"Kael."
The voice was distant, warped, like sound underwater.
Then came words that didn't belong to any tongue he knew, syllables that clawed at the edges of meaning.
"E'laen… rah'thuun… Kael."
The room was quiet except for the faint hiss of the kettle.
Steam curled lazily through the air, soft and ghostlike, catching the pale morning light that pooled against the dorm window.
Kael jerked awake. His body was slick with sweat, breath ragged, chest heaving as though he'd been running.
"Who—who was that?" he rasped, eyes wild, searching the corners as if someone might be standing there.
"Kael!" Aurelia's voice cut through the silence, startled and sharp. "Why are you screaming? What happened?"
Kael blinked at her, confusion giving way to shame. He dragged a trembling hand through his hair. "I… I'm sorry. Just… a nightmare. That's all."
Aurelia saw the tremor in his hands, the way his breath hitched like someone who'd been running.
"A nightmare?" she asked, close enough now to see the pale line of his jaw and the way his knuckles were a bit white. "You looked terrified."
He forced a weak smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's fine now. I'm fine."
Aurelia inclined her head once, as if accepting the answer, though her eyes lingered on him longer than her words did. "Alright…" She turned back to the kettle, the soft hiss of steam filling the silence between them.
She poured the tea with careful precision, the porcelain gleaming faintly in the lantern light. Kael accepted the cup with a murmured thanks.
"Handle it well," Aurelia said, her tone lighter now, though her gaze flicked to the set with a kind of guarded fondness. "That porcelain is worth more than anything else here."
Kael blinked, turning the cup in his hands.
Worth more than anything? In coin, or in something else entirely?
"How so?" he asked aloud.
Her lips curved into a small smile, one that carried both warmth and a shadow of memory. "It was a gift," she said softly. "From Rowena."
Aurelia lifted her own cup and took a sip, letting the warmth steady her before she finally said, quietly, "You're certain you're all right?"
Kael's hands trembled faintly as he cupped the porcelain.
The scent of tea, lavender, and something faintly citrus, curled through the air, grounding him in the room, in the now.
You're here. You're awake.
But the words from the dream, the voice, still clung to the edges of his mind like frost refusing to melt.
He couldn't remember the shape of the language, only the sound, something vast and broken, syllables that didn't belong to any tongue he'd ever studied, vibrating through his skull like a pulse that wasn't his own.
It had called his name.
Not shouted, not whispered, called. As if it had always known him, long before he could have known himself.
Kael stared into the tea, watching the faint reflection of his own eyes ripple with the surface.
What did it want?
The question slid between his thoughts like a blade, cold and unwelcome.
It was nothing. Just exhaustion. Too many sleepless nights, too much strain from study and meditation.
That voice. It meant nothing. Just stress, nothing more. Nothing worth remembering.
He didn't want her to see the tremor beneath the surface, the fear that that voice had recognized something inside him. That maybe it hadn't been a nightmare at all.
No. Not now.
He took another sip of tea, letting the heat burn against his throat, a physical reminder that this world was still solid, still his.
"I am," Kael said. The words were measured but gentle, not defensive. "Just… shaken, I suppose."
But the truth was quieter, unspoken beneath the surface of the words…
I don't know if I am.
And I don't know if I want to know who, or what, called me.
Aurelia set her cup down with a faint clink, the steam curling upward like an exhale.
She studied him for a moment longer, his hair still damp with sweat, his collar clinging slightly to his neck, that strained, faraway look refusing to leave his eyes.
With a soft sigh, she rose from her chair and crossed her arms. "Finish your tea, Kael," she said. "You're a mess. Get washed before it cools off. We have class first thing."
Kael blinked, almost startled back into reality, the tea halfway to his lips. "Right… class," he murmured, as if the word itself felt distant.
She shook her head lightly. "You were sweating like you fought a duel in your sleep. Whatever nightmare that was, don't let it follow you into the lecture."
There was a sharp knock at the door that made both of them jump.
Aurelia rose and opened it with the same quiet precision she used for everything.
"Hello, Aurelia!" Lysandra's voice burst into the room like sunlight through glass, bright, intrusive, and entirely uninvited.
Then she stopped dead in the doorway.
Her eyes darted once between Aurelia, still in her nightgown, hair loose over her shoulders, and Kael, sitting on his bed in a half-buttoned shirt, hair damp, a sheen of sweat still on his skin.
The silence that followed was loud enough to hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.
"Oh."
It wasn't a simple oh. It was the kind that carried entire novels of implication.
Lysandra's brows shot up, her expression turning slowly from surprise to mock delight. "Well," she said, inhaling like a performer before a scene, "This is certainly… unexpected. I knew you two were close, but I didn't think—" She gestured vaguely between them, grin sharpening. "Scandalous!"
Aurelia's face went crimson in an instant. She tugged her robe tighter around her, sitting up straight as though sheer posture could rewrite the situation.
"We're roommates," she said stiffly, the words crisp with barely restrained panic. "It can't be helped."
"Roommates?" Lysandra repeated, all feigned innocence. "Even so, one of you is tangled in silk, and the other looks like he's just survived a duel, or something busier."
Aurelia's breath caught, her face burning scarlet, "It's not—! It's just a coincidence!" she sputtered, turning sharply toward Kael as if to demand backup, or maybe an explanation that would make her sound less ridiculous.
Kael, to his credit, remained calm, though his shoulders were tense, the faint remnants of the nightmare still clinging to him. He set down his cup carefully before speaking.
"I had a nightmare," he said evenly, meeting Lysandra's wide grin without flinching. "A bad one. That's all."
Lysandra blinked, her amusement softening just enough for a flicker of apology, or perhaps mild disappointment at losing such promising gossip.
"Oh." She paused, then smiled again, sly but lighter this time. "Well. I suppose that's less exciting than what I imagined."
Kael gave a slow, sure nod. "I have never laid a finger on her," he said plainly. "Two beds. Two bathrooms. That should be enough to settle anyone's concerns." The statement was level. There was no question in it.
Aurelia felt an odd mix of relief and residual embarrassment. She huffed a small, affronted laugh. "Well then," she said, folding her arms. "What are you doing here? Why have you come all the way to our room?"
Lysandra, unbothered as ever, beamed. "To walk to class together, of course! You two always take forever, and I thought I'd save us all some time."
Aurelia arched a brow. "How considerate." She reached for the door, already halfway through the polite motion of closing it. "We'll be ready shortly."
But Lysandra planted a firm hand on the edge, preventing it from closing. "Oh no, I'll wait right here," she said cheerily, stepping inside as if she owned the place. "Someone needs to make sure you two don't get up to anything… suspicious."
Aurelia's expression froze. "Suspicious," she repeated flatly.
Lysandra only smiled wider, utterly pleased with herself.
There was a long, brittle pause, then Aurelia gave up with a quiet, exhausted sigh, muttering something under her breath about "Incorrigible busybodies." She gestured toward the room. "Fine. Stay. Just don't touch anything."
She grabbed her uniform and retreated behind the folding screen, the soft rustle of fabric following her.
On the other side, Kael rose from his seat, drained the last of his tea, and slipped behind his own screen, the floor creaking faintly under his steps.
That left Lysandra standing squarely in the middle of the room, arms crossed, an impish smile on her face as she called out lightly, "Don't mind me! Just ensuring the integrity of the morning routine!"
From behind Kael's screen came the faint sound of a very controlled exhale, the kind of breath someone takes to keep from throwing a pillow.
Once they were finally dressed and the morning chaos had quieted, the three of them stepped out into the crisp air of the academy courtyard.
Sunlight slanted through the glass arches above, catching faint traces of dew on the marble paths.
Aurelia walked with a faint air of regained dignity, Kael followed beside her with calm reserve, and Lysandra trailed, bright, unbothered, and clearly enjoying herself far too much.
"So," Lysandra began, swinging her satchel over her shoulder, "What's today's lecture about? Please tell me it's not another history session. If I have to listen to Professor Renand talk about the Founders' dietary habits again, I might actually fall asleep."
Kael glanced over at her, his tone even but thoughtful. "No, not history today. It's on the Elemental Edict, specifically, Stage Two: Embodiment."
Lysandra perked up. "That sounds… fancy. I recall Professor Marlec discussing it during his lecture. What does it mean, exactly?"
Kael adjusted the strap of his cloak slightly as they walked. "At the first stage, most of us can summon and shape our element with effort. It's still something external, like borrowing power for a moment. But Embodiment is different."
His gaze drifted forward, watching the early students filling the pathways. "It's about giving that element form and endurance. Stability over raw force. Creating something that doesn't fade the instant your will wavers."
Aurelia glanced sideways at him, catching the faint, distant look in his eyes, thoughtful, maybe even haunted. "So… control over creation," she murmured. "Not just strength."
"Exactly," Kael said softly. "It's the difference between wielding fire and being it."
Lysandra blinked, impressed despite herself. "That's… surprisingly poetic for someone who nearly screamed himself awake this morning."
Aurelia shot her a look sharp enough to cut steel.
Kael gave a small, weary smile, choosing not to respond.
The three of them continued toward the lecture hall, the murmur of the crowd enveloping them, one carrying quiet tension, another amusement, and one still harboring a lingering thought of fire given form.
But Kael's thoughts drifted far from the chatter around him. Lysandra's teasing, Aurelia's calm explanations, even Marlec's greeting them at the doorway, all of it blurred into distant sound, muffled and thin, like conversation through glass.
The voice still echoed in his head. Kael. That alien call, layered and resonant, almost human but not quite, had carved itself into his mind as if it belonged there.
The memory of it made his pulse tighten. The words that followed, incomprehensible yet heavy with intent, still rang through his chest like they meant something. Something he wasn't ready to understand.
He sat down, the soft creak of the desk anchoring him in the present.
Marlec was speaking already, something about elemental resonance, about the difference between form and flux, but Kael couldn't focus.
His eyes traced the faint patterns of light across the floor, listening to the hum of voices, the scrape of chalk, the clatter of Lysandra's pen.
It was all background noise, a veil against the memory pressing at the edges of his mind.
That wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been.
Because in the heart of that nightmare, between the sound and silence, he had the distinct, bone-deep feeling that whoever had called his name… had been awake.
"Kael?"
A light poke to his shoulder. Then another, sharper.
He blinked, the blurred edges of the classroom resolving back into shape. Marlec's voice faded as the lecture wrapped up, the sound of quills and notebooks closing all around him.
Lysandra was leaning forward over her desk, chin propped on her hand, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Earth to Kael," she said, drawing out the words. "You looked like you were meditating with your eyes open. What'd you think of the lecture?"
Kael straightened, trying to hide the way his pulse jumped. "Right. The lecture." His voice came out rougher than he expected. "It was… detailed."
How long was I out for?
"Detailed?" Lysandra arched a brow, unimpressed. "That's the best you can do? Marlec just explained Embodiment! Stability, endurance, the whole foundation of resonance, and you sound like you were listening to a weather report."
Aurelia turned slightly, eyes narrowing in that way that said she noticed more than she let on. "He's tired," she said quietly. "He didn't sleep well."
Kael gave a faint nod, grateful but uneasy beneath her gaze.
He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't tell them the truth either.
That the voice still pulsed somewhere behind his ribs, echoing faintly even now, as though waiting for him to listen.
"I'll reread the notes later," he said finally, forcing a small, steadying breath. "I just… have a lot on my mind."
Lysandra leaned back in her chair with a huff, half-teasing, half-curious. "Fine, but if you start drifting off again, I'll throw chalk."
Kael managed a small smile at that.
Even now, beneath the hum of conversation and scraping chairs, he could almost hear it again, soft, distant, calling his name.
If it wasn't just a nightmare, then what was it?
I'd read about echoes, voices tied to ancient or cursed artifacts that sometimes resonated too strongly with certain students.
The academy housed relics older than the city itself, some of which still hummed faintly in the Aether.
But if it were something like that, it would've affected others too. Aurelia. Lysandra. Anyone nearby.
So why only me?
A breath caught in his throat as another thought surfaced, sharp, unwelcome.
The ribbon.
The one Marcellin had pressed into his skin like a whisper of silk and smoke, claiming it wasn't a binding.
Just a mark of reassurance, a symbolic tether of trust.
But trust, in Marcellin's world, was a word stretched thin.
Could that be it?
He rubbed his wrist absently where the faint warmth had once lingered, half expecting to feel it pulse again.
Marcellin's voice echoed in memory, "You'll remember the hand that steadied the ladder."
What if the hand hadn't just steadied him? What if it had taken hold, subtly, quietly, waiting?
If that clown had lied… if he had slipped something beneath the veil of the contract, then the nightmare wasn't random. It was a message. Or worse, a summon.
The corridors had thinned by the time they left the lecture hall, the air outside carrying that cool hush that sits between classes.
Kael walked beside Aurelia and Lysandra, his thoughts a quiet static, the voice, the ribbon, the aftertaste of iron, all folded tight behind his ribs.
They turned into one of the glass-arched walkways that looked down on the courtyard. Aurelia slowed and turned toward him.
"Kael," she said, soft enough that passing students barely noticed.
He met her eyes.
"I can read your Aether," she continued, hesitant but resolute. "If something's wrong, if there's a foreign influence, a curse, or even a spirit clinging to you, I'll know."
Kael blinked, surprise plain in his eyes. "You can do that?"
Aurelia nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "My sister used to do it for me when I was younger. Whenever I had nightmares, she'd say she was 'seeing the spirits' and cleansing them. It's not exactly an exorcism, just a little Aether manipulation. If something's attached to you, even faintly, I'll be able to tell."
Kael hesitated, the weight of vulnerability pressing against him.
The thought of someone peering that deeply into his rhythm, his pulse, his soul's pulse, made his skin prickle.
Yet there was something in Aurelia's quiet certainty, the kind that had seen this work before, that steadied him.
"…Alright," he murmured. "Let's see if your sister's trick still works."
Aurelia gave a small, knowing smile. "It usually does."
She raised her hands, fingertips trembling slightly as Aether coalesced in the air around her.
Kael felt the faint brush of Aether against his skin, responsive to her probing, delicate but deliberate.
"Just relax," she murmured."
Lysandra, hovering a step behind them, crossed her arms and leaned slightly forward, curiosity brimming. "I want to try too," she said, bright and insistent. "If she can read Aether, I want to see how it feels."
Kael shot her a wary glance. "Are you sure—?"
Lysandra waved him off, her grin wide. "It's fine. I won't break anything."
Aurelia's focus didn't waver. The Aether around them shifted, rippling softly as she traced the flow of Kael's current.
Her pupils narrowed slightly, measuring, feeling, searching.
For a moment, nothing seemed amiss. No shadows, no lingering residue, no echo of the voice that had haunted him the night before. The Aether around him was steady, calm, almost serene.
She lowered her hands, letting the crescents dissolve into the air. "It's… clear," she said softly. "Nothing foreign. You're fine, Kael. You just need rest."
Kael exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders easing. "Thank you," he said quietly. "And… the tea this morning helped, too."
Aurelia glanced at him, a thought lingering in her mind.
Even when he's calm, there's something fragile beneath it. Vulnerable, in a way no one else sees.
Lysandra leaned closer, eyes sparkling. "My turn now, I want to know if I have any mysterious signatures. Maybe I'm secretly composed of glitter."
Aurelia cast her a half-amused look. "If you insist," she said, and the two of them chuckled.
Kael allowed himself a small smile in return, watching Aurelia steady her hands as she prepared to read Lysandra's current.
The knot of unease under his ribs didn't vanish entirely, but for now it drew softer, wrapped in ordinary company and sunlight, being allowed to let the weight of that nightmare drift away.