Chapter 17 #2
His face hardens, not against me, but against what waits outside this room. "I'm coming with you."
"I know." The answer leaves me before I think because of course he is. Not because he owns the choice, because I choose it, because yesterday I might have wanted distance when my mother spoke. Today, I know better.
If her answers break me, he will feel it. If they hurt, he will know. If my magic reacts, he can steady it faster than anyone and if she lies again... I swallow.
His eyes darken. He heard enough of that thought to understand. "You decide how close I stand," he says.
The words almost undo me. Not I'm coming in. Not I won't leave. Not an order. A choice. I nod. "Close," I whisper.
His expression shifts. "Then close it is," he says.
We dress in silence. It's different now, the careful dance of him turning toward the window while I change behind the screen. Respectful in a way that feels almost intimate. When I step out in my uniform, he turns. His gaze goes first to my face, then to my wrist.
I pull my sleeve lower. "Covered," I say.
"Good." He steps closer and reaches for my hand. I take his hand myself.
The bond steadies and so do I. We leave my room together.
Seren is waiting in the corridor. She stands with two cups of tea, a worried expression, and the determined posture of someone who slept terribly because her best friend is apparently a walking magical disaster tied to a boy made of black fire.
Her eyes flick from our joined hands to my face. Then to Valerius. Then back to me. No teasing today. "Your mother sent for you," she says.
My stomach drops. Valerius's hand tightens around mine. "When?" I ask.
"Ten minutes ago. A page came. Dean's office. Immediately." Immediately. The word feels like a door slamming shut. Seren's expression softens. "Do you want me to come?"
"Yes," I say. Then I look at Valerius.
His face is unreadable, but the bond carries his agreement before he speaks. "Until the office," he says. "Then she decides."
Seren's eyebrows lift at him. "I'm trying not to hate how respectful that sounded,"
"Try harder." He says.
"There he is, mister bark and bite." Seren smiles. The tiny familiar exchange steadies me more than it should.
We walk together through the east tower.
The academy is fully awake now, corridors bright with morning and movement.
Students turn as we pass. Some whisper about the glasshouse.
Some about the kiss. Some about Valerius sleeping in the east tower, because apparently secrets last less than a heartbeat at Arcana Academy.
My face burns, but I don't let go of his hand.
Neither does he. The whispers follow. Bonded pair.
Draven. Starling. The kiss. The trial. Did you see the flames?
Did you hear she burned something? I thought she had no magic.
Maybe he did it for her. Maybe she really is his.
His.
The word slips too close to the bond. Valerius's eyes cut toward me.
Not here.
He sends back.
We turn the corner toward the administrative wing, and the warmth dies.
My mother's office waits at the end of the corridor, double doors closed, silver wards glowing around the frame.
My father isn't outside. Neither is Magistra Voss.
That should comfort me but it doesn't. Professor Thorne stands near the door.
My heart stumbles. He looks at our joined hands, then at my face.
His expression doesn't change, but I feel Valerius go tense beside me. "Dean Starling asked to see Valentina alone," Thorne says.
Valerius's voice is immediate. "No."
Thorne's eyes cut to him. "I am relaying her request, not enforcing it. I am here for the same reasons as you Valerius."
I look at Professor Thorne. He gives the smallest nod.
My choice. Everything has become choices now, which should feel freeing.
It feels terrifying. For years, I wanted answers from my mother.
I wanted her to look at me and explain why hers and my fathers powerful blood gave me nothing.
Why she let me stand in hallways while students whispered.
Why she always told me I belonged but never told me why my own magic refused to prove it.
Now I might finally hear the truth and I'm scared of what it will do to the woman who has loved me and lied to me in the same breath.
I turn to Seren. She squeezes my free hand. "I'm right outside."
I nod. Then I look at Valerius. His face is controlled, but his eyes are dark with warning and concern.
"I want you inside," I say. Professor Thorne's mouth tightens, but he doesn't argue.
Valerius's thumb moves once over my hand. "Then I'm inside."
Seren hugs me quickly, then steps back. Professor Thorne opens the door.
My mother stands behind her desk. She looks like she hasn't slept.
For the first time in my life, Dean Amara Vale Starling looks breakable.
Her hair is pinned neatly, her robes immaculate, the academy crest shining at her throat, but her face is pale.
Her eyes are shadowed. Her hands rest flat on the desk as if she needs the wood to keep herself upright.
The moment she sees Valerius beside me, something painful moves across her face. "Valentina," she says.
I step inside. Valerius follows. Professor Thorne enters behind us and closes the door. The wards around the office flare once, sealing.
My mother's eyes flick to him. "I asked to see my daughter."
"And she chose not to come alone," Thorne says.
My mother looks at me. The hurt in her eyes cuts before she speaks.
I lift my chin even though my throat aches. "I need him here."
The words land heavily. Valerius goes still beside me. My mother's gaze moves to our joined hands. For a heartbeat, anger passes through her face so deeply I almost let go. Then she nods. "Of course."
Those two words hurt more than if she had argued. I release Valerius's hand, but only because I need both of mine to hold myself together. He remains close. Close enough that our sleeves nearly touch. Close enough that the bond stays warm.
Professor Thorne stands near the door, silent and severe. My mother looks at him again. "How much does she know?"
The question steals the air from my lungs. Not do you know? Not what happened? How much... So it is true. She knew.
She knew!
Pain moves through me so fast I sway. Valerius's hand finds my elbow. Steady. My mother's face crumples for half a second. "Valentina—"
"You sealed me." The words come out sharper than I expected. The office goes still. My mother closes her eyes. That is answer enough. Still, I need to hear it. "Say it."
Her eyes open, shinning. "Yes."
The word breaks something. Even though I knew. Even though Professor Thorne practically told me. Even though every piece had already slid into place. Hearing her say it feels like being cut open.
Valerius's fingers tighten at my elbow. The bond hums with his anger. I stare at my mother. My voice is barely mine. "Why?"
She presses her lips together. For a moment, I think she will give me another careful answer.
Another half-truth. Another soft lie wrapped in protection but then she looks at my face, and whatever she sees there destroys the last of her defenses.
"Because if I didn't," she says, "they would have killed you before you learned to walk."
Silence slams into the room. My breath disappears. Valerius goes utterly still. Professor Thorne's face tightens, but he doesn't look surprised.
My mother's hands curl against the desk. "You were not born powerless," she says. The words hit me like a second confession. "You were born burning."
My knees weaken. Valerius steadies me before I fall, his hand sliding from my elbow to my waist. I barely feel embarrassed. I barely feel anything except the room tipping around my mother's words. Born burning.
She continues, voice trembling now. "When you were born, every ward in the estate failed. The windows turned gold. The candles burned white for three days. The healers could not touch you without their magic collapsing into light. Your father thought..."
She stops, swallowing hard. "He thought it was Aether at first. Strong. Unstable. Rare, perhaps, but explainable."
My father. A painful laugh catches in my throat. "He thought I was his then?"
My mother flinches. Valerius's grip tightens. Good. Let it hurt like I did for years. Let one of us say it aloud.
"He loved you," she whispers.
"No he didn't." I shake my head.
"Valentina—" She says softly.
"No." My voice cracks. "Don't rewrite him for me. He doubted me. He looked at me like I was proof you betrayed him."
Her eyes fill. "Because after the seal, your magic disappeared completely. Too completely. He did not understand."
"He didn't try." I say harshly. She looks down. No defense. No denial. The silence is worse than argument. I press a hand to my chest, trying to breathe around the pain. "What am I?" I ask.
My mother goes still. Valerius does too. Professor Thorne's gaze sharpens from the doorway. My mother looks at him. He gives no help. This is hers. Her truth. Her wound to open. Her daughter to answer. She looks back at me. "You carry a magic that has not existed openly for centuries."
The bond mark burns beneath my sleeve.n"Say the name."
Her mouth trembles. "Starfire."
The word enters the room like a flame finding air. Starfire. My pulse stops. Something beneath my skin answers. Not with light, not visibly but deep inside, something lifts its head. As if it recognizes its own name. Valerius's hand tightens at my waist. He feels it.
My mother sees our reaction. Fear flashes across her face. "Do not reach for it," she says quickly.
"I'm not doing anything." I shoot her a look.
"I know." Her voice breaks. "I know, sweetheart."
Sweetheart. The word hurts because I am angry and I love her and both feelings are tearing through me at once. She steps around the desk slowly. Valerius shifts, subtle but unmistakable.
My mother stops. Pain crosses her face again. "He protects you," she says softly.
Valerius's voice is cold. "Someone should have."