Aurelia's POV
The silence Jarek left behind felt heavier than his voice.
It pressed against my ears, my skin, my thoughts—waiting for me to fill it with panic.
I refused.
Silvara watched me closely as the others repositioned around the clearing. Raffyn paced at the perimeter like a caged flame, Lucien stayed close enough that I could feel the steady warmth of him without being smothered, and Talon stood slightly apart, eyes distant as if listening to something beneath the ground.
"You challenged him," Silvara said at last.
"I didn't mean to," I replied. "It just… happened."
She shook her head. "That's the lie power tells when it wants to stay wild. You meant to defend yourself."
Lucien frowned. "She's exhausted. Pushing her now—"
"—is exactly why we push now," Silvara cut in. "Fear teaches faster than comfort."
I swallowed hard but nodded. "Tell me what to do."
Silvara's gaze softened, just slightly. "Good. Stand."
My legs protested as I rose, the memory of the grounding still coiled tight inside me. The magic stirred, restless but no longer screaming.
"Close your eyes," Silvara instructed. "This time, you don't pull. You don't push. You listen."
I did as she said.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—everything.
The forest breathed. Not wind, not sound, but presence. Roots shifting beneath the soil. Water moving far below the surface. Heat radiating from Raffyn. The steady, luminous calm of Lucien. The deep, deliberate pull of Talon—cool, anchoring, endlessly patient.
My breath hitched.
"It's loud," I whispered.
"Because you've been deaf," Silvara said. "Your power isn't meant to drown the world. It's meant to converse with it."
Something inside me loosened.
For the first time, I didn't try to control the magic. I let it move—slowly—like a tide finding its shoreline.
The silver light beneath my skin dimmed to a soft glow.
Lucien exhaled sharply. "She's stabilizing."
Talon nodded. "She's synchronizing."
Raffyn muttered, "About time."
Silvara smiled thinly. "Don't get comfortable."
The forest reacted instantly.
A sharp crack split the air as a ward snapped somewhere beyond the trees.
Talon's head lifted. "They're testing again."
"Good," Silvara said. "Now we see if she can listen under pressure."
My heart pounded. "You're joking."
"I never joke during training," Silvara replied.
The ground trembled faintly—not violently, but insistently. Shapes moved between the trees. Not an attack. A probe.
Scouts.
Lucien's wings flared partway. "They're close."
Silvara's voice dropped. "Aurelia. Feel where they are. Don't look."
I clenched my jaw and reached—not outward, but inward.
The magic shifted.
Threads extended from my awareness like fine silver strands, brushing against heat signatures, water flow, disrupted air. I gasped as I felt them—three figures moving carefully along the ridge to the west.
"There," I said hoarsely. "Three. Trying not to be seen."
Raffyn grinned grimly. "That's my girl."
Lucien shot him a look. "Not helping."
Silvara nodded approvingly. "Now do nothing."
"What?"
"Power doesn't always need a response," she said. "Sometimes restraint is the weapon."
The scouts paused.
I felt their confusion ripple outward. They had expected resistance. Fear. Panic.
Instead—
Stillness.
One of them turned back. Another hesitated. The third lingered—then followed.
The forest relaxed.
I sagged, breath coming fast.
Lucien caught me instantly. "You did it."
"No," Silvara corrected. "She didn't do anything. And that's the point."
My hands shook, but this time not from pain.
From awe.
"I could hear them," I whispered. "Like… echoes."
Silvara's expression turned solemn. "That ability will terrify your enemies more than force ever could."
Raffyn's fire flickered. "Jarek won't like that."
Talon's gaze hardened. "He'll escalate."
Silvara met my eyes. "And so will you."
A chill ran down my spine. "How?"
She stepped closer. "Next, we teach you to separate instinct from command."
Lucien stiffened. "Meaning?"
Silvara's eyes glinted. "Meaning you stop reacting to men who think they can call you—and start deciding who you answer."
The words struck deep.
Choice.
Again.
Somewhere in the distance, a horn sounded—low, distant, unmistakable.
Talon turned sharply toward the sound. "That wasn't Nightfall."
Raffyn's smile vanished. "That came from our territory."
Lucien's wings unfurled fully. "The pack."
My chest tightened.
Whatever control I had gained—
I was about to be tested where it hurt most.