He stood tall, one hand casually gripping the reins of the flying beast, his other raised to his lips as he whistled once more, grinning down at the scene below. His black cloak flapped in the wind, and the blood and dust from earlier battles still clung to his figure, yet he looked as though the events that had nearly claimed his life were no more than a warm-up.
Whispers began to ripple through the ranks of soldiers and students alike.
"Is that... Adrian?"
"He's alive?"
"The hero?"
"He returned!"
"I thought he died in the explosion!"
The soldiers, still reeling from the destruction of the barrier, couldn't believe their eyes. The tension in the air, thick and suffocating moments ago, lightened with the sudden reappearance of the boy who had dared to charge headlong into the heart of the enemy.
However, not everyone welcomed Adrian's return.
