The morning sun cut through the narrow windows of the Aldrich Academy, casting long stripes of light across the polished floors. Kael Aldrich moved through the corridors with careful steps, head bowed, hands tucked into his sleeves. He felt the weight of every gaze in the halls, though most of the students tried not to meet his eyes.
Since the classroom incident, whispers had grown louder. Nothing overt no one dared accuse him openly but Kael could feel it: the curiosity, the tension. He wasn't invisible anymore, and that terrified him.
Lessons dragged on in slow succession. Each instructor expected participation, each assignment required demonstration. Kael avoided attention as best he could, but sometimes he felt it in the air the pull of energy, the warmth of his own power reacting to the presence of others.
During mid-morning spell practice, a group exercise required students to create small bursts of light simultaneously. Kael hesitated, palms shaking slightly as he lifted his hands. He concentrated, imagining nothing but the flow of energy in the room.
Then, unintentionally, a nearby student a first-year named Laren stumbled, clutching his arm as if a sudden chill had shocked him. Kael's hands tingled. He hadn't moved, hadn't focused. Yet the energy had reacted, drawn to Laren somehow, making the boy flinch.
Kael froze, heart thundering.
The other students noticed the reaction, exchanging puzzled glances. "Did you see that?" someone whispered.
Kael kept his hands pressed together, forcing his breathing to steady. He wanted to run, wanted to hide, wanted to be anywhere but here. The memory of Rowan in the garden, Corvin in the hall, and now Laren all the people he'd inadvertently affected pressed on him like a weight.
During lunch, Kael chose the quietest corner of the courtyard. His hands refused to stay still. The tingling was subtle now, almost like a pulse, a reminder that his power was never fully dormant. He tried to ignore it, tried to focus on his food, but every glance from passing students made the skin on his neck prickle.
Elias appeared, as he often did, with a grin and a loaf of bread from the kitchen. "You look like you could use this," he said, tossing half to Kael.
Kael caught it automatically. "Thanks," he muttered.
Elias sat down, his sharp eyes scanning Kael's face. "Something's wrong. I can tell."
Kael looked away. "Nothing's wrong."
Elias's hand pressed lightly on Kael's shoulder. "Kael… I know you're hiding something. You're not the type to be shaken like this unless"
Kael shook his head. "It's nothing. Just… tired."
Elias didn't push further. He knew Kael's pride too well. But his presence calmed Kael. Just a little.
The afternoon brought a lecture on elemental theory. Kael tried to focus, trying to commit the complex diagrams and incantations to memory. But his attention kept drifting to the small tingling sensation in his hands. It pulsed lightly, an uninvited reminder of the power simmering beneath his skin.
A student sitting across from him leaned over, whispering: "Do you feel that? It's like… the air is buzzing."
Kael's stomach tightened. He felt it too, more acutely than anyone else. He clenched his fists beneath the desk, trying to will the feeling away.
He noticed small things he hadn't before. A candle flickered as he walked past it in the hall. A window pane rattled slightly when he passed. Small disturbances in the environment nothing dramatic, but enough to make him sweat, to make him doubt that he was fully in control.
Later, practice drills in the courtyard offered another test of patience. Kael attempted a simple levitation spell on a pebble, but the stone remained stubbornly on the ground. Frustration built inside him.
And then it happened again.
A classmate, a second-year named Faris, ran toward the exercise area, laughing, joking with friends. As he approached, Kael felt that same tingling in his hands. The warmth surged slightly, and Faris tripped over nothing, skidding across the stone path with a grunt.
Kael froze. His face went pale. Nobody had been touched nobody had been harmed but the reaction had been undeniable.
Faris turned, confused, laughing nervously. "What the?"
Kael didn't answer. He ducked his head, heart hammering. No one had noticed the subtle pull, but Kael knew. He knew what had happened.
The weight of it pressed on him. He was dangerous. He didn't know how, why, or when it would happen again. He didn't trust himself.
Evening fell, and Kael returned to his chamber alone. Candlelight flickered, shadows stretching across the walls. He pressed his palms together, feeling the lingering pulse of energy beneath his skin.
He thought of Rowan, of Corvin, of Laren, of Faris. Each one had reacted, even slightly, to him. Each time he tried to suppress it, the energy pulsed anyway.
Kael's fingers tingled faintly, almost like an itch he couldn't scratch. He pressed them harder, trying to feel normal. But he wasn't normal.
The door opened quietly, and Elias slipped inside. "You're still awake," he said softly.
Kael didn't answer.
Elias sat beside him on the bed. "I don't know exactly what's happening to you," he said, careful. "But I know you. You've never been reckless or cruel. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out. Together."
Kael swallowed hard. He wanted to believe him. He wanted to trust. But the fear was heavy, a weight he couldn't shake.
"I I don't understand it," he whispered. "It happens on its own. I don't want to hurt anyone… but I can't control it."
Elias nodded. "Then we start small. Carefully. We observe. We figure out how it works before it becomes a danger."
Kael nodded, biting his lip. The idea of experimenting, of trying to understand, terrified him. But he also knew he couldn't ignore it forever.
That night, Kael lay in bed, hands clenched under the covers, staring at the ceiling. Every shadow seemed to move slightly, every whisper of wind a reminder of the power inside him.
He didn't know what he was becoming, but he knew this: the magic wasn't just part of him. It was alive. And it would make itself known whether he wanted it to or not.
And somewhere deep inside, beneath fear and doubt, a spark of determination began to grow.
He would survive. He would learn. And somehow, he would control it.