The ground tilted beneath her feet.
Lyra tried to steady herself, but her body had nothing left to give. Whatever strength she'd been holding onto slipped away all at once.
Voices blurred together.
Her vision darkened at the edges.
Just one more step—
Her knee gave out.
The world dropped with her.
She didn't even have time to brace for impact.
Something caught her.
Not the ground.
An arm around her shoulders, steady and unyielding, holding her upright before she could collapse completely.
For a moment, everything felt distant.
Then it rushed back.
She looked up.
Kael.
Too close.
Her breath caught.
He didn't let go.
One hand remained at her shoulder, keeping her steady, while the other held her arm in place. His grip wasn't rough, but there was no hesitation in it either—just control, as he had already decided she wouldn't fall.
"You can stand?" he asked.
His voice was calm, but his eyes stayed on her, sharper now.
Lyra tried to answer.
"I—"
The word broke in the middle.
Her legs still wouldn't hold her weight. Without him, she would have dropped again.
And he knew it.
He didn't move away.
That made it worse.
The contact lingered longer than it should have.
Long enough for something to shift.
She felt it before she understood it—a pull, deep and wrong, like something inside her was being dragged open.
Her fingers twitched against his wrist.
And then—
Everything fractured.
The courtyard vanished.
Sound disappeared.
She wasn't there anymore.
Cold hit first.
Then the room took shape around her—stone walls, bare, silent, too still.
A boy stood in the center.
Smaller. Younger.
But she knew who it was.
Kael.
He held a wooden sword, grip tight enough to whiten his knuckles. Across from him, a taller figure moved without pause.
The strike came fast.
Too fast.
He tried to block.
Failed.
The impact knocked him to the ground.
He didn't cry out. Just pushed himself up again, breath uneven, blood already running down his arm.
"Get up."
The voice cut through the room, cold enough to freeze the air.
He stood.
Another strike.
He hit the ground again.
"Too slow."
Again.
"Too weak."
The words didn't rise, didn't need to. They pressed down anyway, heavier each time.
Lyra felt it—not just what she saw, but everything beneath it.
The pressure and the expectation.
The absence of anything else.
No one stepped or stopped it.
The scene shifted without warning.
Older now.
Still him.
The space had changed—wider, harsher. Magic cracked through the air this time, violent and unforgiving.
It hit harder.
He didn't fall as easily.
But the blood still came.
His hands. His clothes.
He kept going.
No hesitation. No pause.
Only control and discipline.
And something colder underneath it.
Something that had learned exactly how much it could endure—and refused to break anyway.
The image flickered.
Shifted again.
Then stopped.
Kael stood alone.
No opponent. No voice.
Just silence.
Blood at his feet.
He didn't look hurt.
Didn't look tired.
Just… empty.
Lyra's chest tightened.
"Stop—"
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
The world snapped back.
Sound crashed into her ears.
Cold air hit her skin.
She staggered, tearing her hand away from him.
"No—"
Her breath came too fast now, uneven, her pulse racing.
She stepped back, nearly losing her balance again.
This wasn't possible.
Those weren't hers.
Kael didn't move right away.
His gaze stayed on her, sharper now, more focused.
Not on her falling.
On her reaction.
"…What's wrong?" he asked.
Lyra shook her head too quickly. "Nothing."
It sounded wrong the moment it left her mouth.
She stepped back again, putting space between them, fingers curling tight at her sides.
Don't react.
But her breathing wouldn't steady.
Neither would her eyes.
Kael saw it.
Of course he did.
He took a step closer—not enough to touch, just enough to test.
Lyra stiffened instantly.
The reaction was too fast. Too real.
His expression darkened slightly.
That wasn't normal.
He had seen it before.
Earlier.
Now again.
Too consistent to ignore.
Kael stopped, watching her in silence, piecing it together.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then, quieter—
"…What did you see?"
Lyra froze.
Her breath caught.
She said nothing.
But the hesitation—the fear she couldn't hide—
said more than enough.
And Kael understood one thing clearly.
This girl was not normal.