The Answer Is Not Here

“As you know, your grace period is nearly over. It’s the twelfth day since you turned sixteen,” the Dean reminded her, arms crossed, voice steady but expectant.

Rose hadn’t realized how fast time had gone. One moment she had enrolled in Caelera like everyone else her age; the next, she stood on the verge of expulsion — or worse.

She sat rigid in the interview chair, the sterile walls pressing in as yet another suitor exited without a backward glance.

“And still undecided,” the Dean added. “You’d waste it all because you can’t decide?”

She inhaled sharply. The weight of it — obligation disguised as choice — was suffocating.

But then her golden gaze steadied. “If I have to decide,” she said, voice firmer than it had been in days, “then I’ll choose who I want — not who you or my parents think I’ll want.”

The Dean sighed, long and low. A flicker of emotion crossed his face, unreadable.

“You’re excused for the evening.”

Rose stood quickly, pushing through the air still heavy with expectation.

As she walked out, he called after her.
“Rose... the world will not wait for your heart to decide. I can only do so much.”

She paused at the doorway, not turning fully.
“Then I won’t let the world have to.”

The door closed behind her before anything else could be said. A faint scoff echoed from behind the oak.

She was tired — tired of the constant obligations that followed every class. When she turned sixteen, they had pulled her before the higher faculty. Even though she was leaking severely at that point, the process before turning grey was roughly a month.

They had proposed a compromise, something they wouldn’t have even considered if she weren’t a white cloak. For an hour after classes, she would attend interview prospects, giving them an official reason not to take action against her.

Those hours had carved away her research time over the past week and a half, and more importantly, her time with Kai.

She made her way through the evening halls. Her robe fluttered like drapes with each step.

The whispers from lingering students brushed past her ears. She didn’t care. She was tired of everyone — and everything.

Jade, however, could barely contain her frustration. The last few months had changed everything. Weaklings whispered behind Rose’s back, questioning her motives. But what was worse was Rose not shutting them down.

Sure, maybe there weren’t any rank A stabilizers around, but Rose could have at least considered the few rank Bs in the school.

Instead, she spent her time in the courtyard — near a rank D, no less.

Jade’s lips tightened. Her window was short. Rose had been pulled into these mandatory meetings lately, and Jade hadn’t had a chance before today. But now, she did.

It was time to give the boy who stole her friend a piece of her mind.

Kai sat beneath the willow; his books scattered across the grass around him. He couldn’t endure it much longer. Magic flaked from his skin like ash. Even if he wanted to get up, his body no longer had the strength to obey.

He didn’t mind. The last few months had led him to one conclusion. And even if he wouldn’t live to see it, he knew Rose would — once she found a tether.

His eyes closed as his head rested against the tree. The evening sun dimmed, fading like his life force. It was probably the last sunlight he would ever feel on his skin.

Kai opened his mouth, drawing a slow, shallow breath. His mind wandered back to a few months ago.

Rose, back then, still had a hint of sapphire in her golden eyes. Kai wasn’t as lucky. Being slightly older, he was closer to sixteen. The cracks had already started crawling up his neck, uneven and impossible to hide.

When Rose approached the willow, he turned slightly, trying to angle the infected side away from her view.

“You keep telling me to find a tether,” she said, kneeling beside him on the grass. “But as a stabilizer, you’ll die. I’ll only lose my abilities.”

She was right. The system was cruel. Tethers were formed every day at the academy, but no caster wanted to bind their life to a rank D stabilizer.

For the first time since they’d met, Rose sat beside him. Her robes spread behind her, a white ripple against the green.

Kai’s eyes widened at the gesture.

“Do you know Jade?” Rose asked, her tone softer than usual. “You’ve probably seen me with her in the halls or at lunch.” She paused. “Actually, maybe not — you’re always out here, huh?” A slight smile displayed on her face.

He remembered her. How could he have forgotten? That piercing look from their first meeting, when he had bumped into Rose the second time months prior. He caught a brief glimpse of her as Rose kindly helped him with the books. Her eyes had nothing but coldness in them — a glance that told him he was nothing. Filth.

“I trust her with my life,” Rose said suddenly. The words lingered, carried by the wind. “When we were younger, she was the first person I told I didn’t want to tether.”

Her voice grew quieter. “But I knew, even then, she and I were meant for different paths.”

She hesitated before continuing. “Her father overheard us by accident that day. Later, he met me in secret. He said he wanted to change the world too.”

Kai’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“It’s not what you think,” she said quickly. “He couldn’t teach me anything about magic — he was a stabilizer, after all — but he taught me something else.”

Her hands locked together on her knees. “He showed me a torn page from a book he didn’t own. The symbols matched the ones in your father’s notes. But on the other side...”

Her hand slipped into her inner robe, and for a brief moment, a glimpse of the fabric beneath showed.

Kai flushed and quickly turned his head aside. Rose didn’t seem to notice his reaction as she drew out a folded parchment.

When the sound of rustling paper broke the silence, Kai slowly turned back—his eyes widening at the sight before him. “A map?”

Rose nodded. “He spent years deciphering it. The markings matched the surrounding cities.” She pointed to a small dot near the bottom. “We’re here.” Her finger traced upward.

“And this is a Wild Zone. In fact, most of the dots...”

Kai’s eyes widened again, and he quickly interjected. “You don’t mean—”

“That’s right,” she said quietly. “They used to be cities.”

The words hung between them, heavy and unreal.

“Something tells me the answer is out there,” she whispered. “Like it’s calling me to find it.”

Kai frowned. “If that’s true, why didn’t he go himself? Why you?”

Rose exhaled slowly. “He had a family. It’s illegal to even speak of ending the tethering system. And even as a rank B, he wouldn’t have survived the journey.”

“And you think you can?” Kai asked, his tone quiet but sharp.

Rose met his eyes. “Yes. I was born for more than this. I have the strength to go.”

He wanted to argue — to tell her it was suicide — but part of him believed her.

She was a white cloak. Maybe she could do it.

Back in the present, Kai didn’t hear Jade approach until her shadow fell over him.

“What was your name again?” she asked coldly. Her eyes scanned the pulsing cracks crawling up his neck.

“Kai,” he muttered weakly.

“You’re lucky,” she said, arms crossed. Her tone carried pride sharpened into malice. The sparkle of gold in her eyes hinted she was a few months younger than Rose. “I’m a B-rank. I’ll tether with you.”

Kai blinked. “I’m not sure... I belong with someone like you.”

Jade’s jaw tensed. “What?”

“I mean,” he struggled to continue, “you deserve someone on your level.”

The words twisted in her chest. You’re not Rose.

Her hand clenched, and small stones began to lift, spinning faintly with her rising magic. “You think I’m doing this for you?”

Kai didn’t answer fast enough.

The blow struck hard across his shoulder, forcing a gasp from him.

“I’m not even a stabilizer,” she spat, “but hitting you might make me feel better.”

She raised her arm again, wind curling around her fist.

“STOP!”

The spell shattered mid-air.

A nearby professor stormed across the grass. “Enough! What are you doing with him? This is unbecoming of your house, Miss Wynter!”

Jade froze, trembling, cheeks flushed with fury and shame.

As she turned to leave, her voice barely escaped through gritted teeth.
“So, you’re the reason she drifts like a daydream.”

Behind her, Kai lay curled in the grass. His body wouldn’t move. He managed to open an eye, staring past the willow’s branches swaying above him.

If Rose finds what she’s looking for, he thought faintly, maybe she’ll find the cure, too.

The thought faded with his breath as the light dimmed around him.