The lecture hall echoed with incantations. Professor Lyros paced between the rows, his robes hissing like snakes.
Today's spell: truthweaving.
I chanted softly, tracing the sigil in air, but my mind was elsewhere — on a black-sealed letter and the queen's threat.
Beside me, Serena frowned. Her threads collapsed mid-air.
"Focus," Lyros barked. "Truth resists liars."
I tightened my breath and focused. My threads shimmered into shape.
Then came a flicker. Not mine. Someone else had reached into my weave.
Across the room, Reina smiled.
She's tampering, I thought. Subtle, but there.
This time, I didn't collapse the weave. I reinforced it — then redirected the magic, looping it through my sigils to catch her interference. It pulsed. Sharp. Controlled.
Reina flinched.
Professor Lyros looked up. "Who cast that variant?"
Reina's lips parted, but I spoke first.
"Me, sir. A deviation. I'll adjust."
He narrowed his eyes. "See that you do."
I met Reina's gaze. This round, I wasn't stepping aside.
Later, in the alchemy wing, I passed by two senior students whispering.
"…Found her name in the archives. Linked to the fire trials."
"But that was covered up, wasn't it?"
The cover was peeling.
Back in my quarters, another note waited.
"Truth is like fire. You only control it when it's already burning you."