The mirror didn't just reflect.
It reached.
Kaelen blinked, but the image remained—not his face, not truly. The fractured glass shimmered faintly, and in it he saw the boy again. Not a ghost, not a vision. Something older. Etched deep in the magic of the mirror's frame.
Kaelen Veres.
That name again. The one only the visions spoke.
Seraphine stood at his side, watching him carefully. "What did you see?"
"I think…" His voice trailed. "I think it knows who I used to be."
"Be careful," she whispered. "This mirror was locked away for a reason. The Tower tried to erase that name from all archives. Even the other bloodlines fear it."
Kaelen turned toward her. "You said no one knew where it came from. That was a lie, wasn't it?"
Seraphine hesitated, then nodded. "I didn't want to push you toward it. I thought if I let you move at your pace…"
"But the Tower's coming," he finished for her.
"Yes." Her voice softened. "And you might not have a choice anymore."
They stood in silence a moment longer, glyphlight from their sigils casting soft shadows against the library walls.
Then Seraphine added, almost too quietly: "You're not what I expected, Kaelen. Not what I trained to fight."
That made him look up.
"And what did you train for?"
"To destroy anomalies." She gave a faint smile. "I was one."
Selene moved through the warded tunnel with practiced speed, cloak tight against her, bootfalls silent over ancient stone. The outer Vault was close now—only one turn left before the wardlight dipped low enough to pass through the sigil shimmer.
But her thoughts weren't calm.
Kaelen.
Seraphine.
She had seen their closeness. Had felt it, like a hook between her ribs.
It shouldn't matter.
But it did.
The echo of her past self had stirred something… dangerous. Possessive. She remembered holding his hand in fire and storm. She remembered dying with him. And yet, in this life, she hadn't even told him her true name.
Her heart beat faster.
You can't afford to feel this.
But she did.
Seraphine walked Kaelen back to the upper dorms in silence. Her hand brushed against his once as they turned a corner—accidental, but neither pulled away.
"You should rest," she said, voice low.
"I'm not sure I can." He hesitated, glancing at her. "Will you stay?"
The question hung heavy in the air.
Seraphine looked torn between duty and something far more fragile. But she finally nodded. "Only until you sleep."
Kaelen didn't respond. He didn't need to. He opened the door.
And inside, the candlelight was already flickering.
Selene sat on the windowsill, arms crossed.
Her eyes met Seraphine's first. Cold. Flat. Then they shifted to Kaelen—and softened.
"I was coming to warn you," she said. "They're moving early. There's a Tower envoy already inside the campus."
Kaelen's breath caught. "When?"
"Tomorrow. At dawn."
Seraphine swore under her breath. "They're accelerating the purge cycle. He doesn't have time."
"I know." Selene stood. "That's why I have a way out. A token. A gate. We can leave tonight."
The silence after that was louder than her words.
Seraphine looked at Kaelen. "If you run, you confirm everything. They'll hunt you forever."
"And if I stay?" he asked, voice low.
"You might not survive the questioning."
"I won't let that happen," Selene snapped. "There's a ship leaving under sigil cloak. I can get us past the wardline."
Kaelen turned toward her, something unreadable in his eyes. "Why are you helping me?"
Selene blinked. "You know why."
"No," he said gently. "I think I know why you think you are. But I need to hear it."
Her breath caught.
Behind him, Seraphine shifted. Quiet. Watching.
Selene swallowed. "Because I knew you. Before this. Because I feel it, every time you look at me. Every time you speak. And because if I lose you again, I don't know who I'll be."
Kaelen said nothing.
Then Seraphine spoke.
"I won't try to stop you," she said. "If you want to run, run. But I won't follow."
Selene rounded on her. "Of course you won't. You're Tower-bred. You'd rather drag him into a Tribunal than admit he matters to you."
"That's not true," Seraphine said evenly. "But I also won't destroy his future to soothe my fear."
"I'm not afraid—"
"Yes, you are," Seraphine said softly. "Just like I am."
Kaelen stepped between them.
"Enough," he said.
They both froze.
He looked at Seraphine first. "If I stay… help me survive it."
Then he looked at Selene. "And if I run… don't let me forget who I am."
A long silence.
Then he turned away.
"I need time to think."
Far beneath the academy, inside the sealed Tower observatory, a single envoy knelt before a sigil-wrought pool of still light.
Her eyes were empty.
Her voice was cold.
"Subject Veres located. Third Ascendant signature confirmed. Glyph resonance unstable."
The pool flickered.
A voice responded through the void.
"Proceed with evaluation. If truth echoes… sever it."