Thornhill Academy. Chapter 126

By the time the last class ends, I feel like my bones are vibrating. Every lesson has blurred into the next—runes, recitations, lectures that could’ve been in another language for all I cared. I smiled where I was supposed to, nodded when teachers looked my way, and prayed no one noticed the way the light kept flickering off my skin whenever my focus slipped. Keeping the concealment in place feels like holding my breath for an entire day. Every second that passes, it claws a little more at the edges of my sanity.

When the final bell rings, Kael catches up to me in the hall. “You look like you’re one wrong word away from incinerating someone.”

“I might,” I mumble.

Evander gives me a knowing look from the other side. “Home, then?”

Home. The word shouldn’t fit the attic, but it does. We climb the narrow stairs to my dorm, Kael chattering about Coach’s new training regimen and Evander pretending to listen. The moment we step inside, I hear the click of the door, and it’s like my entire body finally decides it can stop pretending. I exhale—a deep, shaky, finally kind of breath—and let the concealment unravel. The air shifts instantly. Blue light spills over my skin in delicate, intricate lines, crawling down my arms and curling up the side of my neck. The sigils flare to life, glowing softly like ink kissed by starlight. I roll my shoulders, the tension bleeding out of me with every flicker, as I rip the scarf free and strip the long shirt that has been making me sweat all day.

“Gods,” I whisper, “that’s better.”

Kael stares, eyes wide. “Every time I think I’ve seen the full show, you prove me wrong.”

Evander just shakes his head, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You look like yourself again.”

A soft hum fills the room, deep and low—like the sound of thunder if thunder could purr. “She looks divine.”

Rhaziel steps from the shadows behind the bookshelf, the darkness peeling away from him as if reluctant to let go. He looks at me like I’m made of something sacred. His gaze follows the markings across my collarbone, the curl of blue across my shoulder, down to the faint trails wrapping my wrists.

“You are absolutely beautiful like this, hummingbird,” he says, voice soft enough to make my stomach twist.

I smile tiredly. “You’re biased.”

“Entirely,” he agrees.

The floorboards creak under my feet as I sink into the couch. “I have no idea how the Hecate I’m supposed to keep this up,” I admit. “I can’t hide these forever. The concealment helps, but it drains me, and if anyone gets too close—”

Rhaziel crosses the room in three slow steps, every one deliberate. “Then you must rest somewhere you do not need to hide.”

I glance up at him. “You mean your realm?”

He nods but corrects me, "Our realm." The shadows at his feet ripple in agreement. “Time flows differently there. A few hours in your world may pass as several days in mine. You could rest and be as you are meant to be, without fear of discovery.”

Kael, sprawled in the armchair opposite me, groans dramatically. “So you’re stealing her again.”

“I am offering her peace,” Rhaziel corrects gently.

Evander folds his arms, ever the rational one. “And when she comes back?”

“She will return rested. Her power steadied. The marks will remain, but she will have better control of them.”

Kael frowns but glances at me. “He’s not wrong, trouble. You need a break before you burn out. Even my fire’s got nothing on what you’ve been holding in.”

Evander nods, eyes softening. “Go. We’ll be here when you get back.”

That does it—the quiet reassurance in his voice. My throat tightens with gratitude I don’t know how to voice. I look at Rhaziel again. “Just… a few days?”

“As long as you need.”

I hesitate only a moment longer before I nod. “Okay. Take me there.” I get some comfier clothes and kiss Kael and Evander goodbye. They assure we they wont eat all the snacks, but I think we all know thats a lie. Then I turn to Rhaziel. The smile that curves his lips is small but genuine as he holds out his hand to me, and the air around us begins to shift again. Shadows rise like a tide, curling around my ankles, then up my arms. The world tilts, warm and cool at once, until the attic dissolves into night.

When the darkness clears, we’re standing in a space that looks alive. The Shadow Realm breathes around us, endless skies of indigo and deep silver, the air heavy with the hum of quiet power. Wisps of light float through the air like fireflies, and beneath our feet the ground glows faintly, rippling like ink in water.

Rhaziel steps closer, his hand brushing mine. “Here,” he murmurs, “you may let go completely.”

I do. The sigils brighten instantly, the blue deepening into something fierce and radiant. I can feel the magic stretch inside me, finally completely unbound. The shadows respond, rising like loyal creatures to wrap around my body in soft, swirling tendrils. I close my eyes and breathe. For the first time all day, I can breathe. Rhaziel watches me with quiet awe, like he’s afraid that if he blinks, I’ll disappear.

“This place,” I say softly, “feels like you.”

“It is me,” he answers. “And now, a part of it is you as well.”

I look up at him, my heart hammering too fast. “You’re going to make it very hard to leave, you know.”

He smiles, that rare, slow curl of his lips that could undo kingdoms. “Good.”

I laugh quietly and step closer, resting my forehead against his chest. The shadows stir again, curling protectively around us both.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He dips his head, voice low as his arms wrap gently around me. “For what, hummingbird?”

“For not letting me drown in all of this.”

His tail brushes lightly against the backs of my legs, steadying me. “I would pull you from the depths a thousand times if you asked.”

Somewhere far above, the silver sky ripples. A quiet reminder that the mortal world is still waiting. But not tonight. Tonight, I will rest in his arms, the sigils glowing bright against the blue of his skin, our shadows tangled together in the kind of silence that feels like a promise. For the first time since this all began, I let myself believe that maybe—just maybe—I can learn to be more than what the world made me. Maybe I get to make my own path.