The aftermath was worse than the trap itself.
Kael sat on the edge of the infirmary bed, shoulders hunched, hands clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. He hadn't spoken since we brought him in. The bond hummed low and uneven, bruised but alive, echoing his shame and fear back into my chest with every breath he took.
Riven stood near the wall, arms folded, jaw rigid. Solen lingered closer to the door, quiet as ever, watching everything with that sharp, calculating gaze of his. No one spoke. The silence pressed down on us harder than the bond ever had.
Astraea stirred beneath my ribs. This is the fracture point, she murmured. What happens now decides whether you become stronger… or splinter beyond repair.
I exhaled slowly and stepped closer to Kael.
"Look at me," I said gently.
He flinched at the softness in my voice before lifting his head. His gray eyes were raw, stripped bare of arrogance, fear flickering openly in them. "I almost got you hurt," he whispered. "If the bond hadn't… if you hadn't—"
"You didn't," I cut in firmly. "Lyris did."
His hands shook. "But I was weak."
"No," I said, voice steady. "You were honest. And honesty hurts when you're not used to it."
The bond pulsed—softer this time.
Riven pushed off the wall, pacing once before stopping. "She knew Kael would crack," he said bitterly. "She chose him on purpose."
Solen nodded once. "Lyris studies weaknesses. Emotional, psychological. The trap wasn't meant to kill him." His gaze shifted to Kael. "It was meant to break him."
Kael swallowed hard.
"And it almost worked," Riven muttered.
I turned to face all three of them, heart pounding. "Then listen to me carefully. Lyris is not stronger than us. She is just patient. She waits for chaos and feeds on it."
Astraea hummed in agreement. She manipulates reactions. Remove the reaction, and her power weakens.
Kael frowned. "How do we do that when the bond reacts to everything we feel?"
"By stopping the lies," I said simply.
Silence followed.
"You hide guilt," I said to Riven, meeting his eyes. "You hide control behind silence," I said to Solen. "And you," I looked back at Kael, "hide fear behind anger."
Each of them stiffened as the bond pulsed in response—truth recognized.
"You don't get to do that anymore," I continued. "Not if we want to survive."
Riven ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "You're asking for trust."
"I'm demanding cooperation," I replied. "Trust comes later."
Solen studied me for a long moment before speaking. "Then what is your plan?"
I hesitated only briefly.
"We stop reacting blindly," I said. "And we stop training where Lyris expects us to fail."
Kael frowned. "You want to stop training?"
"No," I said. "I want to change the rules."
Astraea stirred, intrigued. Clever.
"The bond responds strongest to emotion spikes," I explained. "Fear. Anger. Shame. Lyris exploits that. So we train control through stillness, not force."
Riven raised an eyebrow. "You mean… meditation?"
"Connection," I corrected. "Shared awareness. No dominance. No competition."
Kael let out a shaky breath. "That sounds worse."
"It is," I admitted. "Because it leaves you nowhere to hide."
The bond pulsed again—steady, curious.
Solen's lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly. "She won't expect that."
"No," I agreed. "And that's the point."
A knock echoed at the door. All four of us tensed, the bond flaring instinctively—then settling when it was just a healer checking on Kael. Once she left, the silence returned, but it felt… different now.
Kael straightened slowly. "I don't want to be the weak link."
"You won't be," I said quietly. "But you have to stop trying to be strong the wrong way."
He nodded once.
Riven exhaled, shoulders loosening. "So… we do this your way."
"Yes," I said. "Because Lyris is escalating. And next time, she won't settle for almost."
Solen's gaze sharpened. "Then we prepare for escalation."
The bond hummed—low, unified.
For the first time since the awakening, it didn't feel like a curse or a battlefield. It felt like a warning system. A guide. A weapon—if wielded correctly.
Astraea's voice softened. You are no longer reacting. You are leading.
I didn't know what Lyris's next move would be. I only knew she would make one. Soon.
And when she did, she wouldn't be facing four fractured souls bound by fate.
She'd be facing something far more dangerous.
Four people who had finally stopped running from the truth.