Tides of Fire

Chapter 6 - Carla POV

I didn’t expect the air to feel so heavy. Solstice Hall was known for its harmony—an academic peace where elemental legacies intertwined with order and tradition. But the tension I carried inside followed me like a tide that wouldn’t recede. The hallway outside the Academy’s great lecture hall buzzed with students, but none of it touched me. Not really. Not when Jack Ember was somewhere nearby, like a silent ember burning in the corner of my vision.His name hadn’t left my mind since our eye contact in the training hall. Something about it had pulled at me.

Since , I’d glimpsed him twice in class, and both times, I’d felt something unspoken pulling tight inside my chest. It wasn’t attraction. It was something older, something dangerous. And I couldn’t afford it. Not when I bore the name of Aquallis.

I moved faster through the corridor, past arches etched with runes, and slipped into the lecture hall for magical theory. Most of the unmanifested were there already, shuffling papers and whispering. My assigned seat was in the fourth row, but when I slid into it, I froze.

Jack was two seats away.

He didn’t look up, but I could feel him—like sunlight warming one side of my face. He had this way of existing that demanded space, even when he said nothing. Tousled flame-bright hair, the kind of eyes that belonged to oceans at dusk, and a restlessness about him like he was always on the verge of standing up and running.

I glanced down. Stay still, Carla. Just breathe.

“Mind if I sit here?” A voice interrupted my downward spiral.

I looked up. A girl stood before me—gentle green eyes, softly curled hair the color of sand, and a small, curious smile.

“Sure,” I said.

She sat. “I’m Lysa Terravale.”

“Carla. Aquallis.”

Her eyes widened a little, but she didn’t flinch. “Nice to meet you. I’m here with my brother. He’s around here somewhere.”

I nodded, a little taken aback by how relaxed and comfortable she made me feel right away. Maybe it was an Earthstone thing; those born to the element of Earth were said to carry a quiet magic, one that eased tension and soaked up the nerves of those around them, like soil absorbing stormwater. Then came a sound of laughter behind us.

“Careful, Lysa, she might drown you,” came a sarcastic male voice.

A boy flopped into the seat next to Lysa. Dark hair, eyes like polished stone, and an eyebrow c****d in amusement.

Lysa rolled her eyes. “This is my twin brother, Eren. Don’t mind him—he likes to think he’s hilarious.”

“I am hilarious,” Eren said with a wink.

I actually smiled. “I’ll let you know when I agree.”

That earned a short laugh from Eren. “I like her.”

Before I could respond, someone slid into the row behind us—so quiet I wouldn’t have noticed if Lysa hadn’t looked up.

“Caelum,” she greeted. “You made it.”

“I always do,” he said.

He looked like the embodiment of calm—platinum-blond hair, light eyes, and a stillness that felt like a breeze just before a storm. The symbol of the Air element was etched onto his collar.

“I’m Carla,” I offered.

“I know,” Caelum said with a polite nod. “You made a speech last year in the Elemental Ethics colloquium. It was... memorable.”

“Was that a compliment?” Eren asked.

“Yes,” Caelum replied. “Subtlety doesn’t negate admiration.”

I flushed slightly. It was surreal. In the span of ten minutes, I had somehow gained a table full of unlikely friends. We chatted through the opening minutes of class, and even though Jack was still there—silent, watching—I found myself drawn into the warmth of these strangers.

Or maybe... not strangers, but my friends?

—

It became a rhythm. Between lessons and duels and practical workshops, our small group stuck together. Caelum offered insight like a sage trapped in a student’s body. Eren cracked jokes during lunch that made my stomach hurt from laughter. And Lysa—Lysa was like moss and moonlight, gentle and steady.

Jack stayed mostly quiet during those first days, speaking when necessary, but always with a subtle fire behind his gaze. We didn’t speak directly—not really. But our eyes would meet in passing. Just enough to spark something that ached in my chest.

I hated how I noticed the way his shirt clung to his shoulders during physical training. Or the way his lips curled just slightly when someone said something that amused him. I hated how easy it would be to fall.

So I tried not to.

But it wasn’t working.

One late afternoon, we sat on the lawn near the greenhouse gardens, books spread between us, the sun warm on our skin. Lysa leaned closer.

“Carla,” she began, voice soft. “Since we’ve been talking... I see that you’re a trustful person.”

I blinked, caught off-guard. “Oh. Thank you. That... means a lot.”

“If you don’t mind,” she added, her voice dropping lower, “I’ll consider you as my confident girl.”

My heart tugged. “Of course.”

She bit her lip. “I have to tell you something. I’ve been keeping it to myself for too long.”

“Go on,” I said, my voice gentle.

She exhaled. “Well... I know there’s a lot of girls in my case, but Jack really attracts me. Since I first saw him, two years ago.”

A sharp pang bloomed behind my ribs. I managed a small nod. “You’ve liked him for that long?”

“I know it’s foolish,” she murmured. “He’s always seemed... unreachable. But now that we’re all talking, sitting together—I feel hope for the first time.”

I looked at her kind eyes and felt a mix of guilt and strange relief. “You should tell him. You deserve to say what’s in your heart.”

She touched my hand. “Thank you. I didn’t think you’d understand.”

But I did. More than she knew.

As the sun dipped low and the garden swayed with wind, I sat in silence—watching the boy I wasn’t allowed to want, and quietly stepping back from a path I didn’t yet understand.

For Lysa. For peace. For everything we were taught was right.

Even if my heart already disagreed

___

The moon hung low over the garden terrace of Solstice Hall, casting silver light over the half-empty cups of spiced nectar and enchanted tea. We’d ended up here after dinner, a casual meeting spot tucked between the botanical greenhouse and the east wing dormitories. The laughter flowed easily now — our group had begun to settle into a kind of rhythm.

Eren leaned back on his elbows, grinning as he tilted his head toward the glow-lit windows of the main hall. “Alright,” he said, “real question now. Who do you think could have a chance with Jack Ember?”

I stiffened, heart stuttering.

Lysa burst into soft giggles. “You mean Fireboy Supreme?”

“Exactly.” Eren smirked. “You’ve seen it. Half the Fire girls can’t go ten minutes without flipping their hair when he walks by.”

Caelum, lounging across from us with arms crossed and a slightly bored look, shrugged. “They’ve tried. Believe me, they’ve all tried.”

Maelin’s eyes twinkled. “He’s never had a girlfriend? No scandal? No secret rendezvous?”

“None,” Caelum replied, clearly enjoying the moment. “They all tried their chance— the Fire-born ones. I’ve seen it. One by one, thinking they’ll be the exception.”

Eren raised a brow. “Wait, what about outside Fire?”

Caelum paused. Then, with a half-smirk, leaned in. “There was one girl. From Water.”

That made me sit up straighter before I caught myself.

He chuckled darkly. “She wrote him this love letter — all sweet words and rose petals, that kind of thing. Left it in his spellbook.”

Lysa leaned forward. “And?”

Caelum’s grin widened, like a magician before the final trick. “He walked right up to her in front of everyone, pulled out the letter, and threw it — literally threw it — at her face.”

“No,” Maelin whispered, half-horrified, half-fascinated.

“Oh yes,” he said, and then, mimicking Jack’s voice with theatrical flair: ‘Did you forget that different elements can’t mix? Did you really think that me, Jack Ember, from the most powerful Fire family in the realm, would ever accept a pathetic girl from .. What even is your element? Water? Are you kidding me? Don’t stand in front of me again.’”

Lysa gasped, covering her mouth.

Even Eren winced. “That’s cold. Or, you know… hot.”

Caelum laughed. “She cried, ran off. He just rolled his eyes and said something about how Water always leaks where it’s not wanted.”

My skin prickled. The laughter around me started to sound like echoes underwater. I looked down at my cup, suddenly unable to meet anyone’s eyes.

“That poor girl,” Lysa murmured.

Caelum waved it off. “She had no business thinking she could get close to him. Honestly, what did she expect?”

No one noticed the way I tightened my grip on the edge of the bench, knuckles paling.

Lysa nudged my arm gently, misreading my silence. “Carla, are you alright?”

I forced a smile. “Yeah. Just… tired.”

But the truth was clearer than ever. Jack Ember wasn’t just untouchable. He was ruthless. And if he could treat someone like me that way — someone who shared my element, my world — then I had no business even thinking about him.

No business feeling the things I’d started to feel.

I’d been foolish to believe that one look, one spark, meant anything.

Because some walls, no matter how thin they seem, aren’t meant to be broken.

Not by girls like me.