The healer’s chamber was quiet now. Master Aldric had come and gone, declaring Nyra stable but weak bed rest for three more days, no training for a week, absolutely no heroics.
That left the two of them alone.
Nyra sat propped against pillows that smelled of medicinal herbs, her silver hair loose around her shoulders. Soren occupied a wooden chair he’d dragged to her bedside, his bandaged shoulder visible beneath his loose collar. The nurses had tried to shoo him out twice. He’d ignored them both times.
"You look terrible," Nyra said.
Soren’s eyebrow lifted. "You were dying two days ago."
"And you look like you haven’t slept since."
"I haven’t."
The honesty caught her off guard. She looked down at her hands, at the faint silver light still pulsing beneath her skin. "Why did you do it? Go into the forest. The Proctor forbade it. You could have died."
"You’re my student. My responsibility."
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one I have."
"People don’t risk their lives for responsibility. They don’t defy the Proctor, sneak into a forbidden forest, fight a swamp creature, and nearly bleed out for responsibility."
"Ragnar talks too much."
"He’s worried about you. He said he’s never seen you act like this. Not once in four years."
Soren’s jaw tightened. "He doesn’t need to be."
"Someone should be." Nyra pushed herself higher against the pillows, her arms trembling. "You act like you’re made of ice, Soren, but ice doesn’t bleed. Ice doesn’t go into forbidden forests. Ice doesn’t sit beside someone’s bed for two days waiting for them to wake up."
His dark eyes met hers, and for a moment the mask slipped. She saw exhaustion beneath it. And something that looked almost like fear.
"Why does it matter to you?" he asked.
"Because no one’s ever risked their life for me before. No one except my brother. And he died for it."
The silence was heavy. Soren looked away. "I’m not your brother. And I’m not going to die for you either."
"I don’t want you to."
"Then stop asking questions I don’t know how to answer."
Nyra nodded slowly. She understood deflection she’d built her entire life around it. "Fine. But I’m not going to stop wondering."
Soren didn’t reply. But he didn’t leave either.
Across the academy, Corvin was not sleeping.
He sat at his worktable, surrounded by glass vials and the single most valuable thing he owned: the cloth he’d used to clean Nyra’s blood weeks ago. The stain had dried to a pale, silvery brown. Ordinary blood would have turned rust-red.
Lucian entered without knocking. "You missed dinner. Orion sent me to check if you were dead."
"I’m not dead."
"You look dead." Lucian dropped into the chair across from him. "Is that the prince’s blood again?"
"I tested it against the old Moonblood markers. The ones from the restricted texts my father keeps in the vault."
Lucian’s posture stiffened. "You broke into the vault?"
"I borrowed a key. The markers match. Every single one. The silver pigmentation, the lunar reactivity, the cellular structure that doesn’t conform to Alpha, Beta, or Omega classification." Corvin pushed back from the table. "Thorne Astrlyn isn’t an Alpha. He isn’t anything that’s supposed to exist in this empire."
"What are you saying?"
"The Sacred Moonblood line wasn’t destroyed. It was hidden. And Thorne Astrlyn is its last living heir."
Silence filled the room like water filling a cup.
"That’s impossible," Lucian said. "The Moonblood line was matrilineal. It passed from mother to daughter. There hasn’t been a Moonblood daughter in—"
"Exactly." Corvin’s eyes glittered. "There hasn’t been a Moonblood daughter. Only sons. Only Alphas. Only men. But what if the royal family had a daughter they never acknowledged? A daughter they hid because she couldn’t shift, because she was born with silver hair, because she was everything the empire despises?"
"A daughter." Lucian’s voice was faint. "You think Thorne is a woman?"
"I don’t think. I know." Corvin set the cloth down with deliberate care. "Thorne Astrlyn is a woman. And Soren knows it too. That’s why he went into that forest. That’s why he’s been acting like a possessed man since the day she arrived."
Lucian stared at him, then laughed a short, disbelieving sound. "This is insane. The prince is a princess, the Sword Sovereign is in love with her, and you—" He stopped. "What do you want with her?"
Corvin didn’t answer immediately. When he did, his voice was quiet, almost wondering. "I don’t know yet. But Soren isn’t the only one who feels drawn to her. And I’m going to find out why."
Valeria stood at the entrance to the healer’s wing, watching.
She couldn’t see into the prince’s chamber, but she could see the chair outside it the one Soren had occupied for two days. It was empty now because he was inside. He was always inside.
"What are you hiding, Thorne?" she murmured. "What are you that has turned Soren into something I don’t recognize?"
She had searched his suite. Found the binding cloth. The pieces were assembling, but she needed proof. Definitive proof.
A passing nurse bowed. "Lecturer Morvane. Can I help you?"
"No." Valeria smiled the practiced smile of a woman who had spent years perfecting the art of appearing harmless. "I was just leaving."
She turned and walked away, heels clicking against the stone floor.
Soon, she promised herself. Soon I’ll know everything. And when I do, you’ll wish you’d never set foot in this academy.
They gathered in the same abandoned classroom, but the mood was darker now.
"The plan failed," Nikolai said. "The antidote was administered. The prince is awake."
Xavier sat on a desk, his easy smile replaced by something harder. "How? The binding agent was supposed to be tampered with."
"The healer improvised. What matters is that Thorne is alive, and Lord Varek will not be pleased."
"Then we try again."
"Obviously. But security has been increased. The Proctor has doubled the guard on the healer’s wing. And Thornridge hasn’t left his side in two days."
Killian finally spoke from his position by the window. "I’ll do it."
Nikolai turned. "You?"
"Corvin trusts me. Or he will. And Corvin has access to the prince."
"Corvin doesn’t trust anyone," Xavier said.
"He’ll trust me." Killian’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "Just give me time."
Nikolai studied him for a long moment. "Fine. But don’t act without my approval. We can’t afford another failure."
"You won’t have one."
Killian walked out. Xavier exchanged a glance with Nikolai. "He’s going to be a problem."
"I know. But problems can be solved. One way or another."
The next morning, Corvin appeared at the healer’s wing.
He found Nyra sitting up in bed, alone for the first time since she’d woken. Soren had finally been forced to leave the Proctor had summoned him about the Forbidden Forest incident.
"You look better," Corvin said.
"I heard you went into the forest too. That you followed Soren."
"I did."
"Why?"
Corvin sat in the chair Soren had occupied for two days. It was still warm, and the knowledge irritated him more than it should have. "I could give you a speech about responsibility. But I suspect you’ve already heard that from Soren."
"Something like that."
"I went because I wanted to beat him." The honesty came out before he could stop it. "Soren has been ahead of me in everything since we arrived here. Combat. Rankings. Reputation. I thought if I could save you if I could find the leaf before him I would finally win something." He paused. "Petty, isn’t it?"
"A little." But Nyra smiled. "But you went. That matters more than why."
Corvin looked at her. The delicate features. The silver hair. The faint, almost imperceptible glow beneath her skin. She’s a woman. She’s been hiding in plain sight, and Soren knew before I did.
"I’m going to figure you out," he said quietly. "Whatever you’re hiding. Whatever Soren already knows. I’m going to figure it out."
Nyra’s smile faded. "Corvin—"
"Don’t worry. I’m not going to expose you. Whatever your secret is, it’s yours. But I’m not going to stop looking either. That’s not who I am."
He walked to the door, then paused. "Rest well, Prince Thorne. You’re going to need your strength. The trials aren’t over yet."
He left. Nyra stared at the empty doorway for a long time.
He knows. Maybe not everything, but enough. How long before everyone knows?
She looked down at her hands. The silver light pulsed faintly, steady as a heartbeat. How long before I don’t have to hide anymore?
The question terrified her. But somewhere beneath the fear, something else was stirring. Something that felt almost like hope.