---
The Academy gates loomed like a grudging parent as Kael's team staggered back, their armor splattered with void-ichor and their pockets heavy with trophies. The setting sun painted the cobblestones in bloody hues, matching the streaks on Darius's bandaged forearm.
Lira flicked a chunk of shadowbeast cartilage off her shoulder. **"Fifty credits. That's… what? Ten each?"**
Darius groaned. **"Plus whatever we get for the Fear Glands. And don't forget—"** He hefted the **Void-Shroud Fragment**, its obsidian surface drinking in the light. **"This thing's gotta be worth a fortune."**
Thea walked slightly ahead, her usual electric vibrancy dimmed. Her gauntlets—now cracked and sparking erratically—hung heavy at her sides. Kael fell into step beside her, their shoulders brushing.
**"You're quiet,"** he noted.
She didn't look at him. **"Just thinking."**
The War God's voice rumbled, amused. ***"Ah. The storm-eyed girl fears her own lightning."***
Kael ignored him.
---
The mission registrar's eyes bulged when they dumped the **Fear Glands** and **Void-Shroud Fragment** on his desk.
**"You—you killed an *Alpha*?"**
Darius leaned in, grinning. **"And we didn't even die a little."**
The registrar's quill scratched furiously. **"Standard payout is fifty credits… but for confirmed Alpha materials?"** He swallowed. **"Two hundred. Plus bonuses."**
The coins clinked into their hands—**fifty each**, gleaming silver etched with the Academy's crest.
Lira smirked. **"Gambler's Den tonight?"**
Darius pocketed his share. **"Oh, I've got *better* plans."**
Thea's fingers tightened around her coins. **"I need the blacksmith."**
Kael caught her wrist before she could leave. **"I'll go with you."**
She didn't pull away.
---
The forge was a cave of heat and hammer-song, its walls lined with weapons that pulsed with dormant affinities. The blacksmith—a mountain of a woman with scarred arms and one milky eye—grunted at Thea's gauntlets.
**"Overloaded the cores, didn't you?"** She tossed them into a vat of glowing blue liquid. **"Vermont tech's sturdy, but even lightning rots if you don't ground it."**
Thea's jaw clenched. **"How long?"**
**"A day."** The blacksmith's gaze slid to Kael. **"You. War Boy. Let's see that trinket you found."**
Kael handed over the **Void-Shroud Fragment**. The smith's eye gleamed.
**"Hmph. This'll make a fine dagger. Cuts through illusions. Two hundred credits."**
Kael blinked. **"That's our whole payout."**
Thea stepped forward. **"Do it."**
---
Night had fallen, the air crisp with approaching winter. Thea walked close enough that her sleeve brushed Kael's with every step.
**"You didn't have to do that,"** he said.
She shrugged. **"You're the one who kills things. Might as well make it easier."**
A pause. Then, quieter: **"Why'd you come with me?"**
Kael stopped. Thea turned, her blue hair haloed by the lantern light.
***"Lie,"*** urged the War God. ***"Tell her it was tactical."***
Kael ignored him. **"Wanted to."**
Thea's boot scuffed the cobblestones. **"Your a child of war you know you are a shitty conversationalist?"**
**"oh am I now "** he replied
She laughed—a rare, unguarded sound. .
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the moment broke.
**"Come on,"** Thea said, nudging him forward. **"Let's find the others before Darius gambles away his pants."**
---
The tavern was a riot of noise and ale-stained tables. Darius, already three drinks in, slammed his fist on a dice game. **"DOUBLE OR NOTHING!"**
Lira, perched on a stool with a glass of something dark, smirked at their approach. **"Took you long enough."**
Thea swiped Darius's ale. **"You're losing."**
**"I'm *building suspense*."**
Kael dropped into a seat, watching Thea argue with Darius over betting strategies. Her hands moved like live wires, her laughter sharp and bright.
Lira leaned in. **"You're staring."**
Kael took a deliberate sip of his drink. **"Am I?"**
She smirked. **"Ask her to train with you tomorrow."**
**"What?"**
**"You're both terrible at subtlety."** Lira swirled her glass. **"And if you *don't*, I'll tell her you practiced saying that speech about 'wanting to' in a mirror."**
Kael choked.
---
When the others had staggered out—Darius to a card game, Lira to "check the perimeter" (a lie)—Thea lingered.
**"Your affinity,"** she said abruptly. **"Does it… warn you about things? Like instincts?"**
Kael frowned. **"Sometimes. Why?"**
She tapped her temple. **"My lightning's been… twitchy. Since the hive. Like it's scared of something."**
The War God's presence sharpened. ***"Void resonance. Her affinity senses what comes next."***
Kael hesitated. **"Train with me tomorrow. We'll figure it out."**
Thea studied him. Then, with a slow smirk: **"Sure, War Boy. Try to keep up."**
---
Later, on the rooftop of their dorm, Kael watched the stars. The Void-Shroud dagger—now a sliver of living shadow at his belt—hummed against his hip.
Thea's voice came from behind him. **"You brood louder than Darius snores."**
**"Not brooding."**
**"Liar."** She sat beside him, close enough that their knees touched. **"What'd your War affinity say about my lightning?"**
Aren't you putting a little too much trust in my level 1 mastery but
Kael exhaled. **" it's right to be afraid."**
Thea was silent for a long moment. Then: **"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."**
A shooting star arced overhead. Neither moved away.
---
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