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Secrets Under The Skirt #englishsub
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00:00I finally got the rarest magic core for you.
00:05You've worked hard.
00:12No!
00:19After rebirth, I abandoned the mighty phoenix as my magical pet.
00:23Instead, chose an almost dead little black snake in my past life.
00:27I'd hunted rare ingredients for phoenix, pouring every resource I had into his growth.
00:31He cheated with my sister behind my back.
00:33Finally, to make their little love story easier, they killed me together.
00:36This time around, I wanted to see how that perfect couple managed without me as their stepping stone.
00:41The same pact ceremony, the same standout, undeniably that golden phoenix.
00:45Even caged with a suppression collar, he held his head high, like the rest of us were beneath him.
00:50As expected, the ceremony elder assigned him to me.
00:53The phoenix tilted its head back and rolled its eyes, just like in its previous life, its face full of
00:58disdain.
00:59That was when my sister Evelyn walked in, cradling a limp little black snake in her palms, tears rolling down
01:04her cheeks.
01:05My sister was too weak.
01:06Phoenix fell in love with her pitiful appearance immediately, which made me look like the villain standing between them.
01:12The ceremony elder shifted awkwardly and turned on Evelyn.
01:14Your power isn't strong enough.
01:17Even if the phoenix is drawn to you now, you won't be able to handle him.
01:21She didn't react, instead pretended to be scared by my gaze, bit her lip with tears down.
01:25Lila, I know I have no right to compete with you.
01:28It's just, I've never seen a golden phoenix before.
01:31I didn't have the patience to listen to her feigned weakness.
01:34I reached out and lifted the limp black snake from her hands, smiled at the ceremony elder.
01:39I've taken a liking to this one.
01:41The phoenix clearly doesn't want me.
01:42Why not let her have him?
01:44I'll take the snake.
01:45The others thought I'd lost my mind.
01:46They pulled me aside.
01:47You're the strongest here.
01:50This black snake has a mixed bloodline.
01:51He's basically worthless.
01:53But I knew the truth about that phoenix.
01:55He was no prize.
01:56In my last life, in my past life, scene had played out exactly the same way.
02:00The phoenix ignored me.
02:02I felt the sting of being rejected for the first time in my life.
02:05And instead of thinking clearly, I thought,
02:07He's so hard to get.
02:09I'm obsessed.
02:09As the Archmaster's student, I was supposed to be an example to the others.
02:13I told myself I had to tame the phoenix, strengthen the spirit-packed academy.
02:18So I threw everything I had at him.
02:20Every student got a limited ration of elixirs.
02:22So I took assassin missions, hunting rogue creatures,
02:25the kind that had lost their minds and turned feral, to earn extra elixirs.
02:29I came back bleeding every time.
02:31The phoenix pretended not to notice.
02:33He only came near me when I pulled out elixirs, took what he wanted, and walked away.
02:37Ten years.
02:38I spent ten years helping him break through his limits and take human form.
02:42When he finally did, he was stunning.
02:44Tall, sharp-featured.
02:46But the warmth stopped there.
02:47He always treated me like I was his errand girl.
02:50I told myself it was fine.
02:51Creatures with strong bloodlines had pride.
02:53One day, he'd recognize what I'd given him.
02:55One day, we'd fight side by side, and I wouldn't have to face those feral creatures alone.
03:00Then one day, I saw him kiss my sister passionately.
03:03She was laughing, dancing around him.
03:05A fellow student rode past on her white tiger,
03:07saw them in the distance, and shook her head at me.
03:10Liar, you really need to stop asking Evelyn to look after the phoenix when you go on contracts.
03:15When did I ever ask her that?
03:17She says it every time you leave.
03:19I saw stars.
03:20I'd been out there risking my life, and she was back here cheating with me.
03:25Doesn't she have her own creature?
03:26That little black snake died in its second year.
03:30Then it clicked.
03:30I'd spent ten years sewing a wedding dress for someone else.
03:33I wasn't some gentle, forgiving heroine.
03:36Turned on Evelyn.
03:36It enraged the phoenix.
03:38As punishment, he lured me to the back forest under false pretenses,
03:42then broke open the wards keeping it seen.
03:44The creatures trapped inside started pouring out,
03:46and among them was one that had fallen into complete madness.
03:49A leviathan.
03:50The phoenix joined forces with my sister to shoot me down the cliff.
03:54In the end, I died in the beast's head,
03:56and I could only watch Evelyn snuggle up beside it.
03:58So this time around, I wasn't going to be anyone's sacrifice.
04:01I just wanted to see what this couple would do next.
04:04The phoenix held onto Evelyn tightly, refusing to let go.
04:07The elder sighed, and spirit-packed academy'd the pact circle drawn.
04:10Once a creature bonded with someone, they were bound to that person's commands.
04:14Harm the bonded partner, and the creature suffered for it.
04:17The bonding ritual's energy agitated the black snake.
04:20He wound himself around my arm with everything he had.
04:23Evelyn got the phoenix, and was clearly thrilled.
04:25Then she looked at the snake clinging to me.
04:27You and that serpent really do seem meant for each other, Lyra.
04:30She was very smug.
04:31Had she also been reborn?
04:33Watch your tongue, Evelyn!
04:34If Lyra hadn't stepped in for you, you'd never have gotten the phoenix!
04:38If I were you, I'd be on my knees thanking her.
04:39Oh, stop.
04:40She's crying again.
04:42Always crying.
04:43You'd think she was the tragic one.
04:44The phoenix paced anxiously while Evelyn sniffled.
04:47Anxious didn't help him.
04:49Evelyn had almost no power at this stage.
04:51The creatures shared energy with their bonded partners,
04:54but Evelyn's reserves were basically empty.
04:57Probably the first time in either life
04:59that the phoenix had been on the losing side of a situation.
05:02Good.
05:03He'd adjust.
05:04This was the consequence of choosing weakness and cheating.
05:08The black snake,
05:09finally convinced I wasn't abandoning him,
05:12went limp and passed out in my arms.
05:14Back home,
05:15I finally got a good look at the snake.
05:17He was tiny.
05:18Couldn't have been more than a few decades old.
05:21Barely past the threshold of maturity.
05:23But he was strange.
05:25Different from the serpents I knew.
05:27Water serpents had snake-like tails.
05:29This one had a tail more like a fish,
05:31with a fin.
05:32Mixed bloodline.
05:34Serpent and something older.
05:36Seafolk, maybe.
05:37I had a natural spring in the courtyard.
05:40The moment he hit the water,
05:41he came alive,
05:42diving and surfacing,
05:44pulling in energy from the current.
05:46I laughed.
05:48Relax.
05:49I fed a golden phoenix for ten years.
05:51I think I can manage one little snake.
05:53He froze,
05:53and stared at me with those tiny green eyes.
05:56Then he spat water at my face.
05:58I flicked him on the head.
06:00Heal up.
06:01You're not going anywhere.
06:02The next morning,
06:03I woke up wrong.
06:04I turned my head and found a face
06:06three inches from mine.
06:08Dark lashes.
06:09Warm skin.
06:10The kind of face that belonged in a painting.
06:13Long lashes that trembled slightly.
06:15Objectively gorgeous.
06:17Didn't stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin.
06:20He'd gotten into bed without waking me.
06:22Whoever this was,
06:23his power was well above mine.
06:25He stirred,
06:27opened gold-slit eyes,
06:28and looked at me.
06:29I scrambled to the corner.
06:31Who are you?
06:32This is Spirit-Packed Academy Grounds.
06:34Don't try anything.
06:35He sat up.
06:37I noticed he was wearing the clothes
06:38I'd set aside for when a creature took human form.
06:41A dark-fitted robe with a subtle pattern.
06:43He wore it well.
06:45He was tall.
06:46He'd had to curl up to fit in my bed.
06:48Under those long lashes
06:49were a pair of gold, vertical-pupil eyes.
06:52The answer was obvious.
06:54Snake?
06:54He smirked,
06:55reached out,
06:56and flicked me on the forehead.
06:58Rude.
06:58I have a name.
07:00It's Kieran.
07:01Kieran, it turned out,
07:02had been fleeing an enemy
07:04when he crossed paths with my tutor.
07:05He'd taken the form of a small, injured serpent.
07:08My tutor, true to form,
07:10had taken him in.
07:11Kieran clearly hadn't been injured
07:12because he was weak.
07:13Please tell me your enemies
07:14aren't about to show up here.
07:17We're bonded now.
07:18You're the master.
07:19I'm your mate.
07:20So I suggest you train hard
07:22and try not to slow me down.
07:24He taught me a breathing and absorption technique
07:26developed for serpentkind.
07:27Most days I sat in the spring practicing
07:29while Kieran sprawled in the tree above me,
07:32watching with half-closed eyes.
07:34The breeze moved his hair
07:35and caught the light on his skin.
07:36Evelyn appeared at my gate,
07:38peering in.
07:38I sighed and got out of the spring.
07:40Kieran dropped from the tree
07:41and draped a dry robe over my shoulders
07:43without being asked.
07:45Who is this?
07:46You remember him?
07:48The little black snake
07:49from the bonding ceremony.
07:50You said yourself
07:51we seem meant for each other.
07:52A flicker of something crossed her face.
07:55What do you want?
07:55This is training time.
07:57I was hoping we could
07:59raise the phoenix together.
08:01Kieran's hand tightened on mine.
08:02I glanced at him.
08:03He was watching me,
08:04clearly unhappy.
08:05I'm not your backup plan.
08:07Figure it out yourself.
08:09How is it not your responsibility?
08:10You took the black snake
08:12and left me with the phoenix.
08:13You don't get to just walk away.
08:15Half a year's gone by
08:17and I've given him every elixir I had.
08:19There's nothing left for my own training
08:21and I was in the lower ranks.
08:22I can't go hunting rare ingredients.
08:24I'd die out there.
08:25You bonded with the phoenix first.
08:27You should be helping.
08:28I cut her off mid-sentence,
08:29sent a gust of air
08:30to push her back through the gate
08:31and led Kieran inside.
08:33Little sister,
08:34don't mistake everyone for a fool.
08:36I'm not spending my resources
08:37raising your creature for you.
08:39If you can't afford to keep him,
08:41dissolve the bond.
08:42Let someone else take him.
08:43I'm sure the elders would be happy to.
08:45She wouldn't do that.
08:46Her ambitions were too big.
08:48Weeks passed.
08:49I broke through to a new level of power,
08:51what those in the Spirit Pact Academy called
08:53Fourth Circle Stage.
08:56At the same time,
08:57the Archmaster arranged for me
08:59to escort a rare spirit fox
09:00to the Spirit Pact Academy
09:02alongside Elder Celia,
09:04who was about three centuries older than me
09:06and acted like a kid half the time.
09:09I sweet-talked her through the handover
09:11to the creature registry
09:12and she settled for it.
09:14Before she left,
09:15she pressed her hand over her mouth
09:17to hide a smile.
09:18Your little serpent is very clingy, you know.
09:21I didn't understand
09:22until I started up the mountain path
09:24and saw a silhouette
09:25leaning against a tree in the distance.
09:28He didn't move.
09:29When I got closer,
09:30he reached out
09:31and grabbed the back of my neck.
09:33Lyra,
09:33am I not good to you?
09:35Why are you trying to give me away?
09:36What are you talking about?
09:38That girl came to the courtyard today,
09:39said you sent her to check on me.
09:41Did you change your mind
09:42about bonding with me?
09:43You hit fourth circle
09:44and now you're done with me?
09:45...again.
09:46Same playbook,
09:47different life.
09:48Before I could explain,
09:50Kieran's pupils contracted
09:51to thin lines.
09:53He bent his head
09:54and pressed his face
09:54into my neck.
09:55His tongue brushed
09:56the skin there.
09:57Light,
09:58quick.
09:59I shivered hard.
10:00Smells like fox.
10:02Lyra,
10:04did you already find yourself
10:05a replacement?
10:06Doesn't matter.
10:07Once I eat that fox,
10:08I'll be your only option.
10:09You hit me for her?
10:11That fox belongs
10:12to my Archmaster.
10:14You touch her
10:14and I will end you.
10:16Kieran stopped fighting me
10:17and let himself
10:18be pulled along.
10:19Most students weren't training,
10:20so the residences were quiet.
10:23A few people raised their eyebrows
10:24when they saw me coming.
10:25Short greetings,
10:27and then they told me
10:28Evelyn had gone to the back forest
10:30with the phoenix.
10:31I frowned.
10:32I wasn't in the phoenix's way anymore.
10:34Why were they sneaking off
10:35to the forest?
10:36We found them mid-argument.
10:38Or rather,
10:39Evelyn was arguing
10:40and the phoenix,
10:41who still hadn't taken human form,
10:43was responding
10:44in scratched letters
10:45on the ground.
10:46Don't look at me like that.
10:47I've done nothing wrong.
10:49I didn't force you
10:50to come to the Spirit Pact Academy.
10:52You said this place
10:53would help you grow.
10:55I've given you
10:56every elixir I had
10:57and you're still not satisfied?
10:59You want me to go out
11:00hunting rare ingredients?
11:02I just started training.
11:03You'd be sending me to die.
11:05I almost felt something
11:07in my past life.
11:09He'd given me nothing
11:10for ten years.
11:11Not a glance.
11:12Not a word.
11:13Not a gesture.
11:14Now he was writing letters
11:16in the dirt.
11:16The contrast was something.
11:18Evelyn.
11:19I've been looking for you.
11:21The phoenix scrambles
11:22to erase the letters
11:23when he heard us.
11:24Evelyn pulled herself together fast,
11:26though not fast enough.
11:28What do you need, Lyra?
11:34I patted Kieran's arm.
11:36He gave me a long-suffering look,
11:37then dropped to one knee
11:39and let me settle onto it
11:40like a chair.
11:41His hands locked around my waist,
11:43steadying me.
11:44Evelyn's gaze locked onto Kieran
11:46and didn't move.
11:47I'm not here about
11:48anything in particular.
11:49Just wondering why
11:50you paid my companion a visit.
11:52The phoenix's feathers flared,
11:54angry.
11:54Evelyn hadn't expected me
11:56to know so fast.
11:57No, no, you've got it wrong.
11:59I was just coming to find you.
12:00He rested his chin
12:01on my shoulder.
12:02She lied to me.
12:03She said you stole me from her,
12:05that I was supposed to be hers.
12:07And what did you do?
12:08She came into your territory
12:09without permission.
12:10She was weak.
12:11I didn't even use my power.
12:13Just pushed until she left.
12:15I patted his cheek.
12:16I stood and faced Evelyn directly.
12:18If I remember correctly,
12:20you didn't want Kieran
12:21in the first place.
12:22He was badly injured.
12:24If he'd ended up with you,
12:25he probably wouldn't have survived
12:26his second year.
12:27That's not true!
12:28I would have taken care of him.
12:30The phoenix's crest
12:31was fully raised now.
12:33She caught herself.
12:35You're trying to drive a wedge
12:37between me and the phoenix.
12:38I stepped forward
12:39and put my hand on her shoulder.
12:41You played your game,
12:42little sister.
12:43Don't act surprised
12:44when I play mine.
12:46Next time you pull something like this,
12:48you will get my punishment.
12:49She blanched.
12:50The council didn't forgive moves
12:52against another member's bonded creature.
12:54She couldn't risk it.
12:55On the way back,
12:57I was in a good mood.
12:58Kieran was quiet, though.
13:00Wouldn't transform and carry me
13:02even when I asked.
13:03Once we were back in the courtyard,
13:04he grabbed my arm.
13:06You seem familiar with the phoenix.
13:08I didn't hide it.
13:09We have a history.
13:10It ended badly for me.
13:12Wanna hear it?
13:13He turned away,
13:14shifted into serpent form,
13:15and wound himself around my neck.
13:18No.
13:18I'm better than that bird
13:20by every measure.
13:21You're not going back to him.
13:23I won't have another mate.
13:25I promise.
13:27Days later.
13:29Laya,
13:30your growth rate is pathetic.
13:32Sharing energy with you
13:34is a form of suffering.
13:37My archmaster said,
13:39I'm one of the most talented
13:40young members in a generation.
13:42All those rare materials
13:43and elixirs I found
13:44went into me this time,
13:46not into the phoenix.
13:48Ten years passed.
13:49I moved steadily
13:50from fourth circle
13:51to sixth circle.
13:52Even the most mean
13:53Elder Celia praised me.
13:55You are really a genius, Lyra.
13:57We all expected the phoenix
13:59to elevate the whole
14:00Spirit Panda Academy.
14:02But ten years in,
14:04there's still no sign
14:05of him breaking through.
14:06I'd expected this.
14:08Sustaining creatures
14:09took enormous resources,
14:11and the Spirit Pact Academy
14:12never had reserves.
14:14The phoenix couldn't break through,
14:15and in my past life,
14:17I'd seen exactly what happened
14:18when his patience ran out.
14:19I'd thought about removing him.
14:21Every time I tried to bring it up
14:22with my archmaster or Kirin,
14:24it was like the words hit a wall.
14:26And acting unilaterally,
14:28killing the phoenix
14:29before anyone understood why,
14:31would have destroyed
14:32the Spirit Pact Academy
14:33from the inside.
14:34All I could do was watch him
14:36and contain him.
14:37Past that,
14:38I had no choice but to wait.
14:40My past life hadn't survived this year.
14:42I didn't know if this one
14:44would go differently.
14:45He stood there,
14:45staring at Kirin,
14:46who was lazily floating
14:48in the spring in human form,
14:49making absolutely no effort
14:51to be welcoming.
14:51You have a bonded partner.
14:54Why are you at my gate?
14:57Right.
14:58What possible reason
14:59could you have
15:00for neglecting
15:01your own bonded partner
15:02to come stand outside
15:03someone else's home?
15:04Kirin climbed out
15:05and immediately tried
15:07to lean against me.
15:08I don't want you on the air
15:08left to notice.
15:10I just want that bird to know
15:13there's no space for him here.
15:15What exactly is here between us?
15:17That's entirely your call.
15:19The phoenix flew away.
15:21Kirin grabbed my face
15:22with both hands.
15:23He left.
15:24Can you stop worrying
15:25about him for five minutes?
15:26I have to know
15:27what he's doing.
15:28That bird has a dark heart.
15:29I don't trust him idle.
15:32He regrets it.
15:34Doesn't want to stay
15:35with your little sister anymore.
15:36I turned toward the gate,
15:38empty,
15:39but something in my gut
15:40told me the phoenix was off.
15:42There was no logical reason
15:44for him to come to me specifically,
15:46unless the phoenix
15:48had also been reborn.
15:49If that was true,
15:50then he knew
15:51about the back forest.
15:53He knew
15:53what was sealed there.
15:55He knew my parents
15:56had died there,
15:57which I'd only ever told him directly
15:58in my previous life.
16:00I didn't stop
16:00to explain to Kirin.
16:01I pulled out a slip
16:02and went straight
16:03to the forest wards.
16:04The wards were intact.
16:06I exhaled.
16:07Then I turned around
16:08and my stomach dropped.
16:09A handful of golden feathers
16:10lay near the edge
16:11of the barrier line.
16:12He'd been here.
16:13The phoenix had come back
16:14with knowledge
16:15he shouldn't have.
16:16The friction between Evelyn
16:17and the phoenix
16:18had gone public.
16:19He'd refused her commands
16:20in training sessions,
16:21ignored her in front of others,
16:23made her look incompetent
16:24in front of the whole yard
16:25more than once
16:26in recent weeks.
16:27The reason I kept
16:27getting dragged in
16:28was simpler
16:29and more aggravating.
16:30Every time I appeared,
16:31the phoenix drifted toward me.
16:33If looks could kill,
16:34Evelyn would have had me
16:35buried weeks ago.
16:36Elder Celia found
16:37the whole thing delightful.
16:38Her bird appeared
16:39at my shoulder
16:39one afternoon.
16:40You know what this
16:41reminds me of?
16:43One of those stories
16:44where the man realizes
16:45too late what he had.
16:46He freezes her out
16:47at the start
16:48and then spends
16:49the rest of the book
16:49chasing her.
16:52Oh dear.
16:53I could talk to the girl,
16:55offer her a different creature,
16:56something she could
16:57actually manage,
16:58and transfer the phoenix
16:59over to you,
17:00quietly.
17:01No, I'm not going
17:02near the disciplinary council
17:03over this.
17:04Besides, I have Ciaran.
17:06That's enough.
17:07Celia looked
17:08genuinely mournful.
17:09Then she shifted
17:10to her real point.
17:12A creature pulling
17:13against its bonded partner
17:14is a problem for everyone.
17:16And Evelyn hasn't advanced
17:17the first stage
17:18in ten years.
17:19The elders have discussed
17:20sending her out
17:21on a field assignment,
17:22a year or two away
17:23from the Spirit Pact Academy,
17:24practical experience,
17:26away from all of this.
17:27I understood
17:28what she wasn't saying.
17:29They'd given up
17:30on the phoenix
17:30as a resource
17:31for the Spirit Pact Academy.
17:32In the council hall,
17:34Evelyn made the whole thing
17:35into a production.
17:36She cried.
17:37She accused me
17:38of engineering
17:39her removal
17:39to take the phoenix.
17:41In front of all
17:41the senior elders,
17:43she made her counteroffer.
17:44If senior wants the phoenix,
17:46she should just say so.
17:47I won't stand in the way.
17:50But if she takes him,
17:51she gives me Ciaran,
17:53a mixed lineage serpent
17:54for a pure-blooded phoenix.
17:56Honestly,
17:57Lyra comes out a laugh.
17:58Which one,
17:59Avalyn?
17:59You focus on your phoenix
18:01and stop coming up
18:02with terrible ideas.
18:04While the elders
18:05dealt with Evelyn,
18:06I was at the creature registry
18:08with the head keeper,
18:09investigating a disappearance.
18:11Three had vanished overnight.
18:13Two small rabbits
18:14and a unicorn.
18:15I reinforced the gate
18:17myself before I left.
18:19Any disturbance at all
18:20and I would have felt it.
18:22There was nothing.
18:24Not a sound.
18:25Not a rogue creature.
18:27No trace of that energy
18:29anywhere.
18:30Right?
18:31I looked around.
18:32The registry was built
18:33into the mountainside.
18:34The rock face itself
18:36was warded.
18:37No slipping through the earth.
18:38No passing through walls.
18:40I was still thinking
18:41when the keeper started
18:42cooing at one of the deer.
18:44Don't be scared.
18:45Big Brother Serpent
18:46just looks mean.
18:47He won't eat you.
18:49That pulled something
18:50loose in my mind.
18:51I hesitated.
18:54Do creatures ever
18:55turn on each other?
18:56What a horrifying thing to say.
18:59They have awareness.
19:01They would never...
19:03Kieran slipped an arm around me
19:04and spoke low into my ear.
19:06People do terrible things
19:07to each other.
19:08Creatures aren't different.
19:10I've heard of a practice.
19:12A dark technique
19:13used by creatures
19:14who want to advance
19:15without resources.
19:16My skin had gone cold.
19:18Wild creatures
19:18had no access
19:19to elixirs
19:20or rare materials.
19:22If they wanted
19:22to grow in power fast,
19:24the most efficient shortcut
19:26was this.
19:27Consume the core
19:28of another creature.
19:29The higher the level
19:30of the creature
19:31they took from,
19:32the faster the gain.
19:34Kieran had nearly died
19:35at the hands of one
19:35practicing exactly that method
19:37ten years ago.
19:38Once it works,
19:39it will come back
19:41for more.
19:41We staked out the registry
19:43that night.
19:44Nothing happened.
19:45Quiet all the way
19:46until dawn.
19:47I reassured the keeper
19:48and headed out.
19:52Hallmaster,
19:53there's an incident
19:53at the residences.
19:54Kieran shifted,
19:56wrapped around me
19:56and moved.
19:57When we landed,
19:58I didn't need to go inside
20:00to know it was bad.
20:01I could hear the crying
20:02from the courtyard.
20:03It was one of my newest students.
20:05A girl who'd come
20:05to the Spirit Pact Academy
20:06with his own creature.
20:07Fox.
20:08Soft and round
20:09and always sprawled
20:10in patches of sunlight.
20:11Kind of creature
20:12that made people smile
20:13just looking at it.
20:14She was sitting on the ground
20:15holding what remained of her.
20:17Not much left.
20:17Your guess was right.
20:19The core was removed.
20:20One strike, clean.
20:22It happened before
20:22she could make a sound.
20:23She only noticed
20:24when she felt the bond break.
20:26I felt the cold
20:26settle in my chest.
20:29Without thinking,
20:30I looked around
20:31for the phoenix.
20:31He was standing beside Evelyn,
20:33still as a statue.
20:34The picture.
20:35Don't look.
20:36It's him.
20:38You're certain.
20:39I went to the Archmaster.
20:41Don't move yet.
20:42You need proof.
20:43Catch him in the act.
20:45He said it with total gravity.
20:47Meanwhile,
20:47behind him,
20:48his courtyard had become
20:49a small zoo.
20:50Several of them
20:51had taken human form
20:52and were crowding around
20:53Kieran to ask about
20:54his parents' bloodlines.
20:56I keep all my creatures close.
20:58Your new firehound
20:59relieved himself on the floor.
21:01You could clean it up
21:01for your teacher.
21:02Absolutely not.
21:03The senior elders
21:04started watching the phoenix.
21:06Their eyes went to him
21:07more carefully during training.
21:09They noted that his power
21:10had grown noticeably
21:11in ways that weren't
21:12explained by his circumstances.
21:14Then, nothing.
21:15Weeks passed.
21:16No more disappearances.
21:18No incidents.
21:19Two weeks went by.
21:20The girl never quite recovered
21:21from losing his fox.
21:22The other students spoke
21:23about the disappearances
21:24less and less
21:25until the whole thing
21:26drifted into the category of
21:28strange, spirit-packed
21:29academy legend.
21:30Something that had happened,
21:31maybe, possibly.
21:32Nobody quite remembered
21:33the details.
21:34But I couldn't let it go.
21:36Kieran's certainty
21:37sat with me every day.
21:38I went to the Archmaster
21:39and asked to have
21:41the phoenix
21:41formally restricted.
21:42You think we don't see it?
21:44But without evidence,
21:45what do I tell the students?
21:47If I punish someone
21:48without proof,
21:49I lose the trust
21:49of the whole
21:50spirit-packed academy.
21:51And without that trust,
21:53the spirit-packed academy
21:55dissolves.
21:55Then, one night,
21:56while I was deep
21:57in meditation,
21:58something flashed
21:59past my window.
22:00A pair of red eyes.
22:01Bright, gone in an instant.
22:03Where was Kieran?
22:04I moved to the water's edge.
22:06Floating on the surface,
22:07a single golden feather.
22:09An invitation, or a taunt.
22:10Find me and I'll give him back.
22:12I reached out through the bond
22:13and found Kieran's location,
22:15the back forest.
22:16I hit the ground running.
22:17I arrived through the wards
22:18in a flash of light
22:19and walked straight
22:21into a shockwave
22:22from two powers colliding.
22:24Kieran and the phoenix
22:24were already fighting,
22:26fully committed.
22:27I went rigid.
22:28When had the phoenix
22:29broken through?
22:30He moved through the trees
22:32in a golden coat,
22:33fast and precise,
22:35ducking and redirecting
22:36Kieran's strikes
22:37with the ease of someone
22:38who'd had longer
22:39to prepare for this moment.
22:41Beside the ward barrier,
22:43Evelyn sat perfectly still,
22:45like a doll
22:45that someone had set down
22:47and forgotten.
22:48When I got close enough
22:49to see her clearly,
22:50my stomach turned over.
22:52Evelyn was dead.
22:53Her eyes were still open,
22:55fixed in an expression
22:56of complete disbelief.
22:58Her abdomen had been cut open.
23:00Her core,
23:01the source of her power,
23:03the root she'd spent years building,
23:05was gone.
23:34I hadn't even had time
23:36and didn't bother playing it soft.
23:37You spent ten years
23:39plotting with Evelyn
23:40against the Spirit-Pact Academy.
23:41You used every person here
23:43as a platform.
23:44And this life you had
23:45the chance to change
23:46and instead you gutted her
23:48for her core.
23:49The god is watching.
23:51Today it ends.
23:52Nick smiled,
23:53cold and strange.
23:55Almost.
23:56One more step.
23:58His hands were already
23:59moving behind his back,
24:01breaking the ward's heel.
24:02The creatures locked in the forest
24:04felt the loosening.
24:05The ground shook.
24:06Thunder gathered directly above him.
24:09The Archmaster arrived
24:10in a streak of light
24:11from the peak.
24:12Lyra,
24:12hold the creatures back.
24:16I'll work on resealing
24:17from out here.
24:18Lightning above,
24:19the forest breaking open below,
24:22the phoenix stood
24:23in the middle of it all
24:24with a look of pure madness
24:26and he turned it on me.
24:28Lyra,
24:29you can't stop this.
24:31Come die with me.
24:33I'll do better by you this time,
24:35I swear it.
24:36In my past life,
24:37I had died in this exact forest,
24:39in this exact way,
24:41with no one at my back.
24:42I felt fear.
24:44That was honest.
24:45Old fear.
24:46The kind that lived in the body.
24:48Then a hand landed on my shoulder.
24:51Kiran.
24:51Eyes lit with the cold fire
24:53of someone who had never once
24:55considered losing.
24:56You want to take her down with you?
24:58He laughed once,
25:00short and sharp.
25:01Ask me first.
25:03You're nobody.
25:05Right.
25:06I had Kiran.
25:07This time,
25:08I wasn't fighting alone.
25:10Kiran pressed forward
25:11and I covered him.
25:13He trusted me at his back
25:14without checking.
25:15I trusted him
25:16to end what he started.
25:18Kiran wasn't breaking
25:19and the phoenix
25:20couldn't find a way past him.
25:22Then he understood.
25:24I wasn't going to die here.
25:25The plan had failed.
25:27He broke.
25:29This isn't right.
25:30You're supposed to die.
25:31We're supposed to die together.
25:32I raised one finger
25:34and pointed at the sky.
25:35Goodbye.
25:37The lightning came down
25:38in a column as wide as a well.
25:40The phoenix didn't scream.
25:42No rebirth for those taken by judgment.
25:45Final and total.
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