-Asher-
I watched them from the edge of the courtyard. Just beyond the light. Finn had his arms around her like he could keep her together if he just held on tight enough. Soren sat nearby, silent but close, like proximity could fix what words hadn't.
And Alexia…
She looked small. Still. Her face soft in the dim torchlight, head resting against Finn like it was the only place in the world she felt safe.
It should've been comforting.
She wasn't alone.
She was healing.
But all I felt was the scrape of something raw in my chest.
Too late, my wolf whispered.
And maybe he was right.
I turned before they could look up and see me standing there like a coward.
Like a ghost.
She deserved better.
Better than my silence. Better than the mess of loyalty and fear I couldn't seem to untangle.
I walked through the grounds, fast, jaw clenched.
My decision had already been made.
' Hadn't it?
I couldn't sleep well.
Instead, I walked the corridors like a ghost until the towers gave way to silence. Until the guards stopped glancing my way with curiosity, and the whispers about her faded into dust.
I didn't want to be the one to say it.
But someone had to.
By the time I stood before the tall obsidian doors of the Council chamber, the weight in my chest had solidified into something sharp.
The guards opened the doors without a word.
Inside, the chamber flickered with ever-burning flames, glowing blue and gold and crimson along the curved ceiling. The five council members were already seated in their high-backed thrones - elegant, ancient, and watching him like they already knew why he was here.
"Asher Vance," Aelira Dawnmire greeted him, her voice like wind through glass. "We were told you might come."
I bowed stiffly. "Thank you for seeing me."
"Speak," Magnus Virell said, fingers steepled beneath his chin. The warlock's violet eyes shimmered with disinterest - or maybe disdain. Hard to tell with warlocks.
"It's about Alexia Carter," I began, my voice low but steady. "Her chaos magic…it's not stable."
Seraphine Vexhart tilted her head, her flame-red braid coiled over one shoulder. "We're aware she's aware she's still learning. That's hardly surprising."
"No," I said, sharper than intended. "This isn't about normal magical growth. She destroyed a reinforced training dummy because she was angry. Her magic moved before she did. It reacted like it had a mind of its own."
Rhian Kael frowned. "That can happen when magic is deeply emotional. Especially with chaos-based sources."
"I know. But there was another moment - yesterday. I saw something. She didn't even notice it, but…the air around her cracked. Like reality was breaking. Like her magic was trying to leak out." I paused. "I don't think she realized it even happened."
Thorne Vaelros's gaze sharpened, red eyes glowing faintly. "You're saying it's growing beyond her awareness?"
I nodded. "And that's why I'm here. She's holding it together, barely - but she's stretched too thin. She's blaming herself for things out of her control, carrying weight no one trained her for. And chaos magic feeds on emotion. If she snaps -"
"She hasn't," Seraphine interrupted. "Yet."
I clenched my jaw. "No. But the signs are there. And when she does - when, not if - it won't be a training dummy next time."
Aelira's eyes softened slightly. "You fear she'll hurt someone."
"I think she'll hurt herself first," I said. "And she won't even see it coming."
Silence blanketed the chamber.
"We've known of her potential since the day she set foot in Whisperwind," Magnus finally said. "We have been watching her since we came here."
"So you are aware that she destroyed a training dummy two weeks ago with a flick of her wrist. Not just burned it - obliterated it. Two nights ago, I watched two more go up in flames. No one else saw it. But I did."
Rhian's jaw flexed. "She's powerful. We expected missteps."
"These weren't missteps." I hated how my voice cracked. "She wasn't casting. She was reacting. And she was afraid."
Magnus laced his fingers together. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
I looked at them - at the highest magical powers in our world - and wondered if they'd already decided. If they were just waiting for one of us to bring them what they needed.
"I'm saying she's going to hurt someone," I said. "And she'll hate herself for it."
Aelira raised a brow. "You were her strongest critic in the beginning. You've also defended her, more than once."
"Because she's not the monster everyone thought she'd be," I said quietly. "But she's breaking. She's trying so damn hard to hold it together, and it's slipping."
"Has she harmed anyone?" Seraphine asked coolly.
"No. But she's come close. Too close."
"Then there is nothing we can do. All signs have pointed to her trying to control her powers." Thorne said. The others nodded. I was getting frustrated with how they were not taking me seriously.
"There is more!" I yell. "She has been visited twice by a guy named Gideon! Who is a chaos warlock."
I knew that as soon as I said that I messed up royally. They all tensed up as soon as I said the name Gideon.
"She didn't call him. He just…appeared. Once in the woods. Once in her dreams - I think. I don't know if it was astral or something else. But he got to her. He's trying to manipulate her. Twist what she feels about everyone and twist what she's becoming."
"Did she tell you this?" Magnus asked.
"No," I said. "She told my friends. She's trying to pretend she's okay. But I don't think she is."
Aelira's wings shivered, almost imperceptibly. "So what do you ask of us, Asher?"
I didn't answer for a moment. The words tasted like betrayal.
"I want you to step in," I said finally. "Before she becomes something she can't come back from."