Tavia had the strangest urge to growl like a cornered beast, though that was probably the worst thing to do when surrounded by so many Masters. On second thought, that was the second worst thing. The worst would be attacking them like she sorely wanted to.She recognized one of them. He was the one who allowed her to enter the sinkhole. She pushed aside the bone-deep tiredness and moved closer to Cal, who was still unconscious and looked nowhere close to recovering.One thing at a time. First, I need to deal with possibly murderous Masters.Tavia’s instinctive mistrust of the Celestial Order roared back in full force. There were too many unknowns in play, but the result was that the guild as a whole was delegated as an enemy in her mind.“You have had a productive outing. Congratulations on reaching the next tier, Apprentice Tavia.”Tavia wasn’t sure how the Master knew her name when she hadn’t told him, but given how much attention the guild gave Cal, she guessed it wasn’t surprising. What did surprise her was the nonchalance toward Cal’s unconscious body behind her.“… Thank you, Master. Can we delay pleasantries until Cal is under the care of some healers?” Tavia was proud that her voice didn’t waver with anger.The others left to explore the destroyed sinkhole while the lone Master speaking to them glanced at Cal. “There’s nothing they can do.”Tavia felt faint as her heart dropped. She barely heard the Master’s next words.“Apprentice Cal is merely experiencing a severe case of mana exhaustion. Healers won’t be able to help until his body recovers a little. But it’s interesting… could you tell me what could have caused it?”Tavia had never felt such a swing of emotions before. If the man wasn’t a Master, she would have strained her depleted mana reserves (...)