Whispers of Power
1
A sharp citrus-and-spice cologne drifted down the hallway, announcing Adrian before he appeared. He strode towards a door where Athena stood and crushed her in a hug, lifting her a little off the floor.
"Can't... breathe," she muttered into his bespoke navy suit.
He set her down, smile still blinding. "Look at you, little sis, all grown up and practically running the school already.”
“We just saw each other last month, Adrian."
“Last month feels like a year.” He waved the thought away. “Now, tell about your grand life as Student Council President. That SOS text sounded dramatic.”
“No it wasn’t.” She led him to the eting room.
Inside, Theo sat back-straight at the oval table, staring at the orange sky. Astra stood near the window, red eyes fixed on the angry pink eye hanging in the sky.
Theo and Astra, both statues carved from ice, looked like they’d rather be facing monsters (which, technically, they were) than with each other. Adrian’s arrival was a welco disturbance.
The scientist teased, “Should I be asking for autographs?”
Theo smiled politely as he stood up from his seat, towering over Adrian. "Good to see you." He extended a hand.
Astra didn’t turn. She inclined her head toward a folder on the table. “Look.”
Adrian opened it. Photos showed a girl swallowed by swirling purple smoke. His grin faded. “The purple smoke.”
“You know it?” Astra asked. “That girl is a Blackwood.”
"She challenged Natalia to a duel,” Theo said. “Halfway through, the power was driving her, not the other way around.”
"I tried a mind read after she collapsed,” Athena added, “but she was out cold. Dark magic that thinks for itself is unheard of.”
Adrian tapped the photo, frowning. “It might link to the Eye.”
Astra glanced at the pink orb outside. "Then take her in," she said flatly.
“Blackwood influence complicates things.” Adrian said. “I will pitch it to the Council. Maybe they will agree.”
“Exactly. Forcing a mind probe on a Blackwood without proof isn’t wise,” Athena agreed. “We’ll have to settle for a civil invitation, for now.”
Astra’s jaw tightened. “They’re not invincible,” she snapped. “Soone outsmarted them before. Alone. No connections. Unlike us.”
Theo’s eyes ward. “Eydis.”
“Eydis?” asked Adrian.
“Want to hear about my grand life as Student Council President, brother?” Athena said, amused.
She told the story. Eydis, once invisible, now the academy’s main topic. How she had convinced Dean Saito to expel Tiffany with words alone.
Adrian listened, interest growing. Athena admired the girl, and even Astra’s gaze softened, if only a little.
He had to et Eydis.
First, a word with Tiffany.
Tiffany’s nails raked her scalp. She felt no pain, only one word spinning in her mind: Useless.
Useless.
Useless.
Her father had planted it there and it grew like poison ivy.
‘Waste of space,’ his voice hissed, louder in mory than ever before. Talentless. Ungifted.
An inhuman voice slithered through her mind, ‘Always the disappointnt, Tiffany. Are you nothing more than a reflection of your father's wealth?’
She scread, hoping it would drown out the whispers in her mind, but it couldn’t. When the voice stopped, the image began: the mory of that pathetic duel, white light, burning heat, Astra’s icy stare. One strike, then blackness. She woke a week later.
Power slept inside her now, yet it still felt thin, like a blanket full of holes. It wasn't enough.
She spotted the crumpled letter on the floor, an invitation from the student council. A shiver ran through her. Should she reject it? Or rip it up? Had the duel exposed the forbidden magic? The borro—No! It was hers. Rightfully hers.
Hatred flared. Hatred for Astra and her effortless gift. Hatred for every student born with magic Tiffany had to steal.
She wanted to be them.
The world was rigged, an unfair ga from the start. How could she, Tiffany, the heiress apparent to a billion-dollar empire, be so easily crushed by so nobody? It wasn't fair! It wasn't FAIR!
But self-pity wouldn't win her revenge. Eydis, yes, Eydis was the weaker target. That freak, her smug smile dared to humiliate Tiffany. But ti was running out… if the student council found out her secret, she would be left with nothing in the end.
She had to do sothing. At least, if she were to go down, then that freak would go down with her. Except…
Eydis' roommate was Astra.
“How?” Tiffany hissed. Her fingers dug deeper. “How do I wipe that smirk off her face?”
Purple smoke coiled before her, laughing without sound. “Your body is weak,” it whispered, “but your mind is delicious.”
"Delicious? What does that even an?" Tiffany spat.
The smoke writhed with perverse delight. “It’s fascinating to et a soul so perfectly… receptive. You desire power. But to reach your true potential…” It slithered closer. “You must beco one with .”
Tiffany’s breath hitched. Power, she wanted it more than air. But… “Will that kill ?”
“Kill you? Hardly. Your mind is precious. Yet you cling to one scrap of rcy. Rember the firebird. You pulled back.”
She scoffed. “I did not want to murder in front of the school.”
The smoke pulsed, almost amused. “Then let go. Shed the last scraps of your humanity. Surrender, and together, we’ll be unstoppable.”
Her fists shook. “And Astra? Can you destroy that bitch?”
“One enemy at a ti,” the smoke purred. “Feed them to . Make stronger.”
A tendril sank into her ear with a wet pop.
Her eyes glowed, no longer fully her own. They would pay. Eydis, Astra, all of them. The Blackwood na would shield her while she struck.
After all, who would dare question an heiress of such lineage?
She was Tiffany Blackwood. And this ti, she would win.
No hesitation. No witnesses. No loose ends.
The fall would start with the weakest link. Eydis was the first tile she would tip.
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