The conversation with Mira took place three days later.
They met in a clearing in the forest surrounding the academy, far from curious ears. Vaelor had checked the area with Gris before arriving, confirming they were alone.
"Thanks for coming." Mira sat on a rock, her snake coiled in her lap. "I wasn't sure you would."
"You said we had secrets in common. That intrigued me."
"Is that all?" She smiled faintly. "I thought you'd also be curious about my… abilities."
"Abilities?"
In response, Mira closed her eyes and reached toward a nearby bush. For a moment, nothing happened. Then slowly, the leaves began to move—not from wind, but from something else: tiny snakes, dozens of them, emerging from the foliage and slithering toward Mira as if drawn by a magnet.
"I can… feel them," she explained as the creatures swirled at her feet. "All the snakes within several hundred meters. It's like they're connected to me somehow."
Vaelor watched the phenomenon with genuine interest.
"That's not a normal Dominion bond."
"No. My parents didn't understand it either. They thought I was cursed." Mira laughed bitterly. "Sound familiar?"
"More than you imagine."
They looked at each other silently for a moment.
"Your turn," Mira said finally. "I showed my secret. What's yours?"
Vaelor considered his options. Revealing everything was too risky. But if he wanted Mira to trust him, he needed to offer something real.
"The mask," he said at last. "It's not for scars."
"Then?"
Vaelor removed the mask.
His red eyes shone in the forest's dim light. Mira held her breath but did not look away.
"Cursed Eyes," she identified after a moment. "I read about that in an old book. Supposed to cause terror in anyone who looks at you."
"Supposed to."
"But I don't feel anything." Mira frowned. "Why?"
"I don't know exactly. But I have theories." Vaelor put the mask back on. "I think it affects normal people, those who fit into the world's system. But people like us, with abilities that shouldn't exist… maybe we're outside that system."
Mira processed the information.
"You're saying we're… different?"
"I'm saying we're more than they've made us believe." Vaelor looked her in the eye. "And if we work together, we can discover exactly what we are."
◇ ◇ ◇
The alliance was sealed that night.
Mira revealed more about her past: she came from a remote region where snakes were revered as spirit messengers. Her ability appeared at puberty, and her family sent her to the academy more out of fear than pride.
"They thought the teachers would know what to do with me," she said bitterly. "But no one here understands what I am. They treat me like a normal tamer with an unusual beast."
"Maybe that's for the best," Vaelor suggested. "The less attention you attract, the more freedom you'll have to investigate."
"Investigate what?"
"The secrets of this place." Vaelor told her about Lady Morwen and the forbidden room in the library. "Something bigger is happening here. Hidden factions, secret meetings. I need to find out what."
"And what do I gain by helping you?"
"Answers. About your abilities, about why you're different." Vaelor paused. "And when the time comes, an ally who will fight by your side no matter what."
Mira studied him for a long moment.
"Deal."
◇ ◇ ◇
In the following weeks, Vaelor's small group worked together.
Theo provided cover, distracting other students with his seemingly natural clumsiness while Vaelor and Mira investigated. His Salamander, though small, proved useful detecting hidden passages warmed by geothermal sources.
Mira used her snakes as spies, slipping them through cracks and ducts where even Gris couldn't reach. Gradually, they built a map of Lady Morwen's movements and her associates.
"They meet every new moon," Mira reported after a month of observation. "Always the same six people. They enter the forbidden room and stay there for hours."
"Did you hear anything?"
"Only fragments. They mention 'the candidates,' 'the divine selection,' and something about 'the envoys.'"
Vaelor tensed.
'Envoys,' he thought. Nyx had mentioned that term. They were champions chosen by the gods, their agents in the mortal world.
"Do you know who these candidates are?"
"Not for sure." Mira frowned. "But once I heard a name: Cassian Valoris."
Of course. The arrogant noble who had challenged him from day one.
"Cassian is being evaluated to become a god's envoy." Vaelor connected the dots. "The forbidden room must be part of the selection process."
"What does that mean for us?"
"It means we have a more dangerous enemy than I thought." Vaelor clenched his fists. "And it means I need to find out exactly what they're planning before it's too late."
The countdown had begun.