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"My manifestation did."

"Your manifestation belongs to you."

The answer is immediate. Matter-of-fact. As though there were never another possibility. I don't realize I've stopped walking until he notices.

He turns. "What?"

I shake my head. "Nothing." He's already started walking again before I find the words I was looking for. We follow the narrow path in comfortable silence. Students pass us in the opposite direction on their way to afternoon lectures. Some greet Rhyven. He acknowledges each with a nod. Nothing more. A Chief. Always. I wonder if he ever gets tired of carrying that responsibility. Then I remember the look on his face when Professor Neris said my manifestation made me vulnerable. Maybe responsibility isn't something he carries. Maybe it's simply who he is.

Halfway back to the Academy, he speaks again. "There'll be new exercises during Wing training."

I look toward him. "What kind?"

"You'll find out."

"That isn't an answer."

"It wasn't supposed to be."

"I liked you better when you answered questions."

"I answer questions."

I scoff. "Selective ones."

His mouth twitches. "Correct."

"I feel sorry for Sky Wing."

"You should."

The reply comes so quickly I laugh. A real one. Short. It echoes softly through the trees before disappearing into the wind. Rhyven doesn't smile. Not exactly. But something in his expression softens. Only for a second. Then it's gone.

We reach the stone bridge connecting the academic grounds to the western residences. Students flow around us in every direction. The ordinary rhythm of the Academy continues untouched. Someone argues about an essay. Two second-years race each other toward the dining hall. A professor balances an impossible stack of books while pretending not to notice a pair of dragons circling overhead. Life. Normal. I wonder how many of them know. How many professors have read those letters. How many students have experienced something they dismissed because it lasted only seconds. The thought refuses to leave me.

"Rhyven." I say quietly.

"Hm?"

I wait. "Do you think Professor Neris told the other Chiefs?"

He doesn't answer immediatly. "Not yet."

I don't push farther. We stop where the paths divide. The western residences lie ahead. The academic wing stretches east. Neither of us moves immediately. "Twenty-forty-five." He reminds me. "West Tower."

"I'll be there."

He gives a single nod. Then— "Get some studying done first."

I blink. "What?"

"You've got Aldren's essay."

"I know."

"You also look like you've been thinking instead of sleeping."

I cross my arms on my chest. "I have."