The walk to the headmaster’s office is silent.
Stone corridors stretch ahead, each turn tighter than the last. The heavy wooden doors of the main hall loom large by the time we reach them. Headmaster Veyne presses a hand to the runes etched into the frame. They flare softly, and the doors sweep open.
His office is nothing like I expected. High arched windows. Shelves packed with ancient books. A long dark wood desk polished to a mirror shine.
But it’s theairthat catches me off guard.
It feels...heavier in here. Not just quiet, butpressurized—like walking into a storm just before the first crack of thunder. My skin prickles. The hair on my arms rises. It’s not sound exactly, but something beneath sound. A hum I feel more than hear, like the room is somehow watching.
The Headmaster gestures us in, without looking back.
I step inside, heart still racing. Raiden moves past me with unhurried steps, stopping near the far wall, arms folding across his chest. Professor River closes the door behind us with a solid click. Headmaster Veyne moves to the desk, fingers steepling lightly. His gaze lands on me first, unreadable. Then shifts to Raiden.
“There’s no point in dragging this out.” The words are smooth but final. “Miss Blake’s magic is unstable. Dangerous. The Council has reviewed the report.”
I press my lips together; Kael told him what happened.
“You will need a trainer,” he continues. “Someone capable of stabilizing your power before it does further damage.”
I glance at Raiden before I can stop myself.
He’s still and unreadable. But as Headmaster Veyne’s next words fall, that changes.
“For this reason, you will be bound to a combat partner. A trainer.” His gaze flicks to Raiden. “Tsukino, that will be you.”
The air shifts. Raiden pushes off the wall, eyes narrowing, the lazy edge gone in an instant.
“No.” The word is flat. Immediate.
Headmaster Veyne’s expression doesn’t flicker. “It’s not a request.”
Raiden takes a slow breath, jaw tight. “There are others better suited. She should be assigned?—”
“She’s not being assigned to anyone else.” Professor River’s voice cuts in now, cool but firm. “You’ve seen her in combat. You felt the pull when the mark activated.”
I blink. Pull?
Headmaster Veyne’s gaze returns to me. “Your magic has already chosen its tether. The bond will stabilize your training. Without it...you will not be safe here.”
I can barely process the words. Bond. Tether.
Raiden’s jaw works, tension in every line of his body. “I don’t agree with this.”
“You don’t need to,” Headmaster Veyne says simply. “But you will follow through. Or you can answer to the Council directly.”
A long silence stretches between them.
Then Raiden exhales, sharp and quiet. “When?”
Headmaster Veyne’s gaze flicks to me again. “Today.”
EIGHT
LINDSAY
The word hangsin the air.
Today.
