"You met with Aria?"
Isabella nearly choked on her breakfast pastry. The morning after Melisa's talk, she and her friends were huddled in one of the academy courtyard's corners, early morning sun barely peeking through the clouds.
"Don't act so surprised," Melisa rolled her eyes. "She might be queen now but she's still the same Aria who helped us take down the Shadow Mages. Besides, someone had to do something about these attacks and, well, who better to go to than the ruler of Syux herself?"
"And?" Raven leaned forward. "What did she say?"
Melisa glanced around before lowering her voice.
"She wants to work together. Quietly, though. I mean, with everything that's going on, being too close to a nim would probably be a bad look to all the humans in the city."
"Politics," Isabella snorted. "You'd think saving the kingdom would earn you some public credit."
