Isa stood at the front, faculty gathered on both sides, and Nivara Hall and the Academy rose behind her like old winter stone holding centuries of memory. Her dark hair framed a face steady and striking, and the green in her eyes were bright as spring’s first growth, unyielding but alive. She looked like someone who carried more than she admitted, as if the weight of the seasons themselves leaned on her shoulders.

Veyn held a place a step down from her, robes straight, hands clasped behind his back, steadiness like a line I could stand on. Already I missed being close to him, but I didn’t have long to wait. I’d see him tonight back home in our Spring Quadrant, Ethergard.

I stood with Ardorion, Aster, Garnexis, Rielle, Halven, Lo, Orivian, and Elio at the mouth of the Dragon’s Walkway. The gargoyle crouched on its plinth at my shoulder, frost threading its horns.

The Grand Magister lifted her hand, and her voice spread over the steps clear as birdsong, steady enough to quiet the restless air around us. “Docilis of the Academy of Magic & Harmony, you studied hard and prevailed. Your exams stand as proof. I am proud of what you have accomplished, supporting the mission of this academy to find harmony in our combined magics.”

The gargoyle angled its head toward us. I glanced back at Veyn. His gaze met mine across the way, and he tipped his chin the smallest degree, a quiet confirmation that not only steadied everything inside me, but also made my blood hot when I thought about what the night would bring.

A black cat with golden eyes padded in during the speech and sat by Isa’s boots. I met Rielle’s eyes and shared a quick smile. We’d wondered what happened to her after she led us to the Firebird weeks ago.

Next to me Ardorion gasped as he elbowed Aster. “Look, it’s Queenie! The one I told you about.”

His voice carried across the entire student body. Isa frowned, though I don’t think he saw it. Veyn did his best to hide a smile.

A few heads turned our way, but Ardorion only had eyes for Aster.

Isa continued. “Rest now. You will return after your winter break and the start of the new year. Enjoy your family, cherish your friends, and have a happy celebration for Chaos’s Festival. We will see you next year.”

I tightened my cloak ties and set my stance beside the gargoyle, ready for the release.

The arch bell tolled and wards dropped along the Dragon’s Walkway as cheers rose and the student body surged onto the span. I left Veyn with the faculty for now and stepped out with my friends, a last crossing before my night with him.

Our group turned to join the rush of students, their footsteps filling the courtyard, but the gargoyle bent forward on its elbows. Snow lined the curve of its horns, and its mouth softened into something gentle, curving in fondness.

A claw tapped the plinth. “Walk well. Bring back good stories. I hope to talk with you again.”

Ardorion saluted with two fingers and strode out first. The rest of us folded in around him under the sentinel’s gaze.

Cold air carried across the bridge and turned to mist with each breath. Boots fell into rhythm on the stone span while lanterns lit the rails, casting long lines of gold. Wintermere spread wide on either side, still and white in its frozen prison.

Aster brushed her hand along the rail and gathered a small mound of snow. She looked at the rest of us, her voice quiet but steady. “Home, then back here in a few weeks. Same doors, same rooms next term.”

Ardorion laced their fingers together and answered, “Same room.” A thread of steam coiled from his other hand, spiraling into the air into a laughing shape before it vanished. Aster’s chuckle softened her usual reserve, and for a moment warmth lived between them.

I reached for Rielle’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. While all of us look forward to the next few months and next semester with our loved ones, Neir would be leaving before next term. He had duties outside of Nythral.

“Make the most of your weeks with him,” I said to her.

Her smile in answer carried gratitude, though beneath it lived the truth we had all been forced to face: when she graduated, she would leave with Neir. The thought hollowed something in me every time it surfaced. I had been the one to protest it most, unwilling to imagine our family without her, until she reminded me we still had years yet before we graduated. Years had never felt so fragile.

Elio bumped Ardorion’s shoulder with a grin. Ardorion pulled a parchment from his robes and flashed his marks for the semester.

Elio tapped his pocket, just as smug. “We all made it through the gauntlet.”

Rielle and Garnexis flashed their reports. I only nodded, relief moving through me when the last of Ardorion’s worry eased from his face. Our quad would stay together. Same rooms, same company as Aster said, although I was surprised those two didn’t want to room together. But continuity mattered in a world where so much shifted.

As if one thought guided all of us, we glanced toward Halven.

He tucked a folded schedule into his robes. “I’ll be spending a few hours after classes next semester to catch up, but Lady Isa is giving me the chance to continue so I can graduate on time with the rest of you.”

Lo slipped her hand into his, matching his pace. “I’ll help you.”

Halven kissed her temple with a smile, murmuring something private. Across from them, Rielle’s lips curved faintly. Not bitterness over their affections for each other, but something gentler, a quiet acceptance. She stepped faster to catch Ardorion until her sleeve brushed Aster’s, her eyes free of shadows.

Elio grinned at Halven and Lo’s affection. “Next semester’s classes are going to crush us. I hope our love lives can survive the workload.”

Rielle raised a brow at me. “Did you get a final verdict, Shara?”

I withdrew the sealed notice from the satchel at my side. Isa’s sigil gleamed against the wax. My heart had raced many times over the last few days until I’d received this. The Grand Magister had not been happy to learn of Veyn’s relationship with me. It was against the Academy’s policies for a faculty member to date a student. But had Veyn threatened to leave the Academy if she wouldn’t allow concessions for us.

My love for Veyn grew ten-fold. We would move forward, making choices together so that we could share our life.

My voice stayed steady as we walked. “Isa is allowing our relationship, given our history before the Academy. I’m just not allowed to enroll in any of his courses again.”

Rielle’s brows pinched. “I know you looked forward to taking Advanced Theory of Elemental Fusion with Veyn next semester.”

Ardorion laughed. “It’s not like she can’t get private lessons.”

Heat climbed into my cheeks. I tried to mask the smile tugging at me, but I’m sure color climbing my neck gave me away. I glanced back toward the faculty, where Veyn still stood. He was a small figure among the others, all of them becoming more indistinguishable the further we walked the bridge.

Elio drifted ahead when a group of first-year robes hurried past, laughter trailing behind them.

“What’s got you so interested in the first years?” Ardorion teased. “I’m sure a few of them could turn some heads, but you seem intent, my friend.”

Probably realizing the mistake in his words, Ardorion grinned quickly at Aster. “None could ever compare to you.”

Her mouth curved, violet eyes kindled. “Keep up the sweet talk, flameboy.”

Elio fell back beside us, smiling wide. “I’m looking for someone. I saw her in the library a few days ago, a first-year student, and she had the most beautiful smile. I plan to find her again. Figure out her name.”

My brows rose with equal parts surprise and relief. We’d just learned Elio had had a crush on Garnexis for some time, and the only ones who’d picked up on it were Ardorion, Orivian, and Garnexis. I’d prayed this didn’t hurt our group dynamics, so now I was thankful Elio’s attention was elsewhere.

Garnexis slipped up on Elio’s other side, shoulder bumping his. “I’m sure you’ll charm her with dragon facts. But please warn her ahead of time before you start.”

Elio’s teeth flashed. “I’m pretty sure she’s a dragon, too. An Iron Dragon.”

Ardorion all but bounced. “Go into dragon mode! Maybe she’ll join you in the sky.”

Elio shook his head with a rueful grin. “No can do. There’s not enough room here on the bridge to shift, and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

My gaze measured the breadth of the span, thirty feet at least from rail to rail. Even that much space seemed too narrow for his wings. “Stone Dragons are the biggest among the dragon species.”

Like anyone cared about that fact, but my friends indulged me with smiles.

Elio’s grin lingered as if he still held back more dragon talk. Ardorion nearly vibrated with eagerness, but the moment passed, his shoulders drooping when it was clear Elio would not shift here on the bridge.

Orivian gave Elio a sidelong glance, voice easy. “Then may this new dragon of yours enjoy hearing every last detail of it.”

Garnexis’s lips curved, and she angled her body to fit against Orivian’s as he put an arm around her waist.

“Stories of dragons can fly all they want,” she said, “I’ll stay with the man who keeps his vows.”

Her words struck like a line drawn in the snow. Devotion and warning bound together. Garnexis had chosen, but her choice demanded constancy. Orivian held her, but only so long as his promises endured.

Elio slipped back to walk beside Rielle and me. His energy felt lighter than before, but I sensed the shift as he joined us. Both of Rielle and I walked away from our lovers, though not forever. The distance was temporary, unlike others who bore partings without a return. The thought pressed against my ribs, but I kept my stride even.

Ahead, Ardorion seemed unable to contain his delight in Aster’s company. Whatever weight he had carried this term fell from him now, each step beside her sharpening his focus. Garnexis likely felt the same with Orivian. They had survived the worst of the term and walked forward not alone.

“Orivian, we need you in our bro squad.” Ardorion nearly laughed at the startle in Orivian’s eyes. “Membership is open, and we could make it the bro square squad.”

Indecision crossed Orivian’s face.

Ardorion spun a flame across his knuckles, then pinched it out. “Unless you think I was really serious about melting your metal?”

It was a challenge Orivian would answer.

“Perhaps we should test that first?” His words carried a smile.

Ardorion’s mind likely already leapt toward contests, unable to avoid competition if he could help it. “We could set up it all up where we go head-to-head, like different levels. Maybe even bring in help to boost our stats.”

He lifted Aster’s hand and kissed her knuckles. Her violet eyes held him fast.

“Uh, that sounds like fun, but maybe I can think about it over the break?” Orivian’s tone softened, his focus lingering on Garnexis.

Something quiet but spoken moved between Ardorion and Aster. His posture shifted, fire dimming as he lowered their joined arms. The peace between them felt fragile, but real, like the first root pressing through soil.

Ardorion glanced at Orivian. “Right. We can discuss it when we return, but you’re in the bro squad regardless, metal head. You can’t be dating Garnexis and not be part of all of us.”

The bridge’s midpoint stretched before us, lanterns gleaming against snow-lined stone.

Two plinths stood on either side here, gargoyles crouched atop them. These ones didn’t move, but their eyes glowed whenever passing students brushed their clawed hands and whispered either a promise or hope for next semester. First-years lingered nearby, wide-eyed, learning the rite as if watching an ancient spell unfold.

A student hurried past with the latest newssheet flapping in his hand, catching sight of Halven as he raced ahead.

The newssheet’s main article had explained what so many whispered about in the last week of the semester, the days Wintermere seemed to thaw, Halven’s vanishing, his return. Orivian’s skill with words had shaped understanding where fear threatened to fill the void. Much of the truth was left out.

Lo leaned into Halven, her arm looped through his. Elio drifted toward them, which left only Rielle walking next to me until Garnexis drew near on my other side.

Rielle’s voice softened as she leaned toward us. “Do you think we’ll ever know what the entities are?”

I looked at the others in our group, knowing they wondered the same, but Halven was the one with all the knowledge. His expression had already turned inward, heavy with knowing. His stillness told its own story. He had seen them, touched the danger himself. He carried knowledge we weren’t given, and the thought pressed against my ribs like a root searching for ground.

He would never divulge his secrets. I knew this about my friend.

So I said, “Whatever they are, Lady Isa has warned us against looking into it further.”

My voice steadied the words even as Garnexis shifted, her whole stance bristling with challenge. She would break any boundary if pressed, but Halven spoke first.

“Let them sleep.”

Our steps slowed. His voice carried the weight of someone who had seen too much already. And he had, a survivor of war and now of these powerful entities that nearly took his life.

“They are responsible for our peace here,” he said. “That should be enough. Knowing anything more will only cause anxiety for our future because we can’t stop what will happen one day.”

The cold tightened then, like the breath of something ancient just beneath the surface. Halven’s words carried the experience of war in them, truths Isa had shielded us from, but he had lived. Survived. That kind of knowledge scarred deeper than any blade.

Maybe he was right. Some truths did not strengthen. Some only frayed what little safety we carried. Still, my chest ached at the thought of silence being the only shield.

Silence beyond the Seal.

The midpoint plinths loomed close, the gargoyles waiting. Our group of nine gathered around one of them.

Elio reached first, his hand against the claw. He chose hope. “May I find kindness first and meet my unknown angel.”

The gargoyle’s gray eyes glowed white, then dimmed again. Acceptance given. Although, I’ve never heard of a gargoyle not accepting a hope or promise.

“I hope you find her, Elio,” Garnexis said as she brushed the claws next and spoke her promise. “I will forge both skill and home in the same fire, so that I’ll never feel the need to run again.”

When she backed away from the glowing eyes, Orivian leaned close, fingers twining with a strand of her red hair as he whispered something only for her.

Lo stepped up next. “Help me build quiet strength for others and for myself.”

The gargoyle’s eyes glowed.

She returned to Halven’s side, and he smiled at her. “You already have those things, Lo. It’s what drew me to you.”

“Can’t hurt to keep practicing.”

“True.”

Then my hand grazed the stone. Like the others, I already knew what I’d promise. It was a reflection of the strength I’d found in myself this semester. “I will continue to protect what matters, the hearts of my friends, my love and family, and myself.”

“I love that, Shara,” Orivian said as he replaced me at the plinth, the gargoyle’s eyes dimming. His head bowed, hand pressed against the claw. “No matter what happens during our break, even if it means I must forsake my family, I will return as my own man, making my own choices, and always choosing what and who is best for me.”

Heat flickered in his gaze toward Garnexis, and for the first time she flushed. Garnexis didn’t get embarrassed by anything. Yet here she was, color rising at the edges of her steel composure. The exception had to be her fated mate, and I loved that for her.

Ardorion clapped Orivian’s shoulder as he stepped forward. “Well played, Orivian. Nice way to ruin all of our attempts at courtship when you keep spouting sentiments we could never achieve.”

He laughed and leaned into the moment as always, certain Orivian had earned his place among them.

Then Ardorion pressed his hand against the gargoyle. “I know you can’t help just sitting here looking mean at us, but you sure are intimidating.”

“Make your promise already,” Garnexis said.

Ardorion grinned at her.

“You got it all wrong. No promises here.” His throat bobbed as he looked up at the gargoyle, his hand firm on the claw. “Help me lead with steadier balance. Greatness is achieved in well-executed fusion.”

He glanced at Aster only in passing, though his hand still clung to hers as if balance began and ended with her.

Aster took her place after him, her voice steady. “Help me grow mastery and joy together with others and not alone.”

Her violet eyes glowed as the gargoyle’s stone eyes did. Fire and frost. Ardorion and Aster were once opposites, but now they tempered each other. She steadied him, and he lit something new in her. They were beautiful souls together.

He wrapped his arms around her when she stepped back, nuzzling her neck, lost to her.

Rielle spoke next, her fingers on the gargoyle’s claws. “I promise to anchor love and duty in the same breath but I will always guard love and call on courage when duty parts paths.”

The vow echoed across the bridge. For all her gentleness, Rielle carried a courage that anchored the rest of us. Her words wrapped around every silence we had endured this term.

Rielle didn’t move away from the glowing eyes, staring up at the gargoyle. Halven moved to join her, the last of us, and for a breath they stood as though the world remembered what they once were. It was not love the way it used to be, not with Lo waiting for him, and Neir waiting for her, but affection lived on, quiet and enduring.

The two of them were so similar in how they shared their love with everyone, yet they had yet to connect since Halven had been freed. Halven had Lo to think about, but right now, he seemed to make a decision about all of that.

“Rielle,” he said before pulling her into his arms when she looked at him. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

Rielle’s answer was soft, certain. “Never.”

My throat ached. I knew how much she had held back since he returned, never wanting to unsettle what he had with Lo. Yet in this one embrace, all that restraint gave way to the truth: care never really dies. I blinked hard, unwilling to let the tears fall. Two souls parting, moving on, but never severed.

Then she stepped back, giving him space at the plinth.

Halven, the last of our group, touched the stone claws. “We stand because our friends held us up. We endure because loyalty bound us together. May next year bring us the same strength, and the courage to keep using it.”

The words settled over all of us, a final stone in place.

It was perfect.

We left the plinth for others to speak their promises or hopes, the far shore drawing closer with every step.

The term had tested us. We nearly lost Halven. We brushed against something ancient that should have stayed buried. And still, we walked forward together. Not just classmates, not just Docilis, but something stronger. Roots that refused to break.

Power was not only in grand spells or elemental force. It lived in promises kept, in bonds guarded, in the courage to walk forward together when the ice beneath you had already cracked.

The academy stood behind us, steady as stone. The frozen lake whispered below, holding secrets in its silence.

Ahead waited our families, our futures, and whatever trials the seasons chose to send. But power does not rest in solitude or secrets. It roots in loyalty, in the people you guard, in the bonds you refuse to abandon.

I would keep protecting what mattered. My friends. My family. Veyn. And no matter what waited in the shadows of next term, I would not let those roots break.

THE END