Auriel leaves

The headmistress rang a silver bell. Its chime was clear and crisp, yet it rang deeper than it should have, like it reached through walls.

Nola blinked at the sound just as the door behind her opened.

Auriel stepped in, his coat dusted with sunlight and his eyes already locked on the Headmistress.

For a second, he didn't even look at Nola. The room suddenly felt colder.

"You are late, you have to go to your Legion soon," the Headmistress said. 

Auriel didn't flinch. "I stayed with her until the vision ended."

Nola frowned. "Vision?" Neither of them answered her. They talked while ignoring her.

"I'm only doing this because it is you," the Headmistress said sharply. "You do know that, don't you?"

Auriel nodded, his posture stiff with formality. "Do not expect me to say thank you though, Tabitha."

"She had no screening. No training. Not even any prior registration. At least most students have that. You're asking me to bend nearly every rule for her."

"I know."

"You've never asked me for anything before."

"She's my sister."

That answer seemed to silence the air. Even the ticking clock's sound seemed to be muffled.

"You're the youngest leader of a Legion in a century," the Headmistress said slowly. "You've earned many things, Auriel. But favors come with weight."

"I'll carry it."

"I hope so."

Nola blinked, trying to follow. Legion? Leader? What were they talking about? She opened her mouth to ask, but Auriel turned to her first.

His face softened.

The stiffness in his shoulders melted as he smiled at her with his usual sad smile.

She felt tears well up in her eyes seeing his face, the one that reminded her of rainy nights under the blankets and whispered jokes no one else heard when they were small.

"I have to leave now," he said, voice low. Her heart dropped. The words sounded like a crack through glass.

"What?" she said, blinking fast. "No, wait, you just got here."

"I know." His voice didn't waver, but his mouth puckered for a moment. 

"I wasn't supposed to come at all. They only gave me 30 minutes." 

30 minutes. That was all she got?

"Why?" she whispered. "Why can't you stay?" He looked away.

"Because if I stay, there will be problems."

The silence between them twisted sharp. Her throat tightened. She hated when he did this, him trying to protect her by vanishing behind half-truths.

"You always leave," she said, voice breaking. "Every time. You say it's for something bigger, but what about me?"

He flinched. It was a small change in his face but she caught it. He stepped forward and took her hands in both of his.

"I didn't want this life either, Nola. But we cannot escape our responsibilities."

"I can't fight or protect anyone like people here expect me too," she said. "I didn't even know I had magic until you told me so."

"You think that makes you weak?" he said, brows drawn. "That makes you a bomb someone forgot to defuse. And you're still standing. That's strength."

She stared at him, looking at his jaw, his eyelashes and the little scar on his lip from when they were kids and he fell out of that apple tree because of her.

It all felt impossibly far away. Like the brother she knew was only a shell, he had changed a lot these 5 years.

"I'm scared," she said.

"I know."

"I don't want to do this alone."

"You won't be alone," he said, brushing his thumb against her cheek. And I'll call you.

She nodded, tears stinging but refusing to fall. He always kept his promises.

Auriel pulled her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his shoulder. For just a moment, she let herself feel like she was 12 again.

"I'll miss you," she said. He pulled back just enough to look at her.

"I'll miss you more."

Then he pressed his forehead against hers. It was how they said goodbye when words weren't enough. And then he was gone.

The door shut behind him like the end of a chapter. Nola didn't move for a long moment. She just stood there, trying not to unravel.

Cain appeared in the doorway a moment later, his arms crossed like always. He looked at her, then at the Headmistress, and gave a short, respectful nod.

"I'll take her to the dorm."

"Sun Tower. Floor Three. Room 4," the Headmistress said without looking up from her papers.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she waved them off like dust from her robe. Nola followed Cain, her steps slow and dragging.

They didn't speak as they walked through long marble corridors lined with mirrors that didn't show your reflection.

The silence between them was not awkward, but oddly comforting. Cain glanced at her once.

"You did good there," he said. 

"I didn't do anything," she muttered.

"You didn't scream. That counts for something."

They took a stairwell that twisted in on itself like a spiral drawn by a mad architect. The higher they climbed, the brighter the air became—filled with golden light and the smell of herbs.

Nola tried not to look back.

When they reached Floor Three, Cain stopped in front of a large wooden door with a sun symbol carved into it.

"Here. This is your room. This was your brother's room previously. You should have a roommate as well."

Nola nodded, trying to absorb it all.

Cain hesitated. Then he added, "It gets easier. Kind of." 

That was the closest thing to encouragement she had heard since arriving.

She turned the doorknob and stepped inside. The room was small but warm, with sunlit windows and a single bed covered in navy sheets.

A desk sat beside it, and a small shelf was already stacked with books she didn't recognize.

She took a breath. Her first room away from home. Her first night alone with her Will.

Cain leaned on the doorframe.

"If you need anything, I'm down the hall. Room 7. My elder brother was a friend of yours so don't hesitate to ask me anything."

"Thanks," she said quietly.

He gave her a short nod and disappeared. The door clicked shut behind him. Nola stood in the center of the room, staring at her new world.

The sword was gone. The crystal was gone. But the weight of it still lingered in her chest. Like something waiting to be drawn.