The healer's room smelled of crushed herbs and warm lantern oil.
Genesis worked quickly, her hands steady even though her heart was racing.
Lucia—still wearing her broken cat mask—lay unconscious on the narrow bed. Bandages wrapped her arm and shoulder, and a faint shimmer of leftover magic pulsed under her skin.
Leo stood near the doorway, arms crossed, jaw tight. He kept glancing at her, worry carefully hidden behind his commander's expression.
Genesis dipped a cloth into a bowl of warm water.
"She's stable," she murmured.
"But the magic burns are harder to treat. Whoever she is… she's not an ordinary fighter."
Leo nodded, gaze fixed on Lucia.
"She isn't."
Genesis began cleaning the dust from Lucia's face. The cracked mask had shifted, pressing against a wound on her cheek.
"This mask is in the way," Genesis said softly.
"I need to remove it to check for injuries."
Leo stiffened.
"No one is supposed to see her face. She hid it for a reason."
Genesis raised an eyebrow.
"She fought a monster three times the size of the palace. I think her injuries are more important than her secrets."
Before Leo could reply, Genesis touched the mask gently—
And it crumbled.
The crack running through it deepened at the slightest pressure.
The entire mask loosened and slipped off in Genesis's hand.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Lucia's face—calm, soft, familiar—lay visible beneath the fading glow of lanternlight.
Genesis gasped.
"W-Wait… she's—"
Leo's breath caught.
"You know her?!"
Genesis stepped back, stunned.
"This is Lucia Arvendale," she whispered.
"The girl who disappeared from the academy last year. Everyone thought she moved away. But she… she's the masked mage?"
Leo looked at Lucia again, this time without the mysterious mask hiding her features.
Memories flickered—
a determined girl who always finished her training last,
who always stayed behind to help others,
who had a quiet fire in her eyes every time she talked about protecting people.
Leo swallowed.
"It makes sense now… why she didn't want to be recognized."
Genesis nodded slowly.
"A magic user would be hunted by the Empress. Lucia was protecting herself."
Leo stepped closer, voice low but firm.
"And protecting the kingdom."
Genesis placed the broken mask pieces aside and resumed tending the injuries.
"Her magic… it's powerful, Leo. I've never seen anything like it."
He didn't answer.
He simply watched Lucia's unconscious form—her chest rising slowly, her hand curled weakly near her side, her face peaceful despite the battle she'd just survived.
Genesis wrapped the last bandage and sighed in relief.
"She'll wake up. But she'll be exhausted for days. Magic drain is serious."
Leo finally exhaled, a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"Good," he said.
"We'll keep her safe."
Genesis smiled faintly.
"You care about her."
Leo looked away, clearing his throat.
"I care about everyone who fights for this kingdom."
Genesis smirked knowingly but didn't argue.
She placed a warm cloth on Lucia's forehead and whispered,
"Rest, Lucia. You're safe now."
Outside, the moon dipped behind the dunes, the aftershocks of the battle fading.
But the calm wouldn't last.
Because in the shadows of the palace…
someone else had learned about the masked mage.
And she would not let Lucia remain hidden for long.
Written by-
Shreyashi Singh