Morning came bright and sunny. I woke up too late to join the others for breakfast, but Bea assured me there was nothing to worry about. According to her, everyone was pretending I hadn't dramatically walked out of the dining room after a short, emotional outburst that would have gotten me a scolding if Grandma Susana had been present. In fact, no one seemed to want to talk about Dad's decision to retire and work with the AG, or my decision to...well, I actually hadn't decided yet. That talk with Dad hit me harder than I thought it would. Maybe it's because ever since meeting Madam Josefa, I had been thinking about my current situation from different perspectives: the perspective of my family, for one, and the perspective of the Tower, for another. In all honesty, I wouldn't be having this problem at all if I hadn't been a Vega. The TWMO has full authority when it comes to the Gifted--from evaluating and training them, to policing and de

The Maleficent Air Tournament was a wyvern lover's paradise on Earth, held over a span of three or four days, in an island in the middle of the Wildlands territory south of the City State of Bali. It boasts its own private Portal Terminal, a resort town, the Tournament grounds, and of course, its own Border System. Public access is allowed for the resort and the terminal, but the grounds (which actually make up about 70% of the entire island) are closed off until Tournament period. Being a Tournament open to all three races and thus gaining attention from all levels of society, the competition among the participants is fierce. However, their hot-blooded drive to dominate in a show like this pales to nothing compared to the energy generated by the fans and enthusiasts in the betting hall. For the next few days, staggering amounts of money and assets will be changing hands, making or breaking the fortunes of the people involved. Since his father is the Tournament's sole proprietor, Co

"Alisa?" Bea asked, alarmed at the expression on my face. "What's wrong?""Are you alright? I'll call someone to clean the broken glass--"Aisha stood up and moved towards the intercom, but I grabbed her wrist."No! Call the Guard! It's an emergency!""What? What are you talking about?""The Anomaly Guard! There's a Breach right above the island and the Anomalies are coming--""What do you mean, Anomalies?" Aisha asked. "That's impossible, Ali. There's no Fault Line anywhere near here--""It's a new Breach! I felt it, it's right above the island--" I pointed behind me, to the east. "--just above Colin's route, and there are dozens of them. I'm not kidding around, Aisha--call the Guard NOW!"Eyes wide at my outburst, Aisha dialed the AG hotline on her holo screen. I could understand her surprise. I rarely raised my voice at anyone. But when I do

 “Is this for real?” Zafir d’Or asked, staring at the announcement on his holo screen. “A Breach, despite having a Border and being miles away from the nearest Fault Line? Or maybe I’m imagining things since I did get hit pretty hard.”“Unfortunately, you’re not hallucinating,” Colin answered as Honey landed on the grass beside him. Both racers had decided to look for a suitable landing area so they could catch their breath, seeing as the race had been suspended anyway. They found a small clearing that looked ordinary and harmless enough. &ldq

“Core,” Colin said, his face tight with pain. Zafir frowned, not understanding the prince’s order. Colin was still too hurt to speak in full sentences. He would cough up blood and lose his breath after every fourth word or so. Still, he tried. “Bring me—core—I need—” cough, blood, gasp “—see, I’ll fix…core—”“How will you fix it? You can barely even bre