Theo's breath hitches.
A dungeon. No way!
He suddenly gets up, startling his teammates.
Before anyone can ask what's wrong, Theo turns to Julian, his expression sharp and serious.
"Jules, do you have a way of detecting mana out here?" Theo asks. "I mean with your gadget. The one that screamed about one hundred percent purity."
His tone is urgent. No room for jokes. No room for delay.
Julian blinks, confused, but nods anyway. "Yeah. It's called Arcatherm. It's a simple device used to detect heartstone purity, but apparently it also reads Teacher Theo's mana."
Theo nods immediately, like he already expected that answer.
"Okay. Do you have it here? In your lab?" Theo presses.
"The lite version," Julian answers.
"It should be good enough," Theo says. "Let's go."
Everyone moves at once, following Julian toward his lab.
"Thea," Arthur asks as they walk, keeping his voice calm even though his eyes are searching Theo's face. "What's wrong?"
