The monumental shift in her tonality - the woman asked for help - frightened Florian more than anything else that happened that evening. He strode toward her, ready to catch her if she fell.

  “What’s wrong? Ankle? Do you need to sit? I can run for the nurse?”

  She started slurring her words. “I-I’ll be fine. The thing at the earlier place when I swung my other thing felt ripped down where food swallows…”

  Florian’s heart skipped a beat. He knew nothing about sicknesses of the brain but the combination of slurred words plus nonsense sentences bode ill in any circumstance.

  “Come on, Madeline, give me your hand,” Florian urged gently but firmly. He didn’t wait for her to hold it out, she flexed her hand and he took that as assent. She stood rooted in place. He took her hand and slung it over his shoulder, crouching slightly to adjust her grip. “Okay, we’re going to walk now. I know exactly where to go.”

  “I you make take my metal to brain brain,” Madeline replied, slumping against his side. Her eyes were open though, and her force of will wouldn’t allow her to fully succumb to whatever the fuck ailed her.

  “Save your energy, Madeline, focus on walking. We’ll get you right.”

  They took the first agonizing step toward the nurses office. Florian held an internal debate on whether or not he should sit Madeline down and make a run for the nurse. Surely, he’d be faster in reaching the annals of the castle on his own which likely meant she’d get help faster as well. But too many things could go wrong. The least of which would be convincing the nurse on duty to abandon her post and accompany him to a place he might not be able to find again. And what if Madeline’s condition worsened? He made the call. His heart pounding blood into his ears symbolized his anxiety over this critical decision.

  Madeline’s feet dragged, especially when it came time to step on her weakened ankle. Her hair splayed about, and Florian knew Talia would have a fit if she saw the current condition of her friend's black makeup.

  They limped along.

  Madeline closed her eyes for a long heartbeat then forced her mouth to move. “Speak. Words. To. Me,” she forced out, each word coming out as a struggle of herculean proportions.

  “Distraction,” Florian mumbled. “Good idea. Um, what to say? That guy who stole the Pure and chucked the knife at me was right when he said I’ve been disowned by the way. It’s weird, my whole life people have been nice to me because of my father's influence or his money and I know it might not be morally correct, but I’ve enjoyed some of the fruits of that, I admit. Upon reflection, it makes me wonder about any friendship or romantic entanglement I’ve ever had. Did any of these people like me for me? Ah well. I’ve got a small trust in my name that I got when I turned eighteen and obviously we get our Academy stipend but it’s true, I’m no longer the Quinn heir. No fortune for this guy. I hope that doesn’t make you think less of me. Ah, don’t answer. I don’t want to know if it does and honestly, Madeline? I’m not sure I could understand you right now if I tried.”

  Florian laughed, then paused to catch his breath.

  “That was pretty cool, what you did back there. Saved my life. I think maybe we’ll be even after this though so don’t go and try and use that against me. I still appreciate it. Okay, almost to the castle now. Fucking fucker,” Florian raged. “Stairs. I’m going to have to carry you, I don’t see any other choice.”

  Madeline drooped to the point where Florian carried ninety percent of her weight, anyway. The fact she stood at all stoked his admiration for her. He could hook his arm underneath her knees and his other around her back but then he couldn’t see where he stepped and on stairs…

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Having her jump onto his back only offered awful outcomes, not the least of which had Madeline failing her jump and falling limply to the ground. That left only one option.

  “I’m sorry about this,” Florian said, “I’ll be as gentle as I can, okay?”

  He gritted his teeth and bent his knees, using his shoulder to drive her off the ground by her hip hinge, and wrapping his arms around her thighs. Rot, he hoped she didn’t feel him slinging her over his shoulder like a brute. They made it up the stairs in no time, a combination of her light weight and his every-other-day calisthenics routine.

  “Now for the hard part,” Florian murmured under his breath, bending back over and letting Madeline’s feet hit the ground unsteady as ever. Shouldn’t she be recovering or something by now? Not deteriorating? Oh, what did he know?

  Again, he put her arm around his shoulder and his around her hips. He steered. Having never been to the nurses office, he only roughly knew of its location and only that because Thad decided to get checked out after the altercation with Manny. He got his wound disinfected and sent on his way. Something told him that Madeline would need more than antiseptic.

  Madeline sounded like she was gearing up to speak again and he urged them faster and deeper into the castle. If he didn’t find the way soon he’d start yelling and damn the consequences.

  “What is going on here?” the voice of Professor Hutton rang through the deserted nighttime hallway. The normally amiable man had no amusement in his expression. He could obviously sense the mood. “Quinn? I’m on the night shift one week and I’ve seen more excitement in three days then I did all last year. Explain yourself. Now.”

  “She’s sick, Professor, I’m trying to get her to the nurses office. I-I don’t know what happened.”

  He strode confidently down the hall, fast yet not running but moving with a purpose. Hutton came to a stop in front of Madeline and began examining her with a pointed touch, two fingers lifting her near lolling head by the jaw and using his other hand to open her eyes one at a time. “What happened? To the best of your ability. Don’t lie to me son, you’ll help nobody by lying.” He placed both hands on her shoulders and steadied her. Florian reluctantly moved her hand from around his shoulder and removed his hand from her hips.

  “We were doing our detention, sir, and she rolled her ankle. We left the stables to go to the nurses office - I went with her in case she had a hard time walking - and there was a conflict, sir, and she cast something and seemed fine for a while then she asked me for help and before long…,” he gestured to her.

  “She asked for help? From you?” Hutton sounded incredulous.

  “Yes sir, bone chilling. That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong. We moved as fast as we could to get here.”

  Sure, he left some things out but nothing important. He gave all the important points.

  Hutton had his scepter in his hand. “Walk with me, son,” he said. Then he waved his scepter and Madeline lifted three inches off the ground still in an upright position. “I’m sorry about this, Miss Le Torneau, no choice. Speed is of the essence, I believe.”

  The Professor frowned, wrinkles looking unwelcome on the face that usually contained a variation of a smile and steered Madeline in front of him, in the direction Florian had led and in the same direction Hutton appeared from. She floated.

  “You mentioned a conflict. What sort?” Hutton asked conversationally, his default demeanor returning.

  “Intruder, I think. He had a knife. Threw it on a path to land right between my eyes, but Madeline cast like, this shimmering rectangular thing as big as a door in between it and me. Didn’t stop the knife but redirected it away. Saved my life.”

  “Is that everything, Florian? Anything else I need to know about tonight?”

  Florian hesitated before answering. “No, sir. That’s everything.”

  “The Prime will not be happy to know someone passed his patrols. I suppose this will mean more night shifts for more Professors,” Hutton mused. “Alright. Head back to your dorm, son, and if anyone stops you for being out of bed after curfew tell them I sent you and I’ll clear it up in the morning.”

  “I want to go with her, Professor.”

  On cue, Madeline groaned something unintelligible.

  Hutton shook his head vehemently. “Visit her in the morning if you want unless you’d like to spend your night answering questions from the nurse and Professor Walcotte and possibly Professor Lawrence and if they don’t save her from her fate, the Prime. You did well bringing her this far, son, you’ve done all you can tonight.”

  Florian slowed. “What’s wrong with her? Is she going to be alright?”

  “It would be irresponsible for me to speculate. If it’s what I think then I’ve only read about this in theory, I never thought I’d live to see it.”

  “Is she going to be alright?” Florian insisted.

  “I don’t know, son. I’ll just say that it’s a good thing Professor Taran is the one working with the nurse this evening. A very good thing.”

  Starforged Mages [Epic Progression Fantasy Space Opera]

  WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT: Starforged Mages follows the intertwined lives of galactic mages Ben Wilson and Blaze Kuto as they rebuild from the lowest points of their lives and rise (through strategy, sacrifice, and hard-earned growth) to become the greatest heroes in the galaxy.

  WHAT TO EXPECT:- Strategic protagonists who plan ahead

  - Competent allies who matter and affect outcomes

  - Fast-paced arcs with clear momentum

  - Meaningful power progression

  - Non-stat-based progression fantasy

  - Smart use of abilities over raw strength

  - No harem

  - Long-term setups with satisfying payoffs

  SERIES SCOPE:Starforged Mages is a very long-form story with a clear end goal.

  The narrative is fully planned, with major arcs already outlined.

  Over 100 chapters are already written.

  RELEASE SCHEDULE:9-chapter launch on Day One

  Daily releases for 22 days

  Then 3 chapters per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

  .

  PATREON ACCESS

  Patreon readers stay 12 chapters ahead, which translates to roughly one month of early access once the regular schedule begins.

  ? WHY READ THIS:

  [+] Compelling characters

  [+] Immersive world-building

  [+] Regular updates

  [+] Active community