Tereza Celestara stood at the edge of the healing chamber, watching the broken body of Alexander Vancial laid upon the pristine bed.
His breathing was shallow, his skin pallid from blood loss, and even in unconsciousness, his fingers twitched as if grasping at something unseen.
Her first thought was cold and detached. He is lucky to be alive after entering the wilderness.
Many before him had tried, and none had returned. The Bianzion Forest did not allow the weak to leave. Yet, somehow, Alexander had crawled back from the abyss of death.
Tereza had been the one to bring him back.
She had found him, barely alive, at the outskirts of the academy grounds, his body riddled with wounds, his face a mask of agony even as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
She had wasted no time, summoning the academy's best healers and reporting his condition to the Vancial family.
