"Master Sora! What are we going to do?" Parker practically yelled at him in the Medical Ward. "There have been two attacks and neither of them have woken up from it! It's been a month since Riley was attacked and a week since Philip was attacked. We know who it was, how are we going to stop it?" Parker was getting very heated even though he hadn't known either of the kids who were attacked or even the kid who did the attacking. He just knew that it was partially his fault for not stopping Lara when he had the chance.

"Shh... calm down. We'll figure this out," Master Sora said trying to get Parker to breathe. "Based on the aftermath of the attacks, we believe that it has to be Lara behind this somehow. We don't know if she's controlling Colton, or he chose to work with her."

"His name's Colton?" Parker asked. Master Sora nodded but didn't add anything else. "So, what are we supposed to do? Just keep hiding like we've been. We hate not knowing what we can do or how we could be helping."

"I'm sorry Parker. I understand your frustration, but we have to keep you safe and he's seen all of your faces. So, the less you're alone and more you're being monitored, the safer you are and that's that."

Parker stormed out of the Medical Ward and went directly back to the common room. Everyone was sitting on the couches around the fireplace. "So? What'd he say?" Caleb asked.

All of them were staring at Parker waiting for him to say something. "Well, the kid's name is Colton but that's really all I learned. Riley and Philip still haven't woken up, but they look like they're healing some thanks to Madame Sasaki."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief not knowing that Parker was holding back the information about Lara almost certainly being back. He knew it would only freak them out more than they already were. All they could do right now was focus on their classes and follow the master's rules that he gave them.

-----

"Ana... I'm so sorry..." She wasn't saying anything, but all Alexis wanted to do was help her somehow. "You guys fought so hard in your match, so don't be too down on yourselves. You still played really well."

"I know we played well, but we needed to win that match so we could be in the championship game tomorrow." Alexis almost forgot that the matches had been moved back some from the previous year. At this point last year, they were already stuck in Lara's Imperial.

"It'll be okay. There's always next year!" Ana sighed heavily, clearly still upset. Alexis figured there was nothing else she could really say that would help out, so she went and sat by Caleb.

"Is Ana going to be, okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, she just needs a little time," Alexis responded.

Caleb got up and sat next to Ana on the couch she was one. He put an arm around her and started talking to her. Parker was trying to eavesdrop from where he was sitting but couldn't make out anything he said.

"This is it guys! The last night we have to study before end of second term exams," Parker said. "Anyone else feel hopelessly lost like me? If so, please raise your hand." Parker put his hand in the air answering his own question. When no one else raised their hands, he did a small laugh cry and put his head between his knees. "New question, would anyone be willing to take my history exam for me?" He looked around and received no response from his friends. He huffed and went back to studying.

"I thought you said you were doing great in everything." Caleb stated.

"I was, but I can't seem to retain any of the last chapter. Why do I need to know the names of the people in the house conflicts? Shouldn't it just matter that I know which houses were fighting each other?"

Hailee popped up through the entrance to the common room and immediately saw Caleb with his arm around Ana's shoulders. Her heart started to race and she got unreasonably upset in a heartbeat. She plopped down next to Alexis and glared at him.

Caleb was unaware that Hailee had even arrived. He was so focused on trying to help calm Ana down that he never saw her glaring at him. Before he could look up to see that she was upset Alexis explained to Hailee what was going on.

As soon as Hailee knew the reason that he had his arm around her she immediately felt guilty. "Oh... I didn't even think about that... poor Ana..." she whispered to Alexis. Hailee opened her books and started studying.

After a couple of minutes, Alexis leaned over to her and whispered in her ear. "You know, you keep getting jealous of the two of them. How about you actually make a move instead?" Hailee was too frazzled to come up with a witty retort.

Parker could hear Ana's breathing steady when Caleb got up and took his seat back. He took his history book out and started studying without acknowledging the fact that Hailee had appeared. Parker looked at Alexis to see if she noticed as well and based on her facial expression she had.

He watched Hailee stand up and walk down the girl's corridor. He moved his gaze to Alexis to try and figure out why Hailee left or at least confirm his suspicions. Parker noticed that Alexis was glaring at Caleb while he studied and smiled, knowing that he had been right.

Parker walked out to the balcony to take a break and look at the night sky. That was still one of his favorite things about being at Lancastre. He'd always loved the night sky at home. Living out in the country had always allowed him to see the beautiful stars in the sky. However, Lancastre put his home to shame in terms of seeing the night sky. He could clearly see the Milky Way and all its brilliance. The moon shined bright every night, no matter what stage in the cycle it was.

After a few minutes of looking at the sky he felt something brush his arm. He turned to look and saw Alexis standing next to him looking at the sky. "It's so beautiful, isn't it Parker?"

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite things here." Alexis was hoping that she was one of his other favorite things as well. They stood in silence for a while, just staring into the sky. Nothing needed to be said.

Alexis leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment and then went back inside to study more. The moment her head touched his shoulder his heart started to race. Memories from the time they spent the entire night on the roof together flashed through his head. Master Sora telling her that he liked her. He asked himself time and time again whether she actually liked him. Hailee had told him she did but he was never positive because she'd never said or done anything to confirm it. He smiled, taking that moment as the sign that she did have feelings for him. Whether they were the same as the feelings he had for her didn't matter to him at that moment.

Parker walked back in and grabbed his things. "Good night, everyone, I'm packing it in. My brain is shot. All I can do is hope for the best at this point." Everyone said good night and he made his way back to his room. He hadn't called it a night because he was tired of studying or felt prepared for the exam but because he wouldn't be able to focus anymore. All he could think about was Alexis now and how he was afraid that something might happen to her. Whether it was by Lara or Colton, he had to do whatever he could to protect her.

-----

Exams came and went. Parker hoped he did well enough on his history exam to be done with it forever. He felt fine with everything else. Their Combining the Imperials presentation had gone flawlessly. They created a mirror by combining the Earth Imperial and the Air Imperial. Then with the dust in the air, they combined the Water Imperial and the Air Imperial. They formed two mirrors to use to keep a lookout in a mock scenario. Then Cesily used her Fire Imperial to melt the mirrors so they could move on.

Master Kingston had been very proud of their creativity. At the end of the class, she explained what they would be doing during the next two terms. "Now that you know how they can work together, you will be put in realistic situations where you have to work together. So not only will you have to think on your feet, but you'll have to learn how to cooperate with each of the houses." As she said it, she looked to and from all of The House of Kenna students in the room.

For their Air Imperial exam, they had to create and sustain a sphere of air for one minute. Everyone had been practicing so hard during the class time and even in their spare time that no one had a problem with it for the exam. He told them they would learn how to use it as a traveling tool during the next term.

When they arrived in history, Master Keegan looked at them and said, "I love you all so much that I hope to never see you in here again. Now, that doesn't mean I don't want to see you at all," he laughed as he spoke. "But I want you all to pass this, so I hope you studied hard."

After their exams, everyone made their way to watch the Aether Championships. The House of Erion and The House of Leith weren't overly thrilled to be watching the other two houses go at it for the title but they attended anyways.

The match dragged on for hours before coming to an end. "I can't believe the score was only four to one. That had to have been the most boring match I've seen since I got here," Caleb said. Everyone agreed and went back to their house for the night.

"Do you guys want to do anything tomorrow? You know, since we have the day off." Parker asked but he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"What can we do? We're not supposed to leave the house unless it's for food." They all sighed, dying being stuck in their house. Each of them understood that it was for the best but that didn't make it any easier.

The next morning, they went to breakfast and returned to their common room. "So... what now?" Caleb asked. "Think we could get away with going to the roof and practicing our Imperials?"

Alexis looked very nervous at the thought of doing that. "I... don't know if that's a good idea. Colton seems to be able to just appear wherever he wants."

"But how would he know to look on the roof for us?" Ana asked.

"If he's working with or for Lara then he would know," Parker said.

Everyone stared at him with their mouths hanging open. "What do you mean by that?" Alexis asked with a sharp tone.

Parker forgot that he hadn't told them that part of the conversation he had with Master Sora in the Medical Ward. "The masters think that Lara is behind all of this... that either Colton is working with her or she's controlling him somehow—"

"How could you not tell us this?" Alexis was yelling at him now. He thought about how she'd made a gesture toward him that gave him the idea that she liked him but now he was taking that thought back. He asked himself how someone who liked him could yell at him with such distaste in their voice.

Alexis stormed off down the hall, slamming her door hard enough behind her that they could hear it in the common room.

"Why is she so mad?" He asked. Hailee looked at him like he was dumb.

"Really?" He looked back at her confused. "We need to talk, just the two of us. Let's go." She walked to the balcony and flew to the roof.

Parker was right behind her and was shocked when he landed. "What are you thinking Parker?" He wasn't ready to be yelled at by a second friend in the same few minutes.

"What? What did I do that was so wrong? I didn't tell you guys so you could focus on your exams. If I'd told you, there's no way any of you could've focused on what was important at the time. Now that they're over, we can start talking about it."

"You just don't get it do you?" Hailee sounded disappointed in him as she asked it. He didn't know what to say back to her. Apparently, whatever it was, he didn't get. "She's mad at you because you lied to her. How do you not know that she's crazy for you? I thought the other night would've been a sure-fire sign that she liked you."

"It was," was all he could say to her.

"Then why did you lie? Don't you know that's like the number one thing to not do to someone that likes you and you like as well?"

He didn't respond for a moment. She was staring at him, tapping her foot on the roof waiting for an answer. "I did it to protect all of you. I know that she likes me and it's obvious that I like her. That's the biggest reason that I didn't say anything. It wouldn't be fair to her!"

"Do you think she cares about what's fair?"

He realized as she said it that Alexis probably didn't care. She was always there for him no matter what. His mind raced back to the night on the roof. She'd been more than happy to stay awake with him because of his dreams.

"Now you wait here, I'll be right back,” Hailee huffed.

She disappeared into the common room. He walked to the edge of the roof and looked out over the lake. He didn't turn around until he heard footsteps behind him.

When he saw who it was, he lost his voice. "Hello, Parker Gray."