Mina felt dizzy. The festival was officially stopped! Plus help would be sent to the people in the storm’s path, if they needed it. Maybe the government wasn’t admitting guilt, but that sounded like an apology to Mina. We’re cleaning up the mess we made. She thought of Neela, Eione, and Varli. Maybe they’d have assistance rebuilding their outpost. They’re going to be okay, Mina thought at Pixit.

«Yes.» He sounded smug. «I knew it would all work out.»

No, you didn’t.

«I believed in you, from the start. Told you that.»

Professor Werrin rolled the message up and tapped it on the palm of her hand. “This news does not excuse you from training or lessons. I believe you all have somewhere to be?”

The students dispersed. After pausing to hug Jyx, Ferro, and Zek, then Kita and Saril, Mina ran through the hall and up the stairs. She knocked on Professor Dano’s library door. “Come in,” she heard from inside.

She burst in. “Did you hear?”

Professor Dano smiled. He seemed to be doing that a lot more lately. “You forced the prime minister’s hand. Faced with such a public display, she had no choice. She had to react like this, or risk appearing selfish and unethical.” He stood and pulled a ledger off the shelf. “My colleagues are now maneuvering to bring the data we’ve secretly collected over the years to the forefront.” He laid the book open in front of her. In it, she saw row after row of dates and numbers: rainfall, wind direction and speed, and severity of storms, matched with a record of storm-beast activity in Alorria. “You’ve given us an opening, Mina. You made people listen. Now the truth can come out.”

“Then we did it!” She couldn’t stop smiling.

He closed the book and placed it back on his shelf. “It’s not over, of course. There will be those who don’t believe the data, who challenge the truth, who will try to hide it again or obscure it or discredit it. But the door to change has been opened.”

“How can I help?” she asked.

“This is where I’m supposed to say, ‘You’ve done enough,’” he said. “‘You’re just a child. Go play and don’t worry about the world.’ But there’s no point in saying that to you, is there? You won’t listen.”

It was the first time that anyone had ever accused Mina, of all people, of not listening. He looked confused when she laughed.