He knows.
I couldn't stop thinking about it. I made it back to my dorm after such a long day, but the words gripped me.
He knows. He knows... But, how? I don't get it...
I dragged myself through the door, fingers fumbling with the buckles on my armor. I dumped the pieces onto the floor one by one, staring at them for a second before kicking the pile aside. Real smart, Luna. Ugh, why did I even walk home like this? Should've left this shit at the arena.
My hands were moving through the motions, but my head wasn't with them. Same questions. No answers.
In a daze, I stripped off the rest of my gear and twisted the hot water tap. Steam filled the room in seconds, and it only took a few minutes for the bath to fill up. The familiar smell of the lavender-scented water was slightly calming. Slightly. Just enough to make me remember how tired I was.
I grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the tap. The grime stuck to my skin didn't budge at first, so I scrubbed harder until it finally gave in. Then I climbed into the tub. The water was hotter than I expected, a sharp shiver shooting through me before I sank all the way down.
"...Haaaah..."
The tension from all the fights started to unravel, just a little. But my relaxation didn't last. The silence was just a void being filled with the questions racing through my mind.
Fuck… How did he find out about the dual cores? And why the hell did he interrogate me and just not say anything?
I slipped lower, until the water closed over my head. Everything went quiet. Just the beating of my heart beneath the water.
The muffled rhythm wasn't enough. A useless distraction.
I just kept thinking. How? What did he see? What am I missing? What will he do if he really does know?
I stayed under until my lungs ached, pretending the water could wash the uncertainty away. It couldn't. Air burst from my chest as I shot up, sending a wave over the tub's edge. Water splattered across the floor. I didn't care.
"What the hell am I even supposed to do?!" I shouted to an empty room, flicking my hair back and spraying another wave of droplets across the tiles.
The towel waiting on the counter met skin that was still dripping. I rubbed at it half-heartedly, then wrapped myself up, but the chill still crept in. Ugh. Should've stayed in. So cold.
Clean. But no answers.
I rifled through my dresser for some fresh underwear, slipped them on, then froze—still tugging at the fabric as my mind drifted. Aura. It has to be my aura. Right? What else could he see so far away?
I ripped the towel off and tossed it aside. My feet started moving. Pacing. Back and forth. Over the same damn spot.
I ran my hands through my hair, the wet strands running between my fingers. My brain kept hitting the same walls. Is he pretending? Pretending... Sister wouldn't overreact, would she? No way. She even called me her daughter. She wouldn't do that unless... But how? How could he possibly see it? The only way is by touch...
Fingers pinching my bottom lip, I stopped mid-stride. He saw something I couldn't.
The pacing started again. Arms crossed under my naked chest, underwear the only thing I'd bothered with. My brain wouldn't shut up. Round and round I went, stuck in the same damn loop until it boiled over.
"Aghhh!" My hands clamped over my head, digging into my scalp like I could claw the thoughts out.
I spun around, and my gaze landed on the mirror in my bathroom. And there she was—me—glaring back. Oh, Gods. I look like a lunatic.
Wait... my own reflection.
An idea sparked. My mind cleared. The pieces clicked together. See what he saw. I needed to see myself just like he did.
Taking a deep breath, I let my mana flare out. The silvery-white haze of my Gravity aura blossomed around me, shimmering in the mirror. It looked... normal. Just a haze. Nothing remarkable. Okay, it is denser, but that can't be what tipped him off.
My chest tightened as the frustration tried to claw its way back.
No. Not like this.
I needed the chaos—the push of every desperate strike I'd ever made. The wolf. Asher. Every moment my body had gone beyond itself. I shut my eyes and reached for it: the overwhelming, wild surge of both cores, the raw collision of energy inside me.
I flared again. Harder. Every ounce of mana I could force through my body.
And then... a flicker.
Still a translucent haze, yes—but for a fraction of a second, it pulsed and trembled. Gone before I could blink. My eyes snapped open.
Fuck. Oh gods... you can totally see it.
I thought it was just a feeling. Something only I could sense. I didn't know. I didn't know you could actually SEE it!
But... wait... I still don't get how he could see it? From across the arena. From there. Shit. Does Victoria know? Did she just... not say anything?
The puzzle inside my head was almost complete.
And what was with that question? Has anyone tested my aptitude for magic?
The question was strange—but it fit, the final piece. I sifted through my memories, every scrap of magic knowledge, every lesson I'd barely paid attention to. You choose a path: Aura or Magic. A warrior's body channels raw power; a mage's becomes a vessel for structured manipulation. No one can be both. Totally separate. No exceptions. Trying to switch means tearing down everything you know and rebuilding your mana pathways from scratch. Anyone stupid enough to attempt both ends up crippled… or dead.
So why? Why did he ask that?
A thought surfaced. Memories of my past. Elara never tested my magic. Not even when I was a child and every other kid was being poked and prodded for their aptitudes. She only taught me combat, channeling mana through my body. But spells? Never. Not even once.
The final piece clicked into place.
The secret she feared. The reason she hid it. Dual cores, a myth made reality.
And now, a Duke prying at something that shouldn't even exist.
Two cores. Two paths.
The hypothesis was so alien, so against every fundamental rule of the world, that my mind shied away from it. But the evidence was there, an undeniable breadcrumb trail leading to one conclusion.
My head was finally clear. The storm turned serene. An electric thrill slid down my spine. Not anger. Just the delicious clarity of knowing what I am.
Elara tried to hide it. To protect me. I love her, but I'm not a girl who needs saving. I need power.
I'm Luna.
I'll make this power mine. Every flicker, every surge—I'll bend it until it obeys me.
I'll become something faster, stronger, more lethal than anyone expects.
I'll win. Not for them. Not because I have to. For me.
And when it's over… they'll remember the name Luna.
I need to learn. To control it. To master every surge… then comes the magic.
But first... I'm sleepy.