School life across the colony and in the academy moved on like nothing had happened.
Training sessions still ran every morning and classes still went on with lectures about theory, control, and history that most students slept through and tagged as boring. The Oval Academy didn't slow down for near-death experiences with a Skavvern or alien invasions. It never had, really.
Ares had been gone for two days, and Axel counted the time without meaning to. Two days gone, and now he had eighteen days left.
Rick didn't know any of that. He sat across from Axel in the cafeteria, laughing loudly as he shoved food into his mouth like he always did. Same smile with the same nervousness.
If anyone looked at him, they'd never guess he had almost died once already and was living on borrowed time.
Kinsey sat with them too. She had been having lunch with them ever since Ares left. In a way, she was avoiding him because of the kind of energy he gave off.
