The next morning, Lucian cleared his desk.
Not literally. The notes remained. The vials. The books. But he pushed them to one side, creating space. Then he pulled two chairs into the center of the room and sat in one.
"Sit," he said.
Finn sat. Mira sat. They looked at each other, then at Lucian.
"Things change," Lucian said. "You're not just learning spirit affinity anymore, Mira. You're learning everything. And you're not just learning separately. You're learning together."
Finn frowned. "Together?"
"Together means you train together, eat together, study together. You learn each other's rhythms. You learn to trust each other's instincts." Lucian leaned back. "When magic fails—and it will fail—you'll have each other. That's worth more than any spell."
Mira's eyes were wide. "You're really going to teach us? Both of us?"
"I'm going to teach you to survive. What you do after that is your choice."
---
The days blurred into a routine.
