The atmosphere inside the Elemental Extraction Skiff remained thick with the shock of Lila's slap, but Adrian quickly suppressed the novelty to focus on the immediate threat. He sat opposite Lila, his silver eyes still analyzing her with that new, amused intensity.
"The Shadow Council will immediately assume failure and redirect their assets," Adrian stated, ignoring the antiseptic smell of the Beta team cleaning the corrosive residue from his armor. "They will move to secure loose ends."
He tapped a command into the skiff's polished, runic control panel. The magical engines hummed loudly as the craft shifted its trajectory.
"Where are we going?" Lila asked, her voice still rough from the frantic yell. She felt a deep, exhausted weariness, but the sight of Adrian's silver eyes—no longer burning red—gave her the clarity to focus on the map.
"We are addressing the first critical piece of intelligence you delivered," Adrian replied. "You escaped because a Beta risked their status to provide you with a route and a secondary cache. That level of organized assistance is a direct challenge to the Trial's integrity and, therefore, a threat to the Academy's stability."
He paused, a dark satisfaction curling his lip. "The Shadow Council will be looking for your Beta accomplice now. We need to secure her before they extract information we would prefer to keep within the confines of my research."
Lila's heart leaped. "Elara! You know where she is?"
"Your initial emergency supplies included tracking sigils, Assistant. Basic Beta protocol," Adrian said dismissively. "She is currently at a private dorm at the Northern Academy Wing, filing a report of 'unexpected food spoilage' to justify her movements. Standard, clumsy misdirection."
The skiff dropped rapidly, descending toward a complex of granite buildings nestled in the foothills—the sprawling Northern Academy campus.
The skiff landed silently in a concealed, runic docking bay beneath the Northern Wing. Adrian didn't wait. He moved with the quiet, devastating speed of a true predator.
"You will remain with the Beta security detail, Lila," Adrian commanded, his voice brooking no argument.
"No," Lila countered, grabbing the edge of the open ramp. "I will go with you. She saved my life and put her trust in me. She will not trust you if you just drag her out. I need to explain."
Adrian stopped. His silver eyes met hers, and he hesitated—a rare concession that Lila realized was a direct result of the recent slap. He was assessing her emotional commitment to the data point (Elara).
"Fine," Adrian conceded, his voice clipped. "But any deviation, any attempt to run, and I will secure you both with extreme prejudice."
They moved through the pristine corridors, Adrian's armor and Aura cutting a jarring contrast to the quiet, academic atmosphere.
They found Elara in a small, deserted records room, frantically shuffling through data slates. She looked pale and terrified, but she maintained her composure until she saw Lila.
"Lila! You're alive!" Elara whispered, relief washing over her face, followed by immediate, paralyzing fear when she saw the True Blood Alpha behind her. "Alpha Wolfhart, I... the food spoilage was legitimate. I assure you."
"Your attempts at deception were mediocre, Beta Elara," Adrian stated, his voice flat. "But your intent was to save the Omega under my claim. An act of unexpected loyalty that warrants a reprieve."
"Elara," Lila stepped forward, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Harry set a trap. The Shadow Council is hunting us. Adrian is... extracting me for my safety. You need to come with us now."
Elara stared from Lila's earnest face to Adrian's cold, intense silver eyes. She saw the raw, terrifying power in the Alpha, but she also saw the faint scorch marks on Lila's wrists where the tape had been. She saw that Lila was still arguing with the Alpha, not submitting.
"I trust you, Lila," Elara whispered, closing her ledger. "But I need one thing first."
She quickly pulled a small, innocuous wooden pendant from beneath her tunic—the same type of pendant that Adrian had given to his original Beta crew, marking them as his protected assets.
"I need the protection, Alpha," Elara stated, holding out the wooden charm. "Not just for myself, but for my family who rely on me."
Adrian took the pendant. He didn't use a verbal spell or a rune. He simply held it in his hand, and his True Blood Aura flooded the small piece of wood. It instantly absorbed the energy, glowing faintly with a powerful, silver-blue sheen—a mark of immediate, potent protection.
"The claim is validated," Adrian stated, handing it back. "You will be escorted to my private estate. You will be safe, and you will work directly for my primary Asset."
With Elara safely handed over to Adrian's Beta guards, Adrian and Lila returned to the skiff. The sense of urgency had increased.
"The Shadow Council will realize their lure failed in less than an hour," Adrian said, turning to Lila. "They will know you are the key to their failure, and they will retaliate by hitting me where it hurts the most—data, and political infrastructure."
He smiled, a cold, dangerous expression that promised destruction. "We are not going back to the Academy. We are going to make a statement."
The skiff shot out of the docking bay, ascending rapidly into the dusk sky.
"Where are we going now?" Lila asked, strapping herself into the nearest safety harness.
"To the Fifth Sector Data Repository," Adrian explained, his silver eyes fixed on the horizon, already calculating the coming attack. "The Shadow Council uses that site to funnel corrupted influence into the Academy's governance. They expect me to protect my life, I will instead prioritize the security of my political structure."
He looked at Lila, the memory of her slap clearly still fresh, overriding his cold logic with a hint of dark fascination.
"You proved your loyalty with intelligence, not compliance," Adrian noted. "Now, I need you to prove your worth in the field. When we arrive, I need you to identify the specific magical data nodes compromised by the Shadow Council. You are the counter-magic, you will show me where to strike."
The skiff accelerated with a powerful, magical surge, heading straight toward the massive, industrial center of the sprawling Academy territories—a place of pure, unprotected political power.