The Academy had returned to its usual rhythm, but for Evelyn, everything felt offbeat.
Alexander was gone.
He hadn't said goodbye again after that day in the corridor. No letter. No messenger. Just silence and the echo of his last words.
Caelan had filled the space he left behind—not with intensity, but with quiet, steadfast warmth.
Now, the two of them sat on the edge of the greenhouse roof, the late morning sun warming their backs. From up here, the students looked small, like pieces in a game neither of them wanted to play anymore.
"You haven't said anything about him," Caelan said gently.
Evelyn plucked a petal from the flower in her hand. "There's nothing to say."
"Liar," he murmured, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
She narrowed her eyes. "You're enjoying this."
"I'm enjoying you not pretending you're invincible for once."
"I'm not pretending. I just… don't have time to fall apart."
Caelan stretched out beside her, hands behind his head, his voice turning thoughtful. "You know, when we were younger, I always thought you'd end up with someone safe. Steady. A scholar, maybe."
"I am steady," she replied.
"No, Evelyn." He sat up slightly, looking at her. "You're stormlight trapped in a bottle. That man—Valerius—he saw it. That's why he ran."
She swallowed hard.
"I didn't ask him to see anything."
"Doesn't mean he didn't," Caelan said softly. "But the question is—what do you see when you look at him?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
Because in truth, she didn't know.
What she did know was that something strange had been happening since he left.
It started small. A flickering candle snuffed out when she entered a room. A crystal that cracked when she touched it. Her reflection in the mirror catching up half a second too late.
Magic.
Her magic.
It wasn't behaving anymore.
She could feel it coiling in her veins, heavier than usual. Older. Wilder.
As though something had been unlocked when the truth came out—and the key had been Alexander's absence.
"Something's changing," she murmured.
Caelan's expression shifted. "In you?"
She nodded.
And deep down, a whisper of dread bloomed.
Because if the magic inside her was finally waking up… it might not go back to sleep.