The first thing Kael felt was pain. Not sharp or sudden—this was deeper, like molten iron pressed beneath his skin. He groaned, forcing his eyes open. The cave ceiling swam into view, faintly lit by the glow of Jorin's lantern still propped near the wall.
Jorin was there, sitting cross-legged against a boulder, his head tilted down in an exhausted half-sleep. His cloak was tattered, singed from the fight, yet he hadn't moved from Kael's side.
Kael shifted and hissed under his breath. The pain wasn't in his chest this time. It was in his arm.
He lifted his sleeve.
The tattoo had changed.
What was once a simple band around his wrist had now spread—curling upward like living ink, etched in twisting arcs of black and faintly glowing veins of red and silver. It spiraled almost halfway to his elbow, the flames merging with jagged patterns that looked eerily like lightning bolts frozen mid-strike.
Kael's stomach dropped. To him, it looked alive. To anyone else… it would just look like some elaborate tattoo. But he knew better. He could feel the heat pulsing in time with his veins.
His fingers trembled as he brushed over it. Sparks flickered across his skin.
"You're awake."
Jorin's rough voice broke the silence. He pushed himself upright, fatigue plain in his posture—but his eyes sharpened the moment they met Kael's.
Kael tried to sit up. "Yeah… I think."
Jorin's gaze scanned him once, lingering on the mark before narrowing. "What the hell happened to you in there?"
Kael's throat tightened. He remembered the storm inside the shadows, Nathan's voice, the lightning ripping through his body. But he couldn't say that. Not here. Not now.
"I don't know," Kael muttered, lowering his sleeve. "It was pain. Everywhere. And then… nothing."
Jorin stared at him for a long moment, as if weighing whether to push. Finally, he exhaled and stood, dusting his hands off. "You gave me a scare, boy. Thought I'd have to carry you all the way back."
He stepped closer, extending a hand. "Come on. Let's see if you can stand."
Kael hesitated but reached out. Their palms met—
—and the cave flashed white.
A crack of lightning jumped between their hands, snapping and fizzing in the air. Both men froze.
Jorin's eyes widened. His grip didn't falter, but his voice dropped into a harsh whisper. "No… That's impossible."
Kael blinked, startled. "What—what is it?"
Jorin's gaze was locked on their joined hands, where arcs of blue-white electricity still danced. His jaw clenched. "This only happens… when two lightning users cross channels. It's resonance. I've fought alongside men who shared my gift. This—" He broke off, staring at Kael like he'd never seen him before. "How can it be you?"
The current finally faded, leaving only silence and the smell of scorched air. Jorin stepped back slowly, studying Kael's face with suspicion and something else—fear.
Kael looked down at his hands. Tiny sparks flickered across his fingertips, uncontrolled, wild. His pulse raced, but he couldn't look away from the crackling light that seemed to answer his thoughts.
"I… I don't know," he whispered. "I shouldn't be able to do this."
The lantern flame guttered in the draft. The cave felt suddenly smaller, the air too heavy to breathe.
Jorin's fists clenched at his sides. His instincts screamed to demand the truth, but another instinct—older, deeper—told him to wait. To not scare the boy into silence.
He forced his tone calm, though his voice still carried steel. "Keep it hidden, Kael. Whatever this is… don't let anyone see it. Not the students. Not the families. Not even the instructors. Do you understand me?"
Kael met his eyes, the sparks still twitching across his hands. "I understand."
But deep inside, he knew he didn't.
The Code was changing him, piece by piece. And sooner or later, the world would notice.