Drake sat on the edge of his bed, examining his bruised hands in the dim light. The fight with Connor had left his right knuckles split open. A drop of fresh blood welled up and fell onto the sword resting across his lap.
When the blood touched the blade, the dragon carving along the hilt shifted slightly. Its ruby eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. The metal warmed under his fingers, not enough to burn but enough to notice.
Drake watched as his blood disappeared into the sword's surface, vanishing completely.
A single pulse traveled up his arm, settling behind his ribs like a second heartbeat. Then stillness.
.
"What are you?" Drake whispered.
The room remained offered no answers, but the sword no longer felt like just metal and wood.
------
Maya Frey slapped her holopad onto Winston's desk. "The evaluation pod registered zero Aether resonance. Not low levels - absolute zero. That doesn't happen by accident."
Winston didn't look up from his paperwork. " Technical glitches occur, Professor."
"This was no glitch." Maya placed both hands on his desk. " I traced the anomaly to a manual override during Drake's scan. Someone tampered with the system."
Winston finally met her gaze. "Accusations require evidence, Professor."
The door opened without warning. Duron filled the doorway, his scarred face unreadable.
Maya didn't flinch. "You can't silence this, Xavier. The Board needs to know-"
"You're right," Winston interrupted. "I can't silence the truth. Which is why I'm accepting your resignation."
Maya's lips parted in shock. "You can't-"
"I just did." Winston slid a prepared document across the desk. "Effective immediately."
Maya snatched up the paper, her hands shaking. "You'll regret this."
Duron stepped aside as she stormed out, the door slamming behind her.
Duron poured two glasses of whiskey, the sharp scent filling the room. He handed one to Winston.
"You altered his scans at Iron Vale," Duron said, handing Winston a glass. "Now you're covering tracks here. How deep does this go?"
Winston took a slow sip. "Deep enough."
"Why?" Duron's frustration evident in his tone.
Winston took a slow drink. "An old debt."
"To who?"
"Someone who I owe my life to." Winston swirled the amber liquid. "That's all that matters."
"Tell me Duron, have you faced a null before? Have you felt the utter despair, the hopelessness that comes with it?" Winston asked his eyes distant for a while.
"It's impossible Sir, they don't exist." Duron replied with a hint of confusion.
"Ha!" Winston almost led out a laugh.
"Secrets, secrets, secrets." Winston muttered.
"I stand by my decision." Winston said as he took a sip from his glass.
Duron studied his own glass. "When the Houses discover this—"
"Then we'll see if the boy justifies the risk." Winston set down his glass. "Until then, this stays between us."
-------
Xian leaned against a damaged training post while Alexis practiced spear drills.
"Why bother with that null?" she asked.
Alexis didn't break rhythm. "He's different."
"You keep saying that."
"My instincts are rarely wrong." Alexis planted his spear in the dirt. "That boy has resilience, resilience that can't even be seen in most soldiers. He has to be different to be here without any family backing and you know that."
Xian said nothing, but her usual smirk faded.
"For now, let's just observe him, and Xian? Try being nicer." He concluded as he resumed his spear drills.
--------
Drake lay awake, the sword now on his desk. His fingers still tingled where they'd touched the blade.
Outside, wind rattled the window frame.
Drake pressed a hand to his chest. The sword's pulse still echoed there, faint but steady.
Waiting.