The infirmary lights hummed faintly, the only sound in the room besides Aria’s own heartbeat—still unsettled from the explosion, from Lena’s screams, from the way Kael’s arms had been around her just minutes earlier.
Kael closed the door behind him, the soft click sounding too final, too focused. He wasn’t just checking on her. He wasn’t just an instructor anymore.
He was hunting answers.
Kael stepped toward her, slow and deliberate, his amber eyes sharper than she had ever seen them.
“Sit,” he said quietly.
Aria obeyed, lowering herself onto the cot. Her fingers tightened around the worn notebook she always carried. Without her voice, it was her shield. Her anchor.
Kael stopped in front of her—close, too close. The air thickened between them.
“What are you?” he asked.
Aria’s breat
