Aurora found out from Mira.
In hindsight, that should have been everyone's first warning that the day was not going to be normal. She burst into the common area holding her phone like it was primary evidence in a criminal case, her expression a mix of awe and alarm.
"Why," she asked, with a calmness that felt entirely artificial, "are there five cameras outside our building?"
Lucien looked up from his coffee, his brow furrowing. "What?"
"Five," Mira repeated, holding up five fingers. "And one of them is definitely a guy pretending to be a civilian while holding a camera."
Kaida was already reaching for her tablet. "That sentence usually means the internet did something."
"The internet always does something," Lucien muttered.
"Yes," Kaida replied, her eyes scanning her screen. "But today, it did it to us."
She swiped once. Then twice. Then she closed her eyes. Lucien knew that look—the look of a person calculating how much work they were about to have to do.
"How bad?"
Kaida turned the tablet around. A headline in bold, black letters filled the screen:
AURORA COVENANT ACCEPTS FIRST PROVISIONAL TRAINEES
Below it, the sub-headlines were even more invasive:
Aurora Quietly Begins Recruitment Without Public Announcement
Who Got In First Inside the Guild's Closed-Door Evaluation?
Mira gasped. "We're mysterious now."
"We were mysterious yesterday," Lucien said, his voice dropping into a groan. "Today we're being watched."
Seris took the tablet and read the article carefully, her expression darkening. "This is specific."
"How specific?" Garrick asked, stepping closer.
Seris looked up. "It mentions 'provisional trainees.' Not full membership. It uses the exact terminology we used in the strategy room."
That got Nox's attention immediately. The silence in the room sharpened.
Kaida was already pulling up more feeds. "That means somebody didn't guess. Somebody talked."
Kairos, seated near the window, went still. "Aurel?"
"Maybe," Lucien said. "Maybe Lyra. Maybe KAMB. Maybe someone saw them come and go."
Orion came in from the stairwell, his face as impassive as ever. He took one look at the room and said, "There are now nine cameras."
Mira pointed at him. "See?"
"That is not a defense," Lucien told her.
"It wasn't intended as one," Orion noted.
Kaida zoomed in on one of the articles. "Public reaction is split."
"Meaning?" Seris asked.
Kaida read as she scrolled. "Half of them are shocked Aurora actually accepted trainees at all. The other half think we're being arrogant by not announcing an open intake."
Mira looked offended. "We're not arrogant."
Lucien looked at her.
She considered it for a second. "We're selectively dramatic."
"That's not better," Kaida said. She kept scrolling. "Tempest Choir supporters think we're moving too late. Crimson Banner supporters think we're trying to look important by keeping it exclusive. General public opinion is..." She paused. "Messy."
"Is any of it useful?" Garrick asked.
Kaida tilted the screen so Lucien could see. "One part is."
"What?"
"People are already asking how to apply."
__
The room went silent. The weight of "The Public" suddenly felt much heavier.
Mira sat down slowly. "Oh."
Lucien rubbed his face with both hands. "No. No, not 'oh.' That is not an 'oh.' That is a logistical nightmare."
Kairos looked toward the windows, though the blinds were drawn. "How many people are outside now?"
Orion checked his feed. "Thirty-two."
"Thirty-two what?" Mira asked.
"People."
"Just... standing there?"
"Yes."
Lucien stared at him. "Why did you say that like it was a weather report?"
"It is current conditions."
Before Lucien could object, Orion's console chimed. He glanced at it once. "Aurel Rowan and Lyra Vossen are downstairs."
Kaida looked up immediately, her eyes narrowing. "Good."
"Why is that good?" Lucien asked.
"Because if this is their fault, I'd like the explanation while I'm still annoyed."
Mira leaned forward. "Send them up."
Seris gave her a look. "Not like that."
"Professionally send them up."
Orion pressed the access. "Third floor."
Lucien exhaled slowly, bracing himself. "This better be an accident."
Nox said nothing, but his silence was expectant. If it was Aurel, it probably was an accident. Lyra was too measured for this kind of leak. Which meant the question wasn't whether it had happened—it was how far the fire had spread.
__
The strategy room doors opened a minute later. Aurel stepped in first, looking like he would rather be hit by Garrick's shield than explain himself. Lyra followed, looking remarkably calm in the way people looked when they were one mistake away from losing their patience.
Mira folded her arms. "One of you has caused me inconvenience."
"That was him," Lyra said immediately.
Aurel looked betrayed. "You said we were explaining together!"
"We are. I'm just assigning accuracy first."
Lucien pointed at the chairs. "Sit before Mira escalates."
"That was one time," Mira muttered.
"It was yesterday."
They sat. Aurel looked at Nox first, then Lucien, then gave up and stared somewhere near the center of the table. "I'm sorry."
Kaida leaned back, tapping her stylus against her chin. "Encouraging start."
"It was an accident," Aurel said quickly. "I got the email this morning and I was with some people I know from registration—other awakened—and I opened it there because I didn't think—"
"Yes," Lyra interrupted. "That is the important part. He didn't think."
Aurel closed his eyes briefly. "I know."
Seris asked, "Did you read it out loud?"
Aurel looked like he wished the floor would swallow him. "...Part of it."
Mira slapped the table once. "Unbelievable."
Lucien stared at him. "You read our acceptance email out loud in public?"
"I didn't mean to make it public!"
Kaida looked almost impressed by the sheer scale of the disaster. "How many people heard?"
Aurel hesitated.
"That bad?" Garrick asked.
"There were... maybe six?"
Lyra corrected him immediately. "Nine. Plus the ones recording."
Silence fell over the room. Lucien looked at the ceiling as if seeking strength. "Excellent."
Mira pointed at Aurel. "You leaked yourself."
"I know."
"You're somehow lucky you're likable."
Lyra muttered, "Debatable."
Nox finally spoke. "Did either of you talk to media directly?"
Lyra shook her head. "No."
Aurel followed a second later. "No."
"They didn't need to," Kaida said. "If someone heard 'Aurora,' 'accepted,' and 'provisional,' the story was already written." She turned her tablet around to show them the secondary fallout.
Aurel went pale. Outside footage. Headlines. Crowd photos. One article was already speculating that Aurora had privately accepted a full intake and was deliberately withholding details to increase their prestige.
Mira read that and looked offended on principle. "That sounds so manipulative."
Lucien glanced at her. "You're only upset because you didn't think of it."
"That is slander!"
Seris ignored them both. "The issue now is not the leak itself. It's that public attention is accelerating before we've finalized the process."
Garrick nodded once. "People outside are not waiting."
Orion checked the feed again. "Forty-eight."
Mira looked at him. "Stop updating that like it's a scoreboard!"
"It is current conditions."
Kaida looked at Nox. "We either stay silent and let the story get uglier by the hour, or we address it."
Lucien already knew where this was going and hated that he agreed. "We do a press conference."
Mira turned toward him dramatically. "You volunteered fast."
"I did not volunteer!"
"You looked in the direction of volunteering."
"That is not a thing!"
"It is now."
Seris set her cup down. "Lucien or Kaida."
Kaida looked up immediately. "Why me?"
"Because you're clear," Seris said.
Lucien nodded. "And terrifying in a way reporters respect."
"That is not reassuring."
Mira pointed between them. "Do both. Good cop, worse cop."
"Is Kaida the worse cop?" Garrick asked.
"Yes," Mira said. Kaida didn't even deny it.
Nox stood. That settled the room faster than any raised voice would have.
"Press room downstairs?" Lucien asked.
"First floor," Nox said.
Kaida corrected the terminology without looking up. "We have a first floor large enough to become one."
Orion was already moving toward the door. "I'll prepare access."
Before everyone scattered, Kairos looked at Aurel. "You should stop opening important emails in public."
Aurel stared at him for a second, then, despite the stress, he laughed once. "...Yeah."
__
Downstairs, the noise from the crowd was audible even through the reinforced glass. Cameras, microphones, and people standing on barriers to get a better view.
Lucien stopped near the entrance and looked out. "...I hate this."
Kaida came to stand beside him, tablet in hand. "You're the one doing most of the talking."
"I noticed."
"That's because you're less likely to sound like you're insulting them."
"That is not comforting."
Kaida glanced at him. "You'll be fine."
Mira leaned between them. "You both look important."
"Move," Lucien said, gently pushing her forehead away with one hand.
Orion's phone chimed. He looked at it, then turned the screen around.
AURORA FORCED INTO PUBLIC RESPONSE AFTER SECRET TRAINEE LEAK
Mira pointed at it. "That wording is hostile."
"Media discovered adjectives," Kaida said. "How tragic."
Lucien looked at Nox again. "After this, we lock down internal communication."
"Agreed."
Aurel and Lyra stood farther back, looking like they'd prefer to disappear. Seris noticed and said quietly, "You two stay here."
Outside, the noise rose as the crowd noticed movement behind the glass. Lucien exhaled once and rolled his shoulders. Kaida checked her tablet, then looked at him. "Ready?"
"No."
"Good enough."
The first-floor lights shifted as Orion unlocked the entry sequence. The cameras outside lifted as one, and Aurora Covenant stepped forward to meet the story before it could write itself.