Shadows of Change (Arcanum Academy #1)

33. Aspen

The tension crackling through our group makes even Arcanum's enchanted staircases shift more erratically than usual. Kaia storms ahead, her shoulders rigid, the shadows on the walls seeming to recoil from her fury, their movements jagged and erratic as if mirroring the storm brewing inside her. It’s not just her anger—they feel it too, feeding off the intensity and heightening the unease that grips the rest of us. I've never seen her like this—her usual warmth replaced by something cold enough to make even a water mage shiver.

We pass through the great hall, its enchanted ceiling a mass of roiling storm clouds. The few students lingering there avert their eyes, sensing the discord radiating from our group. Our reflections catch in the towering windows—four dark figures following Kaia's beacon of blonde hair, moving in tense silence.

The portraits in the Shadow wing huddle together, whispering as we approach the common room. The massive obsidian door, etched with ever-shifting runes, swings open at Kaia's touch. Inside, plush velvet couches in deep purples and midnight blues stand in pools of silvery light from floating orbs. Shadow vines creep up the walls, their delicate leaves seeming to absorb what little illumination remains.

The moment the door closes, Kaia whirls to face us. Her eyes, usually soft lavender, now blaze with an inner fire that makes me step back. Even her hair seems to move in a nonexistent breeze.

"What the hell is going on with you all?" Her voice could cut glass. The room itself reacts, shadows in the corners growing deeper, more menacing.

I open my mouth to speak, but Kaia barrels on, her frustration pouring out like a dam breaking. "First you try to sabotage me before the maze, then you have the audacity to look disappointed when I succeed?" She throws up her hands, and I swear sparks fly from her fingertips.

"Kaia, we weren't—" Finn starts, but she cuts him off with a glare that could freeze hellfire.

"Save it, Veylan. I'm not finished." Her burning gaze pins each of us in turn. "You were all so sure I couldn't handle myself. Well, guess what? I did. And none of you were there, but Darian was."

"We were just outside, Kaia. We came with to support you, remember?" Torric's tone strains for lightness.

"Do you hear yourself?" she snaps. Mouse paces between us, tail lashing anxiously, his ears pinned back as if he can sense the storm brewing between us. His movements are sharp and restless, a clear reflection of the unease gripping the room, as though he’s bracing for something to snap. "You've been 'here for me' since day one, and suddenly he shows up and—"

"And what?" Torric snaps, heat radiating from him. "Supports you? Believes in you? Doesn't treat you like glass?”

"That's not fair," I keep my voice steady despite the tension crackling through the room. "We're trying to protect you because we care."

"Protect me?" Her laugh holds no humor. "From what, exactly? From succeeding? From proving I don't need a bunch of overprotective guys hovering over me?"

"From getting hurt," Malrik says quietly, his gaze flicking to something beside her. "There are things you don't know about Darian."

"Oh really?" Sarcasm drips from her words. "And I suppose you're all experts on him now?"

Finn steps forward, his usual playfulness replaced by urgency. "Kaia, please. Just listen for a minute. Your shad—"

"Don't." She cuts him off. "I don't want to hear about what my shadows are doing, or what you think they're trying to tell you. I'm sick of everyone thinking they know what's best for me."

Mouse lets out a low growl, but for once, I can't tell if it's directed at us or at Kaia. The floating lights dim slightly, as if responding to the mounting tension.

"The dance," Torric says suddenly, golden eyes flashing. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? Him asking you to the dance?"

Something flickers across Kaia's face—uncertainty?—but vanishes before I can be sure.

"The dance is just a dance," she says, defensive edge creeping into her voice.

"Is it?" Malrik's tone stays carefully neutral, but I hear the concern beneath. "Or is it another way for him to isolate you?"

"Isolate me?" She throws her hands up. "I'm literally surrounded by people trying to control my life right now!"

"We're not—" I start, but Torric cuts me off.

"Fine," he snaps, golden eyes blazing. "Go to the dance with him. Trust him instead of us. But don't come crying to us when it all falls apart."

"Torric," I warn, but the damage is done. Kaia's expression hardens to steel.

"Don't worry," she says, voice cold enough to freeze flame. "I won't."

She turns on her heel and strides toward her room, Mouse trailing behind. Her door slams hard enough to rattle the shadow vines, their trembling mirroring the unease she leaves behind. Silence descends, heavy and suffocating. Finn slumps onto a couch, running a hand through his disheveled hair. Malrik's expression remains unreadable, but his knuckles whiten where he grips a chair back.

I turn to my twin, still radiating enough heat to make the air shimmer. "That could have gone better."

No one answers. We don't need to. The empty common room says enough.

"So," Finn breaks the heavy silence, "anyone else feel like we just made things way worse?"

Something dawns on me, dread pooling in my stomach. “Did anyone ask her?” My question hangs in the air, met with stunned silence.

Torric scoffs, “Ask her what?”

“To the dance,” I say, the weight of our failure settling over us as their expressions shift—shock, remorse, guilt.

Finn laughs but there’s no humor in it. “We’re all idiots.”

Right now I couldn’t agree more.

Torric's only response is a growl as he stalks toward the exit, leaving the scent of smoke in his wake.

For a long moment, none of us move. The common room feels emptier somehow, colder, despite the lingering heat from Torric's anger.

"I should go after him," I say finally, though I make no move toward the door. We all know how Torric gets when he's like this—he needs space to burn off his temper, literally sometimes.

"Let him go," Malrik says, his voice tight. He's watching the spiral staircase leading to the upper levels, his silver eyes distant. "He's not the one we need to worry about right now."

Finn makes a sound that might be a laugh, if laughs could bleed. "No, we just pushed Kaia straight into Darian's arms. But hey, at least we proved her point about being controlling."

"What choice did we have?" I ask, sinking into an armchair. The velvet feels cool against my skin. "You both can see her shadows. You know something's wrong."

"Yeah, and fat lot of good that did us," Finn mutters. He glances up toward Kaia's room on the second floor. "Bob's having a complete meltdown, by the way. Never seen him this agitated. It’s like he knows something we don’t, and he’s trying to scream it at us in the only way he can."

I still haven't gotten used to them talking about the shadows like they're people. But after everything I've seen, everything they've told us, I'm starting to wonder if maybe they are.

"Something happened in that maze," Malrik says quietly. "The way her shadows responded to him... it wasn't natural."

"They were terrified," Finn adds, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "They kept trying to pull her away from him, but it was like she couldn't even feel it anymore."

A chill runs down my spine, despite the lingering warmth from Torric's outburst. "Could he be manipulating them somehow?"

Malrik's expression darkens. "It's possible. There's old magic that can interfere with shadow bonds, but it's dangerous. Unstable."

"Like everything else about this situation," Finn mutters. He's sprawled on the couch but his usual easy demeanor is gone, replaced by something tighter, more worried. "Bob's been trying to warn us for weeks. I thought if I could just make her laugh about it, make her see..."

"We all tried," I say quietly. Above us, the vaulted ceiling seems to absorb our words, the enchanted shadows there shifting restlessly. "Each in our own way."

"And failed spectacularly," Finn adds with a bitter laugh.

Malrik moves to the window, his reflection fragmenting in the glass. His silver eyes are distant, unfocused, as if searching for answers in the jagged pieces of his image. The tension in his shoulders speaks volumes, the weight of unspoken fears pressing heavily on him. Whatever plan he’s formulating, it’s clear he knows time is running out. "The question is: what's his endgame? The dance is too public for anything obvious."

"Unless that's the point," I say slowly, an idea forming. "What if the dance isn't the plan? What if it's just meant to isolate her from us, to cut her off when she’s most vulnerable? If he can sever her ties to us, she’ll have no one left to turn to but him."

"Make her choose him publicly," Finn catches on, sitting up straighter. "Prove he has her trust completely."

"While discrediting any warnings we might try to give," Malrik finishes, turning back to face us. His silver eyes gleam in the dim light. "It's clever."

"It's manipulation," I correct him. "And Kaia's walking right into it."

"While we sit here discussing it like some sort of shadow council," Finn groans, flopping back down. "She'd hate this, you know. All of us plotting about her life."

He's right, and we all know it. The silence that follows feels heavy with that knowledge.

"I should find Torric," I say finally, standing. "Before he burns down half the training grounds."

"I'll keep an eye on things here," Finn says, waving vaguely at the upper levels. "Someone should monitor the shadow situation, even if she won't listen to us about it."

Malrik straightens, shedding the weight of his concern like a cloak. The intensity in his silver eyes sharpens to steel. “It’s time I had a chat with Professor Thorne about his star pupil.”

"Be careful," I warn. "If Darian's as dangerous as we think..."

"Then we're already in trouble," Malrik finishes smoothly. "Might as well make it count."

"Oh, and Aspen?" Finn calls as I reach the door. "When you find your hot-headed twin, maybe remind him that setting things on fire won't actually solve this?"

Despite everything, my lips twitch. "I'll try. But you know Torric."

"Yeah," Finn sighs, his voice heavy with unspoken fears. “That's what worries me.” And for once, I agree completely