(Starla)
My energy flowed into the crystal, what little I had left. I felt it drain from me, a familiar ache spreading through my chest. The prism grew warm in my hands, pulsing with light.
I held my breath, my chest tightening. Their eyes were glued to the crystal.
It flickered once, and White was replaced by the ugly Yellow.
It bloomed within the crystal, weak and faint. The colour of cowardice and failure.
Runa’s smile widened. "Yellow," she loudly laughed; it echoed like taunting bells all around me. "E-ranked. Just as I suspected."
Alistair snatched in a deep breath while Azkan’s eyes glistened with a contained rage.
I felt my heart shatter. I knew this was going to happen, but it still hurt. They knew now.
But then, the yellow flickered.
It darkened, deepened, shifted. The colour bled into something richer, something deeper. Not yellow anymore. Not grey or purple.
Not even silver or golden.
Teal...
The crystal blazed with light, brilliant, blinding and settling on mesmerising green. The colour of life. The colour of power and healing. The colour of SSS-Ranked.
The crystal emitted the colour like refracted rays.
Runa’s face went pale. Her mocking smile vanished, replaced by shock and fury. Fear mingled with her rage.
"No," she breathed. "That can’t be. The prism must be broken. It never changes colours like that. It only shows one colour."
"Yes, that’s strange," Azkan finally breathed out, confused like all of us.
But the crystal wasn’t done. The teal light pulsed once. Twice. Three times. It grew brighter, hotter and more intense with every passing second.
I felt more of my energy surging into it, more than I meant to give. I wasn’t even pouring my energy in; I was merely holding it. The prism was drinking from me, pulling at my fading power, demanding more than I could offer.
"Starla!" Alistair’s voice, sharp with alarm. "Let go! Stop feeding your energy into it."
I tried but failed. "I am not. I don’t know what’s happening." Fear crawled on my skin like a deadly snake, ready to bite.
The crystal was burning my already burnt hands. A tiny gasp left me.
Azkan swept in, seeing the pain flicker on my face, and snatched the prism from my hand.
The moment he did it, teal light flickered, then wavered and finally fractured.
And then it simply went...
~Crack~
A hairline fissure split the prism from top to bottom. Light poured through the crack, blinding, unbearable.
~Crack~
Another fissure. Another burst of light.
~CRACK~
The prism shattered with a loud bang in his hands, making him drop it to the ground and step back.
Silence.
The shards of crystal lay scattered across the floor, still glowing faintly with teal light. My hands were empty and trembling. My whole body shook.
Azkan had stepped closer in. His amethyst eyes were wide, fixed on the shattered crystal. He didn’t seem to be affected by the prism’s energy. Alistair stood frozen beside him, his surprised eyes blazing with something that looked almost like wonder.
But Runa had stepped back. Her face was pale and her hands raised as if to shield herself.
"She broke it," Runa whispered, her face ashen. "She broke the prism."
"That’s impossible," Alistair choked out. "The prism has never been broken before."
"Remain calm, all of you."
Azkan’s voice came commanding. He stalked forward, although I knew he meant me no harm; my body reacted instinctively.
In fright, I took a step back. Maybe he didn’t realise that his hulking and imposing figure drove fear into my human heart.
Seeing my reaction, he halted a few inches away from me, checking himself and declared with finality.
"The test is inconclusive."
"Inconclusive?" Runa’s voice cracked. "Azkan, she broke the prism! She should be punished severely."
Azkan’s deadly gaze wavered towards her, and she instantly closed her mouth.
"The prism shows yellow, then teal, then shatters. That’s not a result. That’s a malfunction, and it’s certainly not her fault," Azkan declared.
"She will take a proper and complete test. The healers will determine her true rank through more reliable means." He paused. "Until then, no one speaks of this. No one spreads rumours. Is that understood?"
Although he addressed everyone, his gaze was fixed on his guide.
Runa’s jaw tightened. She looked at me with naked hatred, her hands clenched at her sides.
"Leave us," Azkan ordered, dismissing both his brother and Runa.
She opened her mouth to argue, but something in his expression stopped her. She turned and walked away, her footsteps sharp and angry.
Alistair lingered for a moment, his oceanic eyes meeting mine.
"I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Starla. Try not to break more prisms," he teased before leaving, waving the back of his hand at me.
They left me with the grumpy Commander.
Azkan stood before me. Nope towered over me like a seven-foot angry giant. I had to arch my neck to stare back.
"You broke the prism," he said quietly. Something flickered in his eyes as they took me in.
"I didn’t mean to."
"No one’s ever broken it before. Not in three hundred years that I have been alive." He paused. "What are you? Speak the truth, and I might spare you."
I met his gaze. "I don’t know."
My answer infuriated him, making his breath come out harshly and his face go rigid. He could hardly restrain himself.
I could pick up on his crisp scent. The desire to touch his face wriggled inside me for reasons unknown.
Then he turned away, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Aksel is acting up again. Refusing to eat. Refusing to let anyone near him." He glanced at me over his shoulder. "The healers are at a loss."
I understood what he wanted. "You want me to try."
"You are the only one who can reach him." He paused. "Don’t use that to your advantage. I shouldn’t be begging you. That’s the only purpose of your presence here: to take care of my brother."
His voice wasn’t raised, yet his words were like whetted daggers, piercing my heart. I could have answered harshly, but I held my tongue.
My energy was almost gone, spent, because of the prism.
But I thought of Aksel. Of the dragon who had trembled in the darkness, alone and afraid. Of the brother who had waited a century for someone to reach him.
"I know," I whispered. "You don’t have to rub it in every time."
With that, I turned around and walked away, heading to my chamber, away from his brooding, mean self.
What was it about this man who pulled and pushed me at the same time?
Doodles was waiting by the door, his tail twitching. He meowed at me, as if to say, Where have you been?
"Long morning, I am sorry," I pouted at my orange furball. "Come on."
I grabbed my violin case. The music had been my only comfort at so many moments.
This violin was a gift from my mother. I lifted it from the case and held it for a moment, feeling its familiar weight.
This is all I had left today. Not energy.
Holding it, I walked to Aksel’s chamber.