The kneeling soldier's eyes went wide, staring at the wall of ice a hand's width from his face.
Behind him, all down the line, dozens of heads turned in the same direction, toward the point where that wall had appeared, desperately trying to understand who, or what, had just saved them.
"Up there!" someone shouted, and as if moving in unison, they all lifted their heads, their gazes landing on the figure of a man who had appeared above the area without anyone noticing his arrival.
The captain's gaze snapped toward him, and his eyes fixed on the emblem on the man's chest, a flash of recognition hit him instantly.
It was the emblem of the Awakener Academy.
It was Victor Blackwood, the instructor tasked with leading Selena's group here.
