Nobody spoke on the walk back to the trail marker.
The soldiers moved in tight formation around the students, weapons still drawn, eyes constantly flicking toward the trees like they expected the ground itself to open up again. Victor walked near the back of the group, replaying the last few minutes in his head. The Guardian's sword locked against a claw the size of a car door. The chamber shuddering. Red eyes that had looked at him and decided, in an instant, that he mattered more than anything else in that room.
He still didn't know why.
Caleb fell into step beside him, unusually quiet for once. "You gonna tell me what that thing was?"
"No."
"Come on, man."
"I don't actually know," Victor admitted. "That's not me holding out on you. I really don't know."
Caleb studied him for a moment, then apparently decided to believe it. "Okay. But when you do find out, I get to hear it before anyone else."
"Sure."
"I'm serious."
"I said sure."
