She Chose the Wrong Hero

The sun was high, but the warmth never reached the marble halls of the east wing.

Elira walked slowly, her steps light, trying not to draw attention. But the tension in the air followed her like a shadow.

Whispers filled the academy.

Not loud. Not cruel.

Just watching.

"Did you hear?"

"She refused Kael."

"She met him. The quiet one."

"She's not the same."

Elira kept walking. She had survived worse than whispers. She had walked through fire. But it was strange how silence could feel heavier than screams.

---

She was heading to the library when she saw them.

Kael and Aeren.

Facing each other in the training yard.

Neither spoke. Neither moved.

But Elira felt the pressure in her chest grow tight, like the sky was about to fall.

Kael stood tall, shoulders squared, sword at his side—not drawn, but ready.

Aeren stood without a weapon. He never needed one. His strength wasn't loud.

She stopped just inside the doorway.

She should have left.

She didn't.

Kael was the first to speak. "You've been spending time with her."

Aeren didn't blink. "You noticed."

Kael stepped closer. "She's not someone you can use."

Aeren tilted his head, calm. "And you are?"

Kael's hand twitched.

Elira's heart beat faster. She remembered this—this moment, or something like it, from the first timeline. But back then, they never spoke like this. Kael had never seen Aeren as a threat.

Not until it was too late.

"Stay away from her," Kael said.

"You don't get to tell me that," Aeren replied.

Kael smiled—but it wasn't kind. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I do," Aeren said quietly. "That's why I'm standing here."

For a moment, everything froze.

Kael's eyes burned. Aeren's were steady.

Elira stepped forward before anything could happen.

"That's enough."

Both heads turned to her.

She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to.

"I'm not something either of you get to fight over," she said. "I make my own choices now."

She walked between them—between fire and shadow—and didn't look back.

---

Later, in her room, her hands trembled as she poured water into a cup. She didn't understand why. Nothing had happened.

And yet

Something had shifted.

Kael was no longer the only one watching her.

And Aeren—he wasn't hiding in the background anymore.

They were stepping toward something none of them could stop.