Chapter 5 #2
The flame in his hand is not bright like ordinary fire. It's black at the edges, deep red near the center, and gold only where it seems hottest. It doesn't crackle, it whispers, low and hungry. The air around it bends, shimmering with heat, and the warded circle tightens as if preparing for impact.
Valerius holds it effortlessly. Beautifully. Like destruction is a language his body learned before speech. My throat goes dry.
He looks at me through the dark flame. "Careful, Starling," he murmurs. "You look impressed."
I lift my chin even though my pulse is hammering. "I was thinking dramatic." His eyes narrow slightly.
"Enough," Professor Thorne says. "Miss Starling, your wrist."
I look down. My sleeve covers the bond mark. I hesitate. Valerius notices. Slowly, I pull the fabric back. The gold circle beneath my skin glows faintly. The second it's exposed, Valerius's Shadowflame leans toward me. Not thrown. Not commanded. Leans. Like it recognizes something.
I freeze.
Professor Thorne goes very still. Valerius's fingers flex around the flame.
His jaw tightens, control snapping back into place.
The Shadowflame straightens, shrinking slightly but the bond mark continues to glow.
Warmth slips under my skin. A deep, spreading heat that starts at my wrist and travels up my arm.
It's not painful, not exactly, but it makes my breath thin.
Makes the air feel too close. Makes every inch of me aware of Valerius across the circle.
The curve of his fingers. The strength in his forearm.
The way his hazel eyes have gone darker.
The heat of his magic reaching for something in me. Something that not there.
"Describe the sensation," Professor Thorne says.
I swallow. "Warm."
"Painful?" He asks.
"No." I answer.
"Localized to the mark?" He looks at the mark.
I should say yes. That would be simple. Instead, honesty slips out before pride can stop it. "No."
Valerius's eyes sharpen. Professor Thorne's quill writes by itself across his slate. "Where else?"
My face burns... How am I supposed to explain this? My wrist, yes but also my chest, my ribs, the hollow of my throat, the space beneath my skin. Like heat is moving through places magic has never touched before.
"Everywhere," I say quietly.
The quill stops. The Shadowflame in Valerius's hand flickers. For one second, something pulls between us. Invisible. His flame bends toward me again, and this time the bond mark answers with a pulse of gold bright enough to light my fingers.
I gasp.
Valerius takes one step forward. The movement is small. Instinctive. For a heartbeat, he looks almost startled by himself.
Professor Thorne's voice cuts sharp. "Hold position."
Valerius stops. His eyes remain on me. I hate how badly I want to step back. I hate even more that some buried part of me wants to step closer. The thought horrifies me. I force myself still.
Professor Thorne watches us with an unreadable expression. "Mr. Draven. Increase the manifestation by one level."
Valerius doesn't look away from me. "No." The word lands like a stone.
Professor Thorne's gaze hardens. "That was not a request."
"She can barely stand through this." He expresses to Professor Thorne.
My pride sparks hot. "I can stand perfectly fine."
His eyes flick over me. "You're trembling."
I look down. I am. My hands shake at my sides, barely visible but real. Anger saves me from shame. I curl them into fists. "Maybe your magic is just unpleasant."
A faint, dangerous smile touches his mouth. "My magic has killed better liars than you." The ward seems to hum louder.
Professor Thorne steps closer to the edge of the circle. "Increase it, Mr. Draven."
For a second, I think Valerius will refuse again.
Then his expression shutters. The black flame in his palm expands.
The change is immediate. Heat slams through the circle.
My breath tears out of me. The bond mark blazes.
Gold light races beneath my skin, up my arm in thin branching lines before vanishing under my sleeve.
Not enough for Professor Thorne to see clearly but Valerius sees.
His eyes drop to my arm. The Shadowflame surges.
Not toward him... Toward me. The ward snaps brighter as the black fire stretches across the space between us like a living thing, thin tendrils reaching, curling, searching. I stumble back.
Valerius closes his fist. The flame dies instantly. The absence of heat is so sudden I nearly sway.
"Assessment over," Valerius says.
Professor Thorne's voice is cold. "I decide when an assessment ends."
Valerius turns to him. The air changes. A dark pressure rolling from Valerius in a silent wave, pressing against the wards, making the etched lines on the floor glow in warning. "You wanted a baseline," Valerius says. "You have one."
Professor Thorne doesn't move.
I stand between them, shaken and furious and sick of being spoken around like a cracked object no one can decide how to handle. "I'm fine," I say.
Both of them look at me. I regret speaking immediately. Valerius's eyes are too intense. Professor Thorne's too measuring.
I lift my chin. "I said I'm fine."
Valerius's gaze drops to my wrist. The bond mark is fading back to a thin circle. "Your definition of fine needs work," he says.
"Your concern is touching." I smile.
"It wasn't concern." He corrects me.