“It’s not like that, I told him to….” Emily began, but Eleanor waved her off with a hand, dismissing the explanation entirely.
“Doesn’t matter,” Eleanor said. “Come in. How was your day off?”
Emily hesitated a fraction of a second before deciding to speak. “I… I completed a fire ritual last night,” she admitted. “For some reason, my senses were sharper at night, like I could see without needing a torch, but back to the fire, it was controlled, precise. I didn’t overstep or lose focus. It… it felt different.”
Eleanor’s eyes softened slightly, though they held a spark of curiosity and caution. “You did that on your own?”
“Yes,” Emily said quietly. “I don’t know how it happened exactly, but it worked. I felt… aligned, like everything inside me was steady for once.”
Arthur, standing besid
