The academy did not sleep.
It only quieted.
Even in the deepest hours before dawn, something always moved beneath the stone — a pulse, a murmur, a rhythm too deliberate to be natural. Phaeros felt it as he lay awake, staring at the faint glow tracing the ceiling runes.
Tonight, the silence felt thinner.
Uneasy.
Like a surface stretched too tightly.
Across the room, Rhaelis had already risen. She sat at the edge of her bed, tying her hair back with careful precision. When she noticed him watching, she paused.
"You didn't sleep either."
He shook his head slightly. "Did you?"
"No."
A moment passed.
"Something feels wrong," she said quietly.
He considered denying it.
Didn't.
"Yes."
That was all he said — but it was enough.
The morning chime came earlier than expected. Shorter. Sharper.
A summons.
They dressed quickly and stepped into the corridor, where other students were already emerging. The atmosphere was different from yesterday — tighter, more alert. Conversations were hushed. Eyes lingered too long.
At the far end of the hall stood Deyron, his posture rigid, hands clasped behind his back.
But he was not alone.
Two unfamiliar figures stood beside him.
One wore layered ceremonial robes trimmed in gold and deep blue — a sigil of administrative authority sewn into the collar. Their expression was polite, distant, and calculating.
The other was younger, dressed in fitted combat attire, arms crossed, gaze sharp and openly assessing.
Phaeros felt it immediately.
Pressure.
Not physical — political.
Rhaelis slowed slightly beside him. "Those aren't instructors."
"No," he agreed. "Observers."
Deyron's eyes flicked briefly toward them as they approached, then returned to the newcomers.
"Students," he said once the group had assembled. "You will conduct your training as scheduled."
The robed official smiled faintly. "With a minor addition."
His gaze swept the group and settled — briefly, deliberately — on Phaeros.
"We've received reports of… irregular resonance."
A ripple of tension passed through the students.
Kassien straightened immediately, eyes gleaming.
The official continued, voice smooth. "Naturally, the Council takes such matters seriously."
Council.
That word carried weight.
Phaeros felt it like a shift in air pressure.
"We will observe today's session," the man said. "Nothing more."
Deyron's jaw tightened — just a fraction.
"As you wish," he replied.
The training circle activated.
Runes flared to life, brighter than before.
"Today's exercise," Deyron announced, "will focus on controlled output under interference."
His gaze lingered on Kassien this time.
"You will act in pairs again."
A murmur spread.
The official tilted his head. "May I suggest a rearrangement?"
Deyron's eyes narrowed.
"Go on."
The man smiled. "Let us test compatibility… and resistance."
His finger lifted — and pointed directly at Phaeros.
"You will pair with Kassien Rault."
The air shifted.
Rhaelis turned sharply. "That makes no—"
Deyron raised a hand, cutting her off.
A long, heavy pause followed.
Then he nodded once.
"So be it."
Kassien smiled.
Not kindly.
Phaeros felt the shift immediately — the subtle tightening of attention, like threads drawing together.
This was deliberate.
A probe.
They stepped into the circle together.
The moment Kassien entered, the air grew dense.
His power pressed outward instinctively — a heavy, compressive force that distorted the space around him.
Phaeros felt it immediately.
Pressure against his chest.
Against his thoughts.
Kassien smirked. "Try not to break."
Deyron's voice cut in. "Control. Not domination."
But Kassien barely listened.
The runes flared brighter.
The pressure increased.
Phaeros exhaled slowly.
He didn't resist.
Didn't push back.
Instead, he did something subtler.
He shifted.
Not physically — internally.
He let his awareness sink inward, past the noise, past the surface of sensation, down toward the folded presence he had been carefully avoiding.
It responded faintly.
A slow unfolding.
Not power.
Structure.
The sensation was strange — like opening a shelter rather than a weapon.
The pressure didn't vanish.
It redirected.
Kassien frowned as his force met something that didn't oppose it, didn't shatter — but curved.
Bent.
His energy slid aside, dispersing harmlessly into the array.
"What—?"
The runes flickered.
The floor hummed.
A low resonance filled the chamber.
Rhaelis gasped softly.
Deyron stiffened.
The observing official leaned forward slightly.
Phaeros felt the shape more clearly now.
A contour.
A boundary.
A sense of inside and outside.
An umbrella, not in form, but in purpose.
To cover.
To shelter.
To redirect what should have crushed.
His heartbeat quickened.
Careful.
Too much.
The structure trembled, responding to his awareness.
He pulled back at once.
The pressure snapped off.
The chamber fell silent.
Kassien staggered a step, eyes wide. "What did you do?"
"I… didn't," Phaeros said honestly.
A lie and the truth, both at once.
The runes dimmed.
The array stabilized.
Deyron's gaze burned into Phaeros.
The official's smile had vanished.
Instead, there was calculation.
Interest.
Concern.
"Enough," Deyron said sharply.
The circle deactivated.
Students exhaled collectively.
Rhaelis hurried to Phaeros' side, lowering her voice. "Are you alright?"
He nodded. "You?"
She hesitated. "I felt… protected."
The word lingered between them.
Protected.
From the edge of the chamber, Kassien stared at Phaeros with something new in his eyes — not contempt, not confidence.
Suspicion.
And something darker.
Resentment.
The robed official stepped forward.
"That was… illuminating," he said smoothly. "Instructor Deyron, we'll be reporting this session."
Deyron met his gaze coolly. "As is your right."
The man smiled thinly. "Oh, don't misunderstand. This is promising."
Promising.
The word made Phaeros' stomach tighten.
The official turned toward him.
"You may find," he said mildly, "that some gifts attract more attention than protection."
Their eyes met.
For just a moment, Phaeros felt it — a probing pressure, subtle but invasive.
He did not flinch.
The presence within him stirred.
Not aggressively.
Patiently.
As if remembering something old.
The pressure withdrew.
The official straightened. "We will be watching."
He turned and left, his companion following.
The room exhaled.
Deyron said nothing for several seconds.
Then, quietly: "Everyone dismissed."
Students scattered quickly, whispers erupting as soon as they were out of earshot.
Rhaelis stayed close to Phaeros as they walked.
"That wasn't training," she said under her breath. "That was a test."
"Yes."
"For you."
He nodded.
She hesitated, then asked softly, "What happens now?"
Phaeros looked ahead, eyes calm despite the tension coiling beneath his skin.
"Now," he said, "they start paying attention."
A faint, almost imperceptible warmth stirred beneath his collarbone.
Not power.
Not yet.
Something folded.
Waiting.
And far above the academy — beyond stone, sigil, and law — invisible eyes shifted, locking onto a name that had not been spoken aloud in a very long time.