Seret
Seret had never seen the academy grounds so silent.
The sky was gray and swollen, clouds hanging low over the distant hills. A storm was building, the kind that seemed to pause the world just before it broke. She stood at the edge of the courtyard, her fingers clenched tightly around the fabric of her cloak. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat.
Across the courtyard stood Kael.
He looked different. Wrong somehow. The stillness in his posture was too heavy, too focused. The faint shimmer in the air around him felt alive, unnatural. His eyes were not the same color they were yesterday. The faint glow behind his pupils was like the reflection of a forge at midnight.
Facing him was the knight. Equito. Her armor was polished silver, streaked with blue. Her halberd rested across her shoulder, its edge gleaming faintly in the half-light. She looked calm, composed, but Seret could sense tension in the way her jaw shifted.
Around them, students gathered in clusters, whispering, afraid to get closer. The instructors were absent, or perhaps they were watching from the shadows. Nobody seemed willing to interfere. Everyone felt the same thing. The air was thick with danger.
Seret tried to speak, to call out to him, but her voice caught in her throat. The energy coming from Kael's body pressed against her chest like a wave of heat. She had never felt magic like it before. It was unstable, wild, as if something inside him was trying to tear its way out.
Equito spoke first. Her voice was steady. "Kael of the lower division. You are to stand down and return with me to the capital by order of the crown."
Kael did not answer. His eyes flickered briefly toward Seret, then away. There was something unrecognizable in them. A thousand voices seemed to move behind his gaze.
"I said stand down," Equito repeated.
Kael raised his hand. The air rippled. The ground beneath him cracked, faint arcs of light running through the soil like veins of molten metal.
Seret took a step forward, fear gripping her. "Kael, stop."
He didn't move.
The sound that followed was like the earth exhaling. Wind ripped across the courtyard, flattening grass, scattering leaves. The energy burst from him all at once, invisible but crushing. The closest students stumbled backward.
Equito planted her halberd into the ground to steady herself, her cloak whipping violently in the wind. Her expression hardened. "Then you leave me no choice."
Seret could barely breathe. She could taste metal on her tongue.
The knight charged first. Her movements were perfect, every step controlled. The halberd cut through the air with a sharp whistle. Kael moved faster than he ever had before, his blade drawn in a single blur of motion. The two collided in an eruption of sound and sparks.
Seret flinched. The force shook the stone beneath her feet.
Kael parried, spun, struck again. His movements were erratic but powerful, guided by something beyond muscle and memory. Every swing left traces of light trailing behind, unstable threads of magic that hissed and burned the air.
Equito countered with precision, deflecting his strikes with clean, economical motions. She was stronger, but she looked almost cautious, like she was fighting a storm rather than a man.
Seret's nails dug into her palms. "Please stop," she whispered.
Kael's blade met the halberd again. The ground splintered beneath their feet. He pushed forward with a cry that was not entirely his own, the sound deeper, fractured.
Equito twisted her weapon, hooked his guard, and forced him off balance. Her gauntlet shot forward, striking his chest. The impact cracked like thunder. Kael slid backward, boots cutting lines in the dirt.
He didn't fall. He looked up, hair disheveled, blood running from his lip. Then he smiled. It wasn't his smile.
Seret felt something cold spread through her body.
Kael raised his free hand and muttered a word she didn't recognize. The space between them warped. For a heartbeat the world seemed to fold inward. When it snapped back, Equito was gone, and Kael was standing where she had been.
The knight reappeared behind him, halberd raised high. Her strike landed before he could turn. The blade tore through his side, blood scattering in the rain that had just begun to fall.
Seret screamed his name.
He stumbled, turned, and their eyes met across the courtyard. There was no pain in his expression. Only confusion.
Equito hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer, her face unreadable. "Forgive me," she said quietly.
Kael's sword wavered. His knees buckled. She drove the halberd through his chest.
The sound that left Seret's throat didn't feel human. She ran forward, but the students held her back, their hands gripping her arms, their words a blur. The rain poured harder now, washing away the blood that spread across the stones.
Equito withdrew her weapon. Kael collapsed. The glow faded from his eyes. His body went still.
Seret fell to her knees, the weight of it all crushing her. The rain hit her face, cold and sharp, mixing with tears she couldn't stop. The world felt distant, unreal, muted beneath the roar of her pulse.
Equito knelt beside Kael's body, her expression solemn. She covered him with her cloak and whispered a prayer in a language Seret didn't understand.
The students began to leave, one by one. Some cried. Some just stared.
Seret stayed where she was until the courtyard emptied. When she finally looked up, the knight was mounting her horse. Kael's body was slung gently across the saddle, wrapped in dark fabric.
The gates opened. The sound of hooves echoed against the stone.
Seret's voice broke through the rain, raw and desperate. "Bring him back."
Equito turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting Seret's for a moment. There was something soft in her gaze. Regret, maybe. Then she rode away.
Seret remained there long after they were gone. Her clothes were soaked through, her hair plastered to her face. Her hands trembled violently.
She whispered his name once more, barely audible beneath the storm.
Somewhere far away, thunder rolled.