The acrid smell of burnt stone and ash still clung to the air, an unwanted reminder of the courtyard's destruction.

Jae's eyes opened to the pale glow of mana-crystals lining the infirmary walls. For a moment, the world blurred, ceiling arches shifting above him. His body felt heavy, sore in places he couldn't name.

"Jae!" Elise's voice cracked with relief as she leaned over him. Her hands hovered uncertainly, as if torn between hugging him and checking for wounds.

Her dark hair brushed forward, and she quickly tucked it behind her ear. "You're awake… thank the heavens."

Before he could answer, Tirel pushed in beside her, red eyes gleaming with mischief. "About time," she said, lips curling into a grin. "You had the whole academy buzzing. One moment you're fighting like a madman, the next you collapse like a sack of flour. You scared Elise half to death."

Elise frowned, but her cheeks warmed. "Don't joke about it. He nearly died." Her gaze softened as she looked back to Jae. "You don't remember? You killed the Shadow General… and then.." She hesitated, lowering her voice.

Tirel finished smoothly, almost proud. "You absorbed its essence. All that power, straight into your body. No wonder you burned out."

Jae tried to push himself up, but his arms shook. His memory was fragmented, fire, shadows, a crushing weight, then nothing.

From the doorway came a familiar voice. "And you scared the rest of us half to death while you were at it."

Byun walked in, shadows curling faintly at his heels. His blond hair was tousled, his clothes still marked from battle, but his smile was steady. "Welcome back, brother."

xxx

Minutes later, Jae lay propped against a pillow, his breathing shallow but steady.

Bandages were wrapped tight across his torso, stained faintly with blood and soot. Thin cracks of golden light still traced along his skin, not fading but pulsing softly, as if something within him refused to let go.

Each flicker drew anxious glances from those nearby, even if they pretended otherwise.

Elise sat close to his bed, her posture tense, hands folded so tightly in her lap her knuckles had gone pale.

She had not left him since the battle, and though exhaustion weighed heavily on her, her focus never wavered from Jae's face.

Byun leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed. His eyes stayed fixed on the door, his body alert, but it was clear his attention flickered back to Jae whenever he thought no one noticed.

Tirel had stepped out some time before, restless, but Byun remained planted like stone, a quiet anchor in the storm.

The infirmary's doors creaked open. The sound was enough to draw every head, every nervous gaze.

Guards in silver and black filed in first, their polished armor a jarring contrast against the wreckage.

They moved with sharp precision, steps clicking against the floor in unison, the ripple of their entrance parting the healers and students like a tide.

And then she entered.

Queen Aranelle.

Her presence filled the room instantly, the air tightening with unspoken command. Midnight silk flowed around her as she stepped inside, her crown catching the lantern light in sharp flashes of gold.

Her gaze swept across the rows of injured students with practiced disdain, lingering only long enough to confirm that none of them held her interest.

Her eyes found Jae. And she moved toward him.

The entire infirmary bowed instinctively. Even Byun, whose jaw tightened like stone, dipped his head low.

Elise rose halfway, as if to place herself between the Queen and Jae, but the weight of Aranelle's presence pressed her back into silence. No one dared breathe too loudly.

"So," the Queen said, her voice smooth and cutting. "This is the boy." She stepped closer, each click of her heels echoing sharp against the stone. "The one who reduced my academy to rubble in order to slay a foe no one asked him to face."

The words landed like blades, stripping the room of any fragile hope.

Jae raised his head, though weakness pressed heavily against his body. His voice came rough, but his eyes did not falter. "The academy still stands. If I hadn't fought, there would be no one left to heal."

A thin smile touched her lips, curved but cold. It did not reach her eyes. "Bold. Just like Sun said. Bold enough to throw yourself into battles beyond your station, heedless of consequence." She leaned closer, her perfume sharp and cloying, her gaze sliding down his frame.

The glowing fissures across his skin reflected faintly in her eyes, and her voice lowered with disdain. "And now look at you. A weapon cracked from overuse."

Elise stiffened visibly, her hands clenching against her skirts. Her lips parted as if to speak, but the Queen's presence was an immovable wall. Her words died before they left her throat.

Aranelle tilted her head slightly, studying Jae as though he were not a person but a flawed artifact, dangerous yet fascinating. Then she leaned in closer still, her voice soft but far more dangerous than when it had carried across the room. "Power like yours will not be tolerated for long, boy. Not by my court, not by me. A tool is useful only while it can be controlled. Remember that."

The threat laced through her words was unmistakable, and it left no space for reply. She did not wait for one.

With a flick of her wrist, she turned, the silks of her robe whispering as her guards closed ranks around her. Without another glance, she swept out of the infirmary, her footsteps fading into silence.

That silence settled heavy in her wake, thicker than before. Even the healers, who had seen blood and screams, seemed smaller after her departure, as though the air itself bowed under her shadow.

Byun finally muttered under his breath, his voice rough. "Well, that was intense…"

Jae exhaled slowly, his eyes still fixed on the door the Queen had left through. "Right."