"Begin."
The command had barely left Valen's mouth before everything went wrong.
Cassian moved first, lightning snapping across the field with sharp precision. Nira's wind caught it mid-strike, bending its path just enough to keep it controlled. Tarik grounded the energy beneath us, steady as always, while Elsa adjusted her stance at the edge—watching, calculating.
I stepped forward with Kaelen beside me.
Shadows and light rose together.
For a moment—just a moment—we were perfectly aligned.
Six people moving like one.
Then the ground cracked.
It wasn't Tarik.
I felt it instantly.
My shadows recoiled before I could even process it fully, snapping back toward me as something foreign pushed through the earth beneath Cassian's feet.
"Move!" I shouted.
Cassian barely dodged as jagged black energy erupted upward, slicing through the space he had just occupied. Lightning flared wildly from his hands as he stumbled back, swearing under his breath.
"That's not mine!"
Nira's wind surged, forcing the dark energy away from us, while Tarik slammed his foot down hard, stabilizing the fractured ground. Elsa stepped in immediately, her magic threading through the disruption—not overpowering, not clashing—correcting.
Holding us together.
Kaelen didn't hesitate.
Light exploded from him in a sharp, controlled strike—straight toward Valen.
Valen didn't move.
Didn't defend.
Didn't react.
The light stopped inches from him—
and shattered.
Silence hit like a physical force.
My breath caught.
That wasn't possible.
"You see it now," Valen said calmly.
The shift in him was unmistakable.
Gone was the composed instructor.
Gone was the distant observer.
What stood before us now was something else entirely.
"You've been manipulating the training," Kaelen said, his voice dangerously steady.
Valen's gaze flicked toward him briefly, then returned to me.
"Observing," he corrected.
My shadows lashed outward instinctively.
"You call that observing?" I snapped. "You nearly killed him."
"Nearly," Valen echoed, like the distinction mattered.
Something cold settled in my chest.
"You're working with them," I said.
This time—
he didn't deny it.
"They serve a purpose," he replied.
Rage burned sharp through me.
Kaelen stepped forward, light gathering around him in a way I had never seen before—tight, controlled, but furious beneath the surface.
"You've endangered the academy."
Valen tilted his head slightly.
"No," he said. "I've revealed its weaknesses."
That was enough.
Kaelen attacked.
Light surged forward in a blinding arc, fast and relentless.
I moved with him instinctively, shadows rising in tandem—not separate, not hesitant—
Together.
The impact should have been overwhelming.
But Valen blocked.
Dark energy twisted around him, intercepting the attack—not like my shadows, not alive—
Corrupted.
It pushed back.
Cassian struck from the side, lightning crashing toward Valen with deadly precision. Nira amplified it instantly, wind driving the force forward. Tarik locked the ground beneath Valen's feet, limiting his movement.
Elsa moved last.
But when she did—
everything aligned.
Her magic threaded through ours again, stabilizing the clash, removing the instability that would have broken the attack apart.
"Now!" she called.
We didn't hesitate.
Kaelen's light surged brighter.
My shadows sharpened.
Cassian's lightning struck through the center.
Nira forced it forward.
Tarik held everything in place.
This time—
Valen staggered.
The impact hit him fully, forcing him back a step.
Blood touched his lip.
And he laughed.
Low.
Unbothered.
"Better," he said.
I felt something snap inside me.
"You think this is a game?" I demanded.
His gaze shifted between us—lingering, calculating.
"No," he said softly. "This is progress."
Before I could respond—
my shadows surged violently.
Not at him.
Behind us.
"Move!" I shouted again.
Too late.
A pulse of dark energy erupted from the edge of the field—stronger than before, more concentrated. It slammed into the ground near Nira, throwing her off balance.
"Damn it—!" she gasped as she hit the ground.
Tarik reacted instantly, earth rising to shield her.
Cassian turned, lightning flashing outward defensively.
Elsa moved to Nira's side without hesitation.
My chest tightened.
"This wasn't just him," I said.
Kaelen's voice was sharp. "No."
Valen smiled again.
"You're learning."
Rage burned through me again—but beneath it, something colder took root.
Understanding.
"You're not the only one," I said quietly.
For the first time—
his expression flickered.
Just slightly.
And that was all I needed.
Kaelen saw it too.
"How many?" he demanded.
Valen didn't answer.
Instead, he straightened slowly, brushing the blood from his lip like it didn't matter.
"You've outgrown this stage," he said.
"That wasn't the question," Kaelen replied coldly.
Valen's gaze shifted back to me.
"You were always meant to reach this point," he said.
A chill ran down my spine.
"What does that mean?"
His smile faded slightly.
"It means," he said, "you're exactly where they want you to be."
My shadows tightened sharply.
"They?" I pressed.
He didn't answer.
Instead—
the air shifted again.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
Quietly.
Like something had been cut.
A connection.
Valen's posture changed.
Not weaker.
Not stronger.
Detached.
"You've been useful," he said.
"To who?" Kaelen demanded.
Valen didn't look at him.
He was still watching me.
"You'll find out."
And then—
he stopped resisting.
The dark energy around him didn't surge.
Didn't explode.
It collapsed inward.
Swallowing him whole.
"Kaelen—!" I started.
But it was too late.
He was gone.
Not like before.
Not a projection.
This time—
truly gone.
Silence fell over the training ground.
Heavy.
Unstable.
Nira pushed herself up slowly, wincing. "Okay… someone tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that just got worse."
"You're not," Cassian muttered, his lightning fading but his posture still tense.
Tarik remained grounded, scanning the area carefully.
Elsa stood beside Nira, her expression calm—but her eyes sharper than before.
Kaelen stepped back toward me.
"Are you hurt?" he asked quietly.
I shook my head.
But my shadows didn't relax.
"They're inside the academy," I said.
"More than one," Kaelen added.
I nodded slowly.
"And they're not hiding anymore."
That was the worst part.
Before, there had been uncertainty.
Suspicion.
Distance.
Now—
we had confirmation.
And that made everything more dangerous.
I looked at the others.
At the group we had built.
At the trust we had started to form.
And for the first time—
I felt doubt creep in.
Not about them.
But about what we didn't know.
"Be careful who you trust."
Valen's words echoed in my mind.
And this time—
they didn't feel like a threat.
They felt like a warning.
I turned slightly, my gaze moving across the academy buildings beyond the training field.
Windows.
Hallways.
Shadows.
People.
Anyone.
My chest tightened.
"They could be anyone," I whispered.
Kaelen didn't deny it.
"No," he said quietly.
Then firmer—
"But we'll find them."
I wanted to believe that.
I really did.
But as my shadows curled tighter around me—
for the first time since this all began—
I realized something I hadn't allowed myself to think before.
We weren't hunting them anymore.
They were already inside.
And now—
they knew we were coming.