The Veyra estate sat perched on the cliffs like a jewel carved from marble and ice. Its domed halls glowed with faint blue light, fed by the ever-flowing water channels that crisscrossed its walls and ceilings. Streams cascaded into open pools within the courtyards, their gentle sound masking the weight of the voices that often echoed inside these halls.
Feyla stood alone by one such pool. The moonlight shimmered across the surface, reflecting her pale face and damp braid. Her hand hovered just above the water. A soft pulse of energy radiated outward, and ripples obeyed her will, forming patterns too precise to be natural.
She clenched her fist. The ripples collapsed into a sudden surge. The entire pool rose like a column, suspended, before crashing back down in a wave that soaked her training robes.
Her chest heaved. The water obeyed too easily now. Too much control, too much power for someone her age.
Behind her, the sound of footsteps echoed. Feyla quickly dropped to her knees, hands splashing into the water to make it seem as if she had simply been washing.
"You're still awake." Her mother's voice was calm but sharp, like the edge of an icicle. Lady Veyra stepped into the moonlight, her long cloak trailing behind her. Her eyes, the same piercing blue as Feyla's, lingered on the rippling pool. "I heard the surge."
Feyla bit her lip. "I was just practicing."
"Practicing?" Her mother's brow arched. "That wasn't practice. That was control. Far more control than you show at the academy."
Feyla's heart tightened. She couldn't meet her mother's eyes.
Lady Veyra circled her slowly, like a predator studying prey. "They sent us reports. An attack on your class. A cry that brought beasts swarming. And somehow, you returned unscathed." She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Tell me, Feyla… was it really the instructors who saved you?"
Feyla swallowed hard, images of Kael's beaten body flashing in her mind. She wanted to answer, wanted to speak the truth, but the words lodged in her throat.
Her mother's expression softened slightly. "You're stronger than you let them believe. That's wise… but dangerous. The families are watching. They always are. Never forget who you are, Feyla. A Veyra doesn't bow, and a Veyra doesn't hide."
With that, her mother turned and left, her cloak brushing the marble floor until her figure melted into the shadows of the hall.
Feyla sat frozen, water dripping from her hands back into the pool.
Her reflection wavered, showing a girl who was torn — torn between the family name etched into her blood and the life she wanted to live at the academy.
She thought of Kael. Of the way he fought, reckless but unbroken. Of the way he always pushed forward, even when he had nothing. Her lips trembled, forming words she didn't dare speak aloud.
"I wonder what you're doing right now… I hope you're still standing."
She pressed her palms into the water, letting the ripples erase her reflection, leaving only darkness in its place.