Chapter 9 – Flames of Defiance

They weren't breaking the rules. They were becoming the reason the rules existed.

The broken window whistled in the early morning wind, a low and eerie sound that curled around Lira's spine as she stood barefoot on the cold stone floor. She stared at the rose sitting in the windowsill.

Black.

Wilted at the edges.

The center burned just enough to release a curl of smoke that rose and vanished like a whispered threat.

Kael held his sword in a low guard stance, still shirtless from sleep, his eyes sweeping the hallway outside with mechanical precision. His magic was already rising—cold, pressurized, shadow-stitched.

"Did you see anyone?" Lira asked.

"No," he said. "Whoever left it knew exactly how long they had."

"Is it a warning?"

Kael stepped back inside and slammed the broken window shut with a flick of his fingers. Shadows crawled up the glass and froze into a temporary seal, blotting out the wind.

"It's a message," he said.

Lira waited.

Kael didn't elaborate.

He crossed to the rose, lifted it carefully by the blackened stem, and turned it over in his hand. The outer petals flaked away like ash.

"They want us to know they can reach us," he said. "That there's nowhere in this academy we're untouchable."

Lira folded her arms. "You don't sound surprised."

"I'm not."

"They came into our room."

"I know."

"And you're calm."

"No," he said, quietly. "I'm just good at waiting."

They reported the intrusion to Veylan first. The headmaster would be worse—more politics, more ceremony. Veylan simply paced, listening without speaking, and didn't interrupt until Kael finished describing the state of the window.

Veylan picked up the rose Kael had brought, holding it by the thorns like it didn't matter whether it cut him.

"You were lucky," he said.

"We were targeted," Kael corrected.

Veylan looked at Lira.

Her silence was answer enough.

"They're escalating," Veylan said. "This is the first breach inside academy walls in over ten years."

Kael's voice was flat. "And they chose us."

"No," Veylan replied. "They chose her."

His eyes flicked toward Lira again.

"That mark on your chest—those extra lines? They're forming now. The Thorn doesn't want to stop the bond. They want to complete it."

Lira's throat tightened. "Why?"

"Because when it's complete, the Houses won't be able to stop you. And if they can't stop you—then the system falls."

Kael stepped between her and Veylan. "Then we stop them first."

Veylan didn't argue.

But the look in his eyes said easier said than done.

Two days later, the headmaster called for a tribunal.

Officially, it was labeled an "evaluation of Bond irregularities," but every student knew what it was. Nobles gathered in the upper tiers of the central atrium, their robes freshly pressed, their eyes sharp with judgment. Crest sigils glimmered like the tips of knives. The seats were arranged like a spiral, with Lira and Kael summoned to stand at the center—on display.

Kael had dressed like it was war.

He wore full ceremonial black, the sigil of House Nightshade blazing across his chest, and a half-cape trimmed in silver shadowthread. Lira, by contrast, had been given nothing new to wear. She stood in her usual robes, hands at her sides, eyes straight ahead.

She felt every single gaze digging into her skin.

She didn't flinch.

Not once.

The headmaster sat at the highest tier, his eyes hidden beneath a veil of layered spells.

The moment the room settled, he spoke.

"Lira Valerius. Kael Nightshade. Your bond has been evaluated. Your performances tracked. Your energy signatures observed by independent faculty. We now offer a choice."

Lira didn't move.

Neither did Kael.

The headmaster raised a hand. "You may choose to undergo a sanctioned Unbinding—a full severance, performed with instructors present and monitored by House Elders. Or…"

His voice dipped lower.

"You may continue the bond. But you will do so knowing it is considered a threat to the stability of this academy. And that continued synchronization will trigger permanent measures."

Lira stared straight ahead. "What measures?"

The headmaster didn't answer.

From the upper gallery, someone called down: "That's not a bond. It's a weapon."

Talia Evermere.

Of course.

Another voice: "They're not compatible. She's not worthy."

Lira's fingers curled inward.

Kael spoke.

And his voice echoed like a blade drawn from its sheath.

"I will not unbind her."

Murmurs rippled.

The headmaster tilted his head. "Speak carefully, Nightshade. Your House—"

"Will stand behind me," Kael interrupted. "Or I will bring it down with me."

Now the murmurs turned to shouts. Protests. Panic.

Lira didn't move.

The headmaster raised a hand, and the room fell into silence again.

"Miss Valerius. Your answer?"

Lira met his eyes. "I won't be erased."

The headmaster exhaled.

"So be it."

He gestured once.

The runes beneath their feet lit up.

The bond flared.

Hot. Violent. Blinding.

It rose between them like a column of light and shadow intertwined, reaching the dome of the atrium and cracking the seal above. The crowd screamed. Wardens rushed to stabilize the floor.

And still, Lira and Kael stood still.

The mark on her chest finished another line.

Ten now.

Kael's aura burned black and silver.

Lira's light shimmered white-gold.

Together, they looked untouchable.

Together, they looked divine.

When the dust cleared, the room had emptied.

Only Veylan remained, standing at the edge of the spiral steps, his robes tattered slightly from the blast.

He smiled.

"I hope you're ready," he said.

"Ready for what?" Kael asked.

Veylan looked at Lira.

Then at Kael.

"For war."