We were ambushed on the old Conclave Road.
A rebel faction—masked, cloaked, and too well-coordinated to be desperate. They didn’t shout. They didn’t posture. They attacked with one goal: kill the professors.
They nearly succeeded.
Zephira took a blade to the ribs before she even drew her sword. Yuria flung herself over Valmira, intercepting a burning arrow. Seraphina froze an entire flank mid-charge, then collapsed from mana shock.
Lilith... Lilith bled.
I’d never seen her bleed.
The moment her knees hit the ground, something inside me snapped.
I dropped the Codex. Drew power straight from the shard. My vision blurred as golden runes erupted across the dirt. I didn’t think—I just moved.
When it ended, silence fell again—stained with ash, frost, and blood.
I knelt beside Lilith, who was already healing, lips pale.
"You drew from the shard directly," she whispered. "You shouldn’t be able to do that."
"I shouldn’t have had to," I said. "You’re my professor. My partner."
She blinked slowly. "And yet... you still call me yours."
I didn’t answer.
But I didn’t let go of her hand, either.