Kade woke up feeling strangely refreshed. That caught his attention.
Ever since his father had told him about Nox—about how the human subconscious was drawn there during sleep—going to bed had become a source of unease. Trent had said normal humans had no agency in Nox and retained no memory of it, only trained Enlightened could navigate it—and Kade was anything but trained. The thought of drifting into sleep without understanding what that might mean for him had left him restless, but it seemed he had been spared.
He hadn't expected to wake up feeling… good for a change. He attributed it to spending time with his friends before bed. Laughing, playing games, and generally fooling around with them had lightened the worries in his heart.
As if summoned by the thought, the door to his room opened softly.
Trent stepped inside and closed it behind him without a sound.
Whatever lingering grogginess Kade had vanished instantly. His father wore that look again. The one that meant this wasn't a casual conversation.
"Morning, Dad," Kade said carefully. "What's this about?"
Trent didn't answer right away. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of Kade's bed, his green eyes studying him with their usual intensity. Kade resisted the urge to shift under the scrutiny.
Finally, Trent spoke.
"Do you remember the training I mentioned?"
Kade's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded.
"I've been in contact with my associates," Trent continued. "You'll be leaving in a few days."
That landed heavier than Kade expected.
"I know you've been wondering why I haven't taught you anything yet," Trent went on. "And I suspect you've already reached part of the answer on your own. You've always been observant."
Kade had, in fact, come to a conclusion. He just didn't know if it was the right one.
"I figured you couldn't," Kade said. "I just don't know why."
Trent's expression didn't change, but there was approval there.
"The Veil," he said simply.
Kade stiffened slightly.
"You already know it prevents humans from retaining knowledge of the supernatural," Trent continued. "What you don't yet understand is that it also enforces rules on the world itself."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Ala flows through both Nox and the world of men," Trent said. "But wielders of Ala are not meant to exist openly in the world of men. If an untrained Enlightened attempts to use Ala freely, the Veil suppresses it."
"So, I can't use it," Kade said slowly.
"You can," Trent corrected. "You just need to learn how."
He straightened.
"Only those with sufficient control can operate beneath the Veil's notice. That is what the training is for. The organization you'll be going to can raise controlled Ala fields. Isolated environments. Places where the Veil's influence is negated."
Kade absorbed that in silence.
"There," Trent said, "you'll learn properly."
He stood and moved toward the door, the conversation apparently finished.
Halfway through, he paused.
"You may want to say your goodbyes," Trent added over his shoulder. "Tie up any loose ends you have."
Kade frowned. "Loose ends?"
"You won't be coming back for a while," Trent said completely ignoring the question.
Then he closed the door behind him, leaving Kade sitting on his bed, stunned.
***
After his father left, Kade sat on his bed, feeling the way he seemed to always feel after one of their private conversations these days. More informed, and somehow less certain about what exactly he'd been thrown into.
Now there was training. Soon. Far away.
He didn't even bother thinking about arguing. He already knew how that would end. It didn't help that, whether he wanted to admit it or not, his father could subdue him in seconds and take him wherever he pleased.
The thought made something hot twist in his chest.
If there was one thing Kade hated, it was not having a choice.
It was the same thing that bothered him about the Veil. About this whole Enlightened existence. Decisions made for others. Truths withheld for their own good. Control disguised as protection.
He didn't have the power to choose right now.
But he one day he would.
And when he did, he'd never let anyone be stripped of their right to choose in his presence.
As the thought settled, a faint gleam passed through his green eyes, giving them a colder edge than before.
"Kade, darling, come down for breakfast," his mother's voice called from downstairs. "Your friends are already at the table, and Rex might just demolish these pancakes without you."
Rex's loud, unmistakable laughter followed.
The tension drained from Kade's shoulders. A warm smile spread across his face as he pushed himself to his feet, the darker thoughts slipping neatly back into their place.
He made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, Kade took in everything he saw. In a few days, he would most likely be leaving all of this behind, for who knew how long. That thought lingered longer than he expected.
He wasn't worried about what lie he would tell. He already knew the Veil would smooth over anything related to the supernatural.
His mother stood at the stove, humming as usual, flipping pancakes while bacon and eggs sizzled beside her. She was already dressed in a pantsuit, clearly ready for work once breakfast was finished. His father sat at the table, nose buried in a newspaper, a steaming cup of coffee within arm's reach. He was dressed for work as well, most likely still there because Theresa had insisted.
Kade had a sneaking suspicion Trent didn't even care about the news. The newspaper felt more like a shield, a way to discourage conversation.
The new additions to the scene were Rex and Tina, seated at the table. They were dressed for school, just like him. Rex was wolfing down pancakes at an alarming rate, laughing victoriously between mouthfuls for reasons only he understood.
Kade's gaze shifted to Tina.
He jolted slightly.
To a normal human eye, she would have looked fine. Tired, maybe. Nothing more. But to Kade's sharpened senses, she looked wrong. There were dark circles under her eyes, carefully concealed beneath makeup. Her skin looked pale, the colour masked the same way. Her plate sat untouched. She hadn't taken a single bite.
Alarm stirred in his chest.
He didn't understand how such a dramatic change could have happened overnight.
Making his presence known, Kade stepped fully into the kitchen. His mum blew him a kiss from the stove, which he dodged playfully, earning a pout in return. He nodded to his father and received a nod back before taking a seat beside Rex and Tina.
Rex paused his breakneck devouring long enough to give him a crisp high five.
Tina offered a weak smile.
Kade frowned.
You didn't need to be Enlightened to see something was wrong. And judging by the way his mum hadn't reacted at all, some excuse must have already been given.
He leaned closer to Rex and whispered, "Yo, what's up with Tina? Anything happen between you two last night?"
Rex nearly choked.
He swallowed hard, took a long drink of water, then smiled again, a little too quickly.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "Did she tell you something?"
Kade heard his pulse quicken on the last question.
Something definitely isn't right.
"No," Kade said. "She didn't. But look at her. She isn't even eating."
Rex glanced at Tina as if only just noticing she was there.
"It's just her monthly flow," he said casually. "Started early. Right, Tina?"
Tina looked up at the sound of her name, eyes unfocused, as if she hadn't been aware of the conversation until that moment. She nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The answer came too easily.
She probably didn't even hear the question.
Kade looked between Tina's pale face and Rex's easy smile, his unease deepening.
What the hell is going on here?
***
Breakfast passed with Trent's head still buried behind his newspaper, emerging only occasionally to take a bite of food or sip his coffee. It would have been comical if it were anyone besides Trent doing it. With him, it just felt deliberate.
Tina remained quiet, head lowered. She had taken a few bites of her food after noticing how worried Kade looked, but it hadn't been much. After that, she simply sat there again, hands folded in her lap.
That was enough.
Kade made the decision then and there to get to the bottom of it. He was almost certain now that Rex and Tina were hiding something from him. If he was being honest, that realization stung more than he wanted to admit. No one liked being the one on the outside looking in.
Still, he wasn't one to act purely on emotion.
He would figure out what was going on first. Then he would decide what to do about it.
Rex, meanwhile, seemed to be having the time of his life. He wolfed down food, cracked jokes, and even swapped a few embarrassing stories about Kade with Theresa, much to Kade's chagrin. Theresa laughed along easily, clearly enjoying the company. It wasn't often she had someone so openly animated to talk to over breakfast.
That was how it went until Trent suddenly stood.
He gathered his things, nodded once to everyone at the table, and walked out without a word. Theresa blinked, glanced at the clock, then hurried after him, knowing full well that Trent could—and would—leave without her if she didn't keep up. She shot Rex an apologetic look on her way out, clearly reluctant to leave the conversation behind.
Once the parents were gone, the house felt quieter.
Rex and Tina helped Kade clean up, putting things back in order. When they were done, Rex clapped his hands together.
"Well, we'll head out first," he said. "I've got first-period biology. Tina'll hitch a ride with me."
He was already moving toward the door as he spoke.
Tina waved at Kade, the gesture small and subdued, and followed after Rex.
Kade paid close attention as they left. When Rex made the decision for her, just as he'd suspected, Tina's heart skipped a beat.
A cold gleam passed through Kade's green irises.
He'd be leaving soon. Training. Distance. Unknowns.
There was no way he was going to leave without understanding what this was—whatever this was.
Today, for sure.
He grabbed his things, locked up the house, and headed out.
***
Kade actually overtook Rex and Tina's car on the way to school.
He realized it halfway through, the engine noise falling behind him as he jogged past an intersection. For a brief, absurd moment, he considered waving. Instead, he slowed his pace, letting the car pull ahead again.
He adjusted his speed carefully, timing his arrival so he reached the school nearly thirty minutes later than they did. No questions. No attention. No unnecessary explanations.
By the time he approached the front gates, the morning rush had thinned.
Rex and Tina were waiting.
That was unusual, but not unwelcome.
Kade kept his expression neutral as he walked toward them, his senses stretching outward without conscious effort. Their voices reached him before their faces did; fragments carried on the air.
"…I didn't tell him anything," Tina said.
Her voice was tight. Strained.
Kade frowned.
Rex replied to something she said, but before Kade could catch the words, Rex's posture shifted. His head snapped up. His smile appeared instantly, bright and familiar, as he turned toward Kade.
Whatever he'd been about to say died in his throat.
Tina noticed too. Her shoulders stiffened. The distress on her face smoothed out, replaced by something rehearsed and brittle.
Kade saw all of it.
Had he not been Enlightened, he would've missed it completely. A glance too sharp. A pause too deliberate. A smile arriving half a second too late.
The thought unsettled him.
Was this new?
Or had this been happening for a while—right under his nose—only now visible because his senses had sharpened?
Rex raised his hand as Kade reached them. "Hey, bro."
Kade returned the high five. Tina stayed where she was, offering a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Let's head in," Kade said. "Thanks for waiting."
"Don't mention it," Rex replied easily, already turning toward the doors.
Tina hesitated.
She should've gone first. She was closer to the entrance. Instead, she waited until Rex had walked a few steps ahead before falling in behind him.
Kade noticed.
A cold gleam passed briefly through his green eyes.
He said nothing and followed as the first bell rang.
***
Kade spent the day watching them.
Not obviously. Not constantly. Just… attentively.
He didn't want to believe the conclusion forming in the back of his mind. Rex and Tina weren't just friends. They were his people. His constant. His normal.
His family.
During class, everything looked fine.
Rex joked when he wasn't sleeping. Tina participated when called on, quieter than she used to be but still engaged. At lunch, Rex cracked jokes, Tina smiled politely, nodded at the right moments.
Normal.
Almost convincingly so.
And yet—
Kade caught the things no one else could.
The way Tina flinched when Rex leaned too close. How her pulse spiked whenever he addressed her directly. How Rex's body language subtly closed her off from others, positioning himself between her and the rest of the room without seeming to.
Little things.
Too many little things.
Kade tried to tell himself he was overthinking it. That this was just what happened when someone got new senses and no manual on how to use them.
But the darker voice—the one that had grown louder since his Enlightenment—didn't let him off that easily.
You know better.
By the end of the day, his thoughts were a mess.
He'd nearly died twice. Discovered his father had been lying to him his entire life. Learned the world was layered with forces he couldn't even name properly yet. And through all of it, Rex and Tina had been his anchor. His reminder that not everything was chaos.
Now even that felt uncertain.
He watched them laugh together across the cafeteria table and wondered what they could possibly be hiding from him.
***
The final bell rang.
Chairs scraped back. Students surged into the hallways, eager to be gone. Kade packed his bag slowly. This was one class he didn't share with Rex or Tina.
He was halfway to standing when his phone buzzed.
Rex:
You go ahead. Got called into the guidance office—something about my behaviour during class 😂
Oh, Tina headed home early. You remember, she's on her period. See you later.
Kade snorted quietly.
That sounded like Rex. He made a mental note to call Tina later, see if she needed anything. Shouldered his bag and headed for the exit.
The halls were already clearing. Students scattered the moment they hit the doors, dissolving into the afternoon like they couldn't leave fast enough.
Kade reached the main entrance. His hand closed around the doorknob—
And he froze.
A sound brushed the edge of his hearing.
Muffled. Distant. Almost lost beneath the hum of the building.
A voice.
"…I've done everything you said," it whispered, trembling. "Please… you said that was the last time."
Kade didn't move.
Not because someone sounded distressed.
He'd never had a hero complex. He didn't insert himself into situations he didn't understand.
He froze because he recognized the voice.
Even fractured by despair. Even barely audible.
He would have known it anywhere.
Tina.
Something cold slid through his chest.
The green in his eyes darkened, sharpening into focus as the world narrowed around him. The moment the recognition settled, he was already moving.
Kade tore down the hallway.
He didn't care who saw him. Didn't care about the way the air warped around his motion, how lockers rattled as he passed, how his footsteps echoed like thunder.
His only thought was reaching her.
One might have expected fury on his face.
There was none.
Instead, his expression was calm.
Terrifyingly so.
Like someone who had already made a decision and saw no reason to hesitate any longer.