The manor felt different that night.Heavier. Darker. Like something terrible was waiting in the shadows.Draven couldn't sleep. Kept thinking about Thomas's breakdown. The raw pain in his voice. The years of resentment finally spilling over.And Edmund's smile. That satisfied, poisonous smile.Around midnight, Draven gave up on sleep. Got dressed and left his room.The hallways were empty. Guards at their posts but otherwise silent. The nobles had mostly retired, still processing the scandal they'd witnessed.Draven walked without direction. Let his feet carry him wherever they wanted.They carried him to the training grounds.And there, sitting alone in the darkness, was Thomas.His brother hadn't noticed him. Was staring at the ground where his fortress had stood before Edmund destroyed it. Where his pride had crumbled along with the stone.Draven should leave. Should turn around and walk away. Thomas had never been kind to him. Had called him a disappointment. A stain. A mistake.

The great hall remained frozen.Draven stood between his brothers, heart pounding. The pendant still burned against his chest. The power he'd kept hidden for so long now exposed for everyone to see.No going back.Edmund was the first to move. He stepped away from Draven, sword still in hand, lightning still crackling. But his eyes held something new.Fear."How?" Edmund's voice was barely a whisper. "You're the disappointment. The failure. You can't—""Clearly he can." Garrett walked forward, positioning himself near Draven. Not threatening. Protective, almost. "The question is how long he's been hiding it."Thomas struggled to his feet. His earth magic had faded, shock replacing rage. He stared at Draven like he'd never seen him before."You saved me," Thomas said. "You actually saved me.""Don't read too much into it.""You could have let him kill me. No one would have blamed you. I've been terrible to you for years.""I know.""Then why?"Draven didn't have an answer. Not one that

The carriage rolled to a stop at the edge of town.Draven stepped out into the afternoon sun. The Ashworth estate was behind him now. Miles away. But its weight still pressed on his shoulders.Everything had changed.He wasn't the disappointment anymore. Wasn't invisible. His father knew about the pendant. His brothers knew he'd been hiding. The entire noble gathering had watched him move faster than Edmund's killing strike.No going back."Draven!"He turned. Jin was running toward him from the town square, Lyra and Sera close behind. His team. His friends. The people who'd waited for days while he faced his family alone.Jin reached him first, grabbing his shoulders. "You're alive!""Were you expecting otherwise?""With your family? Honestly, yes."Lyra arrived next, slightly out of breath. "What happened? We heard rumors. Something about a fight? About you saving someone?""Rumors travel fast.""Noble gatherings are gossip factories." Sera studied him with those sharp eyes. "You lo

The day of the gala arrived.Draven stood before the mirror in his room, adjusting his formal attire. Dark fabric with silver trim. The Ashworth crest embroidered on his chest. Every inch the noble son he was supposed to be.He barely recognized himself.A knock at the door."It's time." Thomas's voice. Neutral. Professional.Draven opened the door. His brother stood in the hallway, dressed similarly. They looked at each other for a moment.Things had changed between them since the gathering. Not friendship—that would take more than one life-saving moment. But something like respect."Ready?" Thomas asked."As I'll ever be."They walked together toward the main hall. The manor had been transformed overnight. Flowers everywhere. Chandeliers blazing with magical light. Servants in pristine uniforms moving with practiced efficiency.The Ashworth estate had become a palace.They reached the gathering point where the brothers were supposed to assemble before the formal entrance. Edmund was

The great hall remained frozen.Lucas Nervia slumped against the wall. Draven standing in the exhibition circle. Smoke still rising from his hand where the controlled fire had erupted.Everyone staring.Draven looked up at the platform. At his father.Waiting for the reaction. The anger. The disappointment. Something.Father's face was stone.No expression. No emotion. Nothing.He simply stood there. Watching. Like he was observing a training exercise rather than his son publicly destroying an ally's heir.That silence was somehow worse than any anger could have been.But everyone else?Everyone else lost their minds.The whispers exploded into full conversations. Nobles grabbing each other's arms. Officers exchanging shocked looks. The carefully maintained decorum of the gala shattered."Did you see that speed?""He moved like—I've never seen anything like that.""The fire. That controlled burst. How is he only sixteen?""Second-year student? Impossible.""Lucas Nervia didn't stand a