WICKEM LIVED.
Outside my suite window, campus stirred with rhythm and purpose. Students crossed the quad in easy clusters, laughter rising through the morning air—freshmen, wide-eyed and overwhelmed as well as upperclassmen, confident in their stride. Life hummed forward, real, steady, ours.
In the training yards, flame curled in practiced arcs. Cyrus ran containment drills, each gesture a lesson in restraint over destruction. The recruits followed him, learning how to hold power instead of unleashing it.
Keane would be wrapping his dimensional theory seminar, precise and methodical, teaching structure before flair. His foundations would shape magic for decades.
And below me, music filtered up through the walls. Elio sat in the common room, playing something honest.
I called my mom.
She answered on the second ring. Mari!
Her voice wrapped around me like safety. We talked about her accounting classes and my research updates.
You’re not coming home. Are you? she asked, gently.
Wickem is home now, I said. But so are you.
She was quiet for a moment. You always were meant for more. I just didn’t know how much.
Warmth pressed behind my eyes.
I’m proud of you, she said. But I’m okay too. I’ve got this. You can stop worrying.
I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding that fear until it eased.
Tell me about your boyfriends, she added, light but curious. All three? Really?
I laughed, genuine and unguarded. It’s complicated.
But happy?
Yeah. Very.
After we hung up, Scout chittered on my shoulder.
Wellspring?
He nudged against my cheek in agreement.
THE DINING HALL HUMMED WITH late afternoon energy. I grabbed tea and found a corner table, letting the normalcy wash over me. Students argued about assignments. Someone’s familiar knocked over a water glass. Life continued.
Hey.
I looked up.
Aurora stood beside the table, her tray in hand. She looked different—less fragile than when I’d sent her home. The time away had steadied her, or maybe she’d just needed distance from the chaos I’d brought into her life.
Hey, I said, surprise catching in my throat. You came back.
Of course I came back. She slid into the seat across from me, her amber eyes holding something firm. This is still my school. You’re still my friend, even when you forget that.
The accusation was gentle but real.
I didn’t forget…
You did. She said it simply, not cruel, just honest. Last year, you got wrapped up in them. And I get it. They’re… them. Powerful and compelling and all-consuming. But, Mari, we were here first. We built something.
