I think he's going to ignore the question, but then he looks at me with a frown. "It's just, I didn't have a whole lot of friends back home. It was kind of hard, actually. I didn't have it like you do. Everyone loves you without you even trying a little bit."

I stop so suddenly that with our linked arms I almost cause him to fall back on his butt. "What the heck are you talking about?" I demand, putting my hands on me hips. "Me? I've got it easy?" I almost laugh except that it's entirely too ridiculous. "You walk in here and instantly have a ton of friends. Everyone loves you around here."

Yael shrugs his shoulders. "That may be close to true-."

"-Totally true."

"-here, but at home, I could sense everyone. Like every person I came in contact with. I knew exactly how they were feeling around me, and I guess I tried so hard to change their color to pink that I'd being acting even more crazy and turning them even more grey or red than before."

I don't believe a place where Yael isn't adored, but I give in anyway. "What do pink and red and grey mean?"

Yael rubs his elbow, looking away. "Red and grey are varies degrees of annoyance or anger. Basically what I made every person feel." He sighs and I think about forcibly putting the smile back on his face. "Pink is happy, or interested."

I take a second to see things from his side, and finally I agree with him. I guess if I could physically see how every person felt about me, it would be hard. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around people openly disliking my best friend, and I do consider wrapping my hands around their throats, but I smile at him instead. "You know what?" I ask and he shrugs one shoulder. "I would always be pink. The pinkest girl in all the realm. I'd be shining like a pink beacon of light for how much I love you."

Yael's jaw unhinges just a touch and a whole long three seconds pass before he lunges at me, squeezing me in a hug so tight you'd never know the boy hasn't worked out a day in his life. "I love you too, bestie." He squeezes even tighter and I have to swat at his back to make him realize I require oxygen for survival. "You were my first real friend."

I want to say it back, but my memory of Tawny keeps it from happening. "Besties for the restie." I roll my eyes, saying it low enough so that only he hears me. Not that I have an issue with anyone knowing Yael is my best friend, but his terms are a little much for me to scream to the roof tops the way he does.

We let the mushiness go and I walk with him to lunch with a newfound respect for him. It hurts my heart in my chest to know he was unliked before coming here, and so it only warms it that much more every time he stops to talk to someone. All the jealousy is gone

"I agree, it is weird." Bob toys with the ends of his hair, pushing his empty tray away. "It's so much quieter."

I snort a laugh. "Yeah without Brynlynn here to help Yael fight for total domination of the conversation." I poke him in the ribs.

"All of them really." Yael nods. "Except Oliver. I don't miss that guy. But the rest I do." He smiles. "What do you think they are up to?"

I hate when this subject comes up.

"Maybe they got in trouble." Bob suggests.

"Doubtful." Noah disagrees. "Probably just busy. They have jobs and lives too."

Yael rolls his violent eyes. "Maybe, but I don't know. I mean, they were having to do so much extra stuff before and then now they just aren't here?"

"Maybe their schedules changed again and we just don't cross paths with them." Bob points out an easy option. "The Hub is a pretty giant place. You could easily not run into someone around here if your schedules weren't similar."

I nod along with it, pretending to really love my sandwich even though it's fish and after all of my time spent in the Ring, I no longer like fish when I've had so many other way better things now. Like cake, and tacos, and chips, oh and Cajun salted peanuts...

"Earth to Mali?"

"Oh, what?" I say around a mouthful.

Noah just stares blankly forward. "I asked where you think they are. It's mostly your group except for Iris. Have you heard anything?"

Why did she have to ask me directly? No I've got to lie.

In my head I say, 'Oh they just went to wage war against werewolves, should be back soon and then I'm going to not realm hop with Oliver even though he offered.'

Outside of my head though, I just shrug, deciding a body movement is better than a blatant to your face lie. Thank the gods, they accept it as a form of adding to the conversation and eventually talk of the others is dropped entirely and replaced by talk of who will be the first to fall out at training.

After a long day of waiting for the Custodes to come back, I'm happy to finally fall into the gym. Serge lets me do my training with the other Newbs while my group is gone, which is really me working out solo and giving pointers to others where I can, but I take this over having nothing to do at all. Plus, it's kind of fun to watch Yael try to spare. There is a major difference between the skill levels of the Newbs in this training session versus the Custodes I've been training with. I don't know how Serge is going to turn this group into something a little more presentable in just a few more short weeks.

"I can tell what you're thinking," Serge walks up behind me. "and that's why I'm the best. I'll have these Newbs ready to kick your ass in no time."

I roll my eyes at the jab. "They can try." I laugh but a loud ringing in my ears and flashing white light from two corners of the gym ceiling silence me instantly. "What's going on?" I ask, my heart in my throat. "Serge?" He brushes by me and the ringing stops, the lights too.

Everyone in the gym is looking to Serge, but his face is ashen. He raises a hand to his chest. "Everyone please go to your rooms. Training is over for the day." His voice is low, not like the yell he usually speaks in. Confusion and worry makes all of the others move, but I'm frozen still.

"Serge, what's going on?" I ask him again, but he pushes by me, heading for the doors himself.

"Go, Malikah."

"No," I jump in his way, squaring my shoulders as I block his path. "Tell me, please."

My mind runs through so many worst case scenarios that I just need for him to tell me I'm worried over nothing and that everything is fine. I know it isn't though.

"That is a direct order." I can tell he's trying to muster up the strength to deal with me, but his eyes are on the door still. "Go."

"No." I tell him again. "I know something's wrong...and...well, you owe me." I finally spit out. "Tell me."

His dark eyes snap to mine and his mouth forms a hard line. "You really are learning to not fight fair, aren't you?" He asks dryly, then grabs my arm, tugging me along behind him. "I assume you've guess the groups aren't here?" He asks and I nod. "The bells mean they've returned."

I breathe a sigh of relief I hadn't meant to be holding. "Really? They're back?"

Serge pulls me to the doors leading out into the main entrance of The Hub. I can see a small crowd of people waiting in the large space to welcome the groups back, but Serge doesn't let me go in with him. He turns and looks down at me and sighs. "Not all of them."

My heart stops beating. "What?" I gasp breathlessly. "What do you..?"

The question dies off in my mouth as he marches away. I know I'm not meant to be here, but I catch the door before it closes and I peek out.

I hold my breath as the front door opens.

Tonyedda comes in first, followed by two more men from my group, then Brynlynn. I check them all off in my mind as I see the familiar faces. Opall and Oliver walk in next, followed by a handful more people, each looking more upset as they come in until finally my mind starts screaming at me about who I haven't seen yet.

Maxum.

I fight back the part of me who knows I shouldn't, but I walk into the room. Oliver's face is the first one I see and as his eyes linger on my face, I see the way he's holding his composure, a tiny tick in his jaw and a tightness to his eyes.

No, no, no.

The doors open again and three more people file into the room, three girls all crying.

My heart pitches forward at the large hand that grabs the door, walking in last.

I want to scream in joy that he's here, alive, and alright, but he's not alright.

Not at all.

Maxum's face is crumpled, tears running down the long planks of his cheeks.

"Oh no." I whisper.

"Hey!" Someone spots me. "You shouldn't be here."

"I'll escort her out." Oliver steps away from the others, pushing me hard back out the doors. "You need to go. Run."

"What?" I blink up at him, his face is smeared in something...dirt. I recognize the dirt...but also the flaky dried red stuff.

He takes two deep breaths and calms his frantic expression. "Mali, you need to go. If the leaders see you out here you'll be punished. Go."

He pushes again but I fight. "Iris?" I ask, already knowing the answer. Maxum's beautiful girl friend with the striking red hair and then sweet smile. He doesn't speak, only shakes his head. "Oh my gods."

Oliver's breath hitches and he looks down as his shoulders curl in just a hair. "Courtlyn too." I gasp and he nods once, a confirmation. "We lost Courtlyn and Iris both."