-Alexia-
"Jasper, please-"
But he turns, walking away quickly, leaving me alone in the torn-up grass, the smell of burnt straw thick in the air, tears blurring everything.
The vines under the dirt shift restlessly, mirroring the chaos coiling in my chest.
No.
Not like this.
I can't let it go.
I follow him, keeping to the shadows, Zeus at my side, silent, watchful. I hold the vines close, forcing them to be still so I won't give myself away.
The threads I feel-Finn, warm and steady; Soren, quiet but constant; Jasper, jagged and torn; Asher, cold, distant-tug inside me, but I push them aside, focusing on the soft thud of Jasper's boots ahead.
He slips into the old music room.
I press myself against the wall near the cracked door, peering through a sliver.
"Asher," Jasper says, breathless, his coin clutched in his fist, shadows swirling at his feet. "It happened."
Asher's standing near the piano, arms crossed, jaw tight. "What happened?"
"She lost control," Jasper says, his voice shaking. "She blew up a training dummy. She didn't even mean to. It just-snapped."
My breath catches, the vines under my boots twitching.
"She's losing control," Asher mutters.
"She's scared," Jasper tries, but his voice cracks.
"This is what I've been saying." Asher's voice is cold, heavy, and final. "It's getting worse."
"She didn't mean to-"
"It doesn't matter!" Aher snaps, then lowers his voice. "What happens when she does it around other students? When the Council finds out?"
Silence.
Then Asher speaks, low, steady. "We take her to the Council. We tell them she needs help. That she's a danger to herself if she can't control it. They'll chain the magic. She'll be safe."
My stomach twists so hard I nearly double over.
Jasper's voice breaks. "What about Finn and Soren? They'll never agree to this."
"They'll understand. Eventually."
"She'll never forgive us."
"I can live with that,"Asher says. "If it keeps her alive."
I press a hand over my mouth, backing away, the vines curling around my ankles, Zeus whining softly, his fur brushing against my leg.
Take me to the Council.
Chain me.
Betray me.
They're going to take me.
Asher. Jasper.
I don't remember getting back to the dorm. Zeus nudges me through the door, and I collapse onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, the vines shifting restlessly under the floor.
They're planning to take me away.
The words echo in my skull, over and over, until I can't breathe.
Kaia finds me sitting on the floor, hugging my knees, my eyes swollen from crying.
"Lex?" she says softly, shutting the door behind her.
I lift my head, tears slipping free. "They're going to take me to the Council, Kaia."
She goes still, eyes sharp. "Who?"
"Asher. Jasper." My voice cracks. "They're planning it. They think I'm dangerous."
She kneels in front of me, taking my hands, grounding me. "You're not dangerous, Lex."
"I lost control," I whisper. "And they saw. They think the Council can help me."
Kaia's jaw tightens. "What about Finn and Soren?"
"They don't know," I whisper. "And I can't tell them. Not yet."
"Lex-"
"If they find out, it'll break them." My voice shakes. "And I don't know who to trust anymore."
Kaia pulls me into a hug, pressing her forehead to mine. "You can trust me."
I nod, pressing my face into her shoulder, trying to swallow the sob threatening to break free.
That night, I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, the bond with Finn warm but heavy, the threads with Soren and Jasper alive but tangled, everything pulled too tight.
I can't face Finn.
I can't face Soren.
Not right now.
Not when everything is falling apart.
So I pull back, bit by bit.
I stop sitting with Finn at breakfast, making excuses about studying.
I avoid Soren's quiet glances, slipping away before he can ask what's wrong.
And I watch Jasper from across the courtyard, his eyes shadowed, avoiding mine, the coin spinning in his hand.