One week had slipped by in a blur of secret training sessions, stolen glances, and the constant, humming tension that now followed Lydia wherever she went.
She had grown stronger. The Leakweaver orb Sorren had given her had become her constant companion — a small, warm weight in her pocket that absorbed the excess leaks of her aura whenever the emotions ran too high. She was getting better at masking it, at pulling the power inward like the nurse had taught her. But the Five… they were becoming impossible to ignore.
Ignis found her first that afternoon, near the edge of the eastern training fields where the grass was still scorched from yesterday's fire drills.
He had been watching her from afar for days. Every time he tried to approach, she seemed to slip away. Every shared training session felt shorter, more guarded. He was convinced she was avoiding him.
"Lydia," he called, voice low but carrying across the open space.
