The journey back to Veylora Keep was slower this time, the weight of what we had seen pressing down on all of us. The remnants of corrupted magic still clung to my senses, like the fading echoes of a storm. Even the shard in my chest felt heavier, its hum subdued but no less present. Containing the magic at the pedestal had taken more effort than I wanted to admit.

Aric was unusually silent. The only sounds from him were the shifting of his armor and his steady, tense breathing. Resna walked a small distance ahead, her usual light and deliberate steps carrying a new wariness. She had been the first to sense something was wrong in the forest, and now she was on edge.

“We need a plan,” she finally said, breaking the silence. “That was just one fragment. If there are more, we need to be prepared.”

“Agreed,” Aric muttered. “And next time, we don’t rely on Caelan nearly getting himself killed to fix it.”

I ignored the jab. “I had no choice. The magic was unstable—it would have spread if we left it.”

“And what happens when it fights back harder next time?” Aric shot back. “You got lucky. That thing could’ve killed you.”

“It didn’t,” I said evenly. “Because I understood it.”

Aric scoffed. “You think you understand this magic?”

“I understand enough to know we can’t just destroy it,” I replied. “This isn’t a battle where you swing a sword and cut down an enemy. If we attack blindly, we’ll only make things worse.”

Resna sighed. “Enough. Aric, you’re not wrong to be cautious, but Caelan’s right. If we don’t figure out how to handle this magic properly, we’ll lose control before we even understand it.”

Aric didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “Father isn’t going to like this.”

The moment we stepped through the gates of Veylora Keep, I knew we were expected. The guards stiffened as we passed, the air thick with something unspoken. By the time we reached the Great Hall, my father was already waiting.

He didn’t speak at first, letting the silence stretch. The slow, deliberate tapping of his fingers against the armrest of his chair filled the void—a habit of his, one that meant he had already formed his judgment before we even opened our mouths.

Aric stepped forward. “We found a corrupted fragment,” he said, his voice clipped. “Caelan contained it.”

A long pause. “Contained it?” my father repeated, his tone unreadable. “And what exactly does that mean?”

I straightened. “The magic was unstable. If we had left it unchecked, it could have spread. I used the shard to suppress it.”

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A scoff. “So you relied on that thing again.”

I clenched my fists, the shard stirring faintly in my chest. “It worked.”

My father let out a slow breath. “Do you even understand what you’re dealing with?”

“More than you,” I said before I could stop myself. The words left my mouth like a loosed blade—sharp, irreversible.

The room went still.

Aric tensed beside me. Resna exhaled quietly, as if bracing for impact.

When my father finally spoke, his voice was like ice. “Leave us,” he ordered.

Aric hesitated. “Father—”

“I said leave us.”

Resna touched my arm briefly before stepping away. Aric muttered something under his breath but followed her. The heavy doors closed behind them, leaving only me and my father in the vast emptiness of the Great Hall.

He studied me for a moment before speaking. “You think you understand magic?”

I set my jaw. “I’m learning.”

He let out a humorless chuckle. “You don’t even understand yourself.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He rose from his chair, his steps measured as he approached. “You’ve always been different. From the day you were born, the signs were there. The way the air stilled when you cried. The way the torches dimmed when you slept.”

I stiffened. I had always known my affinity for magic had been noticed, but hearing it from him now, laid bare, made it feel more real.

“I tried to shape you into something stronger,” he continued. “But strength is not just power, Caelan. It’s control. It’s knowing when to act and when to restrain yourself.”

I tightened my grip on my cane. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

His expression darkened. “You think I wanted you to be weak? To be treated as an outsider? You think I enjoyed watching you struggle?”

I faltered.

He took a step closer. “Aric never hated you.”

The words hit harder than I expected.

“What?” I breathed.

“He never hated you,” my father repeated. “He never wanted to treat you that way. But I told him to.”

The world seemed to tilt slightly, as if the ground beneath me had shifted. The air felt heavier, the shard silent in my chest.

“You told him to?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

“You needed to be stronger,” my father said simply. “You needed to learn that the world would not be kind to you, and I needed him to teach you that before it was too late.”

I took a step back, my mind reeling. Aric’s anger, his mockery, the years of bitter rivalry—it had never been real?

The realization left a strange emptiness in my chest.

My father’s voice softened just slightly. “I did what I had to do.”

I swallowed hard. “And what if you were wrong?”

He didn’t answer.

The conversation ended there. I left without another word, my thoughts a whirlwind of anger, confusion, and something I couldn’t quite name.

By the time I reached the courtyard, Aric was waiting. He must have seen something in my face because, for once, he didn’t say anything sarcastic.

“You knew,” I said, my voice tight.

Aric let out a long breath. “Yeah.”

I clenched my jaw. “And you went along with it?”

He hesitated. “I didn’t want to.”

I shook my head. “Then why did you?”

“Because he was right about one thing,” Aric said quietly. “The world isn’t kind. I figured if I was the one being cruel, at least I could control it. At least I could make sure you learned without it killing you.”

We stood in silence, the weight of years pressing between us. Finally, I turned away.

“I don’t need your protection anymore,” I said, walking past him. “And I don’t need his either.”

The shard pulsed faintly as I stepped into the night air, its rhythm steady. I had always known my place in this world was uncertain, but now I knew something else.

I wasn’t walking this path for my father. I wasn’t doing this to prove anything to Aric.

This was my path. And I would walk it alone if I had to.