Aria's POV
There are days you wake up feeling like a sorceress on top of her game. A day when your spells are sharp, your hair behaves, and even the sentient vines in the greenhouse lean aside to let you pass. Then there are days when you realize the world is a stage, and you, unfortunately, are both actor and saboteur in a play you've written for everyone but yourself.
Today was… both.
I sat in the sunlit east corridor, watching Elyzara pace restlessly among the marble pillars, her braid flicking with every agitated turn. She moved like a spark looking for kindling, and all I had to do was keep her distracted. Easy. After all, no one suspected the chipper, chaos-loving girl was anything but a friend. It's a role I'd practiced my entire life.
But that was the trick, wasn't it? Be the distraction, and you could get away with anything. Even treason.
