LYRIAN
It was supposed to be Lyrian Mercer's big moment.
And he wasn't here.
Reone,the love of her life.
Lyrian scanned the crowd from the stage as she kept singing, but to no avail.
He was missing.
It was the Arcannum Academy Graduation Concert, and Lyrian was performing, the lead singer of Resonance—everyone's favorite Sylph band, named after the magical energy that empowered everyone in Ruminia.
Behind her performed the rest of the band, her closest friends: Mia, Nova, Seren, and Diamond.
Graduating Sylphs and Legions packed the hall, cheering for them and singing along. Even Wizards from another academy had come to watch. A huge number of people were present in the school, and Reone wasn't one of them.
The absence hit her like a dull ache in her chest.
He'd been doing this lately—disappearing when she needed him most.
Still, Lyrian had believed tonight would be different.
Her mistake, she thought bitterly.
For a brief moment, her voice wavered,unshed tears tightening her throat.
She caught sight of her friends. They had noticed her distress and were already giving her small, encouraging looks.
Lyrian nodded, forcing herself under control, smoothing her singing.
Reone or no Reone—the show must go on, she reminded herself.
She smiled at the crowd, bright and effortless, masking the sting in her chest as if it didn't hurt like hell. The aspiring singer in her was proud.
In case Lyrian's acting wasn't enough, the rest of Resonance poured their magical Affinities into the performance to distract the crowd from her pain.
Mia, Sylph of Fire, slammed her hands against the flame drums. Fire burst upward in rhythmic waves.
Seren—Mia's sister and the band's Water Sylph—sent ribbons of water spiraling through the air with her violin.
Diamond, Sylph of Light, danced her fingers across the keys, releasing beams of radiant light that scattered across the ceiling.
Nova's electric strings crackled with arcs of precise blue energy. She was the Sylph of Logic.
And Lyrian—
The Sylph of Sound.
She commanded it all.
Her voice rippled outward through the hall, weaving the other elements together in perfect harmony.
Watching them on stage, no one could doubt that these were the same girls who took down Veyra, Caelynn, and Nivara—a trio of dark Sylphs from Arcanum known as the Sisterhood who had recently threatened the balance of magic all over Ruminia. They would have won if Resonance hadn't killed them.
But no one talked about this story. The dark Sylphs's death robbed everyone in Arcanum of their innocence.
Resonance's song reached its final chorus, and the crowd erupted when Lyrian gave everything she had to the final note.
When the performance finished, everyone was cheering and clapping.
"Thank you, Arcannum!" Lyrian said, forcing a smile. "Goodnight."
She then stepped away from the microphone before rushing off the stage.
She didn't stop to think about how it looked.
Hopefully like she needed the ladies' room.
The moment she was out of the crowd's sight, Lyrian's smile vanished.
Tears blurred her vision and she stiffled a sob.
She pressed a hand over her mouth,.
Damn it.
Who knew love could hurt this much?
Footsteps rushed toward her.
"Lyrian?" Mia's voice came.
Her other friends appeared moments later.
Seren looked immediately concerned. Diamond pursed her lips knowingly. Nova adjusted her glasses, studying Lyrian carefully.
"It's Reone again, isn't it?" Diamond asked.
"He didn't come," she added bluntly.
Lyrian wiped her eyes quickly.
"But it's fine."
The four other girls looked at each other.
It wasn't fine.
And they all knew it.
Mia frowned.
"You know… none of the other guys were here either."
Lyrian blinked.
"What?"
"Rhys, Sire, Mikey," Seren said. "They weren't in the audience. Maybe something came up."
Nova nodded thoughtfully.
"Statistically, the probability of all four missing the performance intentionally is low. It is likely that Mia is right and they were all detained."
Lyrian exhaled slowly.
She hadn't noticed that Reone's friends—and the boyfriends of her friends—weren't at the performance. But she hadn't seen them in the audience either, now that she thought about it.
Maybe the others had a point.
Maybe something really had come up.
At that moment, Lyrian noticed familiar Legion uniforms walking toward them through the hall.
Rhys.
Sire.
And Mikey.
Her heart immediately began to race. For a second, she thought Reone might be walking behind them—
but it turned out to be just the three guys.
Disappointment hit her so hard that she barely noticed the tall, enormous object the boys were ungracefully hauling into the hall, covered by a large tarp.
"Hey, girls," Rhys greeted them cheerfully, his voice slightly strained. "You're probably wondering what's under the tarp."
"Not really," Mia snapped at her boyfriend, crossing her arms. "We just want to know why you missed our whole performance. Where have you all been?"
"Yeah, explain yourselves," Diamond added, a hand on her hip as she fixed Sire with a particularly sharp look.
Sire's expression was slightly guilty.
"Before you get mad, princess, just know that this isn't our fault. Professor Hardin wanted our class to clean the Dragon Arena before we left the school forever."
"But we are still very sorry," Mikey added quickly, his voice pleading.
Nova adjusted her glasses.
"If they were lying, Mikey's nose would've turned red."
"Exactly," Rhys said, pointing to him as if that proved everything. "So… are we off the hook?"
The girls exchanged glances and came to a silent agreement.
"Not quite, boys," Diamond informed them.
Mikey sighed heavily and turned to the other two.
"I told you guys this would happen."
"You did," Rhys admitted. "Luckily we prepared for it."
"What are you guys talking about?" Mia asked suspiciously.
Smirking, the boys carefully lowered the huge object they had been carrying onto the floor. With exaggerated drama, they pulled the tarp away.
Lyrian gasped, momentarily forgetting about her disappointment over Reone as she stared at what the boys brought—a gleaming marble statue of their band.
"Is that… us?"
"Yep," Mikey said proudly. "Your very own band statue. We ordered it ourselves."
Diamond let out a loud squeal.
"I love it!"
"I think I speak for all of us when I say you're forgiven," Seren said with a smile.
The guys turned to each other, cheering in triumph.
"Yes!"
Mia walked slowly around the statue, studying it with amazement.
"This looks like it weighs a few tons."
"We didn't really notice," Sire said casually, flexing his Legion muscles.
"Oh, stop, Sire," Diamond said while hugging the marble version of herself.
Lyrian smiled faintly at the scene, but Reone still pressed at the front of her mind, and she needed to ask about him.
"Thanks for this, guys. We really appreciate it," she started. "Uhm… anyway, where's Reone?"
Rhys, who now had Mia in his arms, happily answered.
"He went back to our room after we finished in the Dragon Arena. Cleaning dragon muck didn't exactly put him in a great mood. You know how he gets."
Lyrian nodded slowly.
She definitely knew.
"Congratulations, by the way, Lyrian for being Valedictorian of the Sylphs," Rhys said to her suddenly.
Lyrian's mood lightened a bit. She smiled at him.
"Thanks. And congratulations to you too, Rhys. Valedictorian of the Legions isn't a small accomplishment."
"You and Reone are a pretty impressive couple, Lyrian," Seren said thoughtfully. "You being Valedictorian of the Sylphs and Reone being salutatorian of the Legions."
Diamond giggled.
"Reone's not gonna see it that way. He's probably fuming about being salutatorian right now."
She dropped her voice into a terrible imitation of him.
"I can't believe Rhys got number one instead of me."
Diamond burst into laughter.
The group stared at her with identical unimpressed expressions.
"What?" she said defensively. "That joke was good."
"And they say I'm the tactless one," Nova sighed.
Lyrian just sighed.
"I'm going to look for him," she announced suddenly.
She turned and walked away.
Everyone blinked after her tall figure.
"I hope she's gonna be okay," Mia said.
Reality, however, did not comply with this.
---
REONE
The boys' dorms were quiet, dim, and heavy with the smell of metal and oil. Reone Damascus hunched over his hoverbike, shirtless as he worked on it.
His jaw was tight.
His thoughts were tighter.
Lyrian watched Reone from the door, and all her anger melted away.
Such was her love for him.
She knocked softly.
"Reone?" Lyrian's voice was gentle. "Come celebrate with us."
He paused for a moment before grabbing a screwdriver.
"I'm busy," he said without looking up. "And the last thing I need is Rhys rubbing it in that he's valedictorian."
Lyrian sighed and rolled her eyes, stepping inside and setting her bag on his desk.
"Rhys isn't like that, Reone. You're the one who takes offense at everything he says."
Reone finally looked up.
She was breathtaking, he thought—dark hair, heart-shaped face, expressive blue eyes. The black dress she wore shimmered softly in the light.
He reminded himself she'd just taken his rival's side.
"If Rhys is so perfect," he muttered, "why don't you go be with him?"
"Don't start, Reone," she warned. "I just wanted to spend time with you before leaving for Auralis tomorrow morning."
He froze.
"You're leaving tomorrow? You told me it was next week."
"Plans changed," she said. "My father's sick. And I want to be with him."
For a moment, his expression softened—but his fear of showing emotion quickly hardened it.
"You didn't tell me."
"You didn't answer my calls," she snapped. "You've been MIA for days."
"I had things on my mind."
"Really? More important than coming to watch me perform at the concert when you know how important it was to me and my friends?"
He sighed internally, wanting to tell her the truth—that after the dragon Arena, he'd gone to meet his estranged father, who allar wanted him home just to prepare him to run, Sovereign Arsenal, the family's weapon manufacturing empire, now that he'd graduated—but the words wouldn't come.
He'd never been good at talking about his feelings, especially where his father was concerned.
"Yes, it was that important," he said.
"Don't bother telling me what it is, Reone," she said sarcastically. "I'll just take your word for it."
A tense silence stretched between them.
Lyrian was livid—extremely. Reone had been acting like a jerk. But she forced herself to let this one go. After all, he as clearly going through something. And If he said he'd been doing something important, then he had. She resolved to drag the truth out of him later when he was feeling like sharing.
For now, she had something else she wanted to run past him.
Softly, she said, "You know what, it doesn't matter now. Forget it. Anyway… I was thinking—maybe you could come with me to Auralis. We could spend some time together, make up for lost time, and… you could finally meet my dad."
Reone hesitated. The thought was tempting—spending time with her—but what if her family didn't approve of him? Her father was sure to be like her, warm and sensitive; he was… the opposite.
"No way," he said finally. "Auralis is probably one of the most boring places in all of Ruminia."
Lyrian's heart sank. She turned away, hiding her hurt expression.
Reone focused on the bike again, hating that he hurt her.
Lyrian's eyes drifted to Rhys's side of the room—lined with photos of him and Mia—and tears stung her eyes. Reone's side was bare.
Cold.
Like him these days.
She turned to him, feeling frustrated and unusually impulsive.
"Reone… we're graduating and heading in different directions. Maybe we should give some thought to… separating."
Lyrian didn't really want to leave Reone, nor had she even thought about it. She was just frustrated with his nonchalance. All she wanted was for him to tell her to stay—to show some kind of reassurance that he still loved her, even a little bit.
Her words hit Reone hard—much harder than Lyrian could have imagined.
He froze, shocked.
But part of him had always expected this.
Beautiful, brilliant Lyrian had always been too good for him. It had only been a matter of time before she realized it.
Still, hearing it crushed him.
He gripped the bike for support, sucking in a breath.
"Is that what you want?" he asked slowly, praying the answer would be no.
Lyrian chose her words carefully.
"I think maybe it is."
She doesn't want to hurt me, Reone thought, but she definitely wants to break up.
"If that's how you feel, then let's do it."
His words shocked Lyrian into stillness.
"What?" she whispered.
"I said that I agree with your suggestion," Reone said before biting his lip hard to stop himself from reacting.
If she wanted to leave, he wasn't going to stop her. No matter how much he loved her, Reone knew that he was too damaged for her.
Had always been.
It seemed that Lyrian had finally realized this for herself.
Lyrian bit her lip, tears rising.
Seriously? she thought. Did he really just agree? Had the three years they spent together meant nothing to him?
Reone started to work on his bike again, and Lyrian went from shocked and frustrated to hurt and offended.
"Aren't you even going to pretend to care?" she asked him, not able to help herself.
"What do you want me to say? This is your decision," he said, voice low and sharp. His armor was up—words forged to protect a heart cracking underneath.
Lyrian bit her lip harder. This wasn't the response she'd hoped for. She'd honestly thought he would stop her—fight for her.
But to fight, he'd have to still care.
Lyrian looked at the ceiling helplessly, realizing that Reone didn't return her love.
"You're right," she whispered. "It is what I want."
She turned toward the door.
"Goodbye, Reone."
He didn't look up, not wanting her to see the pain twisting through him.
"Bye."
Lyrian hesitated, waiting, but when he didn't say another word, she left—softly closing the door behind her.
The moment she stepped into the hall, she let out a broken whimper, anguish flooding her chest.
She walked in a daze, unable to believe what had just happened. She hadn't expected the night to end like this.
Lyrian brought a hand to her mouth ,deeply pained. She immediately started considering the furthest place she could go away from Reone.
She thought about going back to the party, to her girls, but she knew she'd only depress everyone. And it wasn't far enough.
Lyrian resolved to leave for Auralis tonight instead of tomorrow.
That way she wouldn't bother anyone, and she could cry her heart out—far away from anything that reminded her of Reone, that heartless jerk.
Fresh tears streamed down her face.
She had invested three whole years in their so-called relationship and was regretting every single moment.
Lyrian wanted to forget him.
And she would, she vowed, wiping the tears away streaming from her eyes.
---
REONE
A few minutes after Lyrian left, he kicked away all one ton of his motorbike, smashing it against the wall.
Staring at the mess, his father's voice echoed coldly in his mind:
"Don't show emotion, son. That's how you lose everything."
But Reone now knew that was exactly why he had lost Lyrian.
He closed his eyes, wishing he hadn't listened to his dad. Maybe then he wouldn't be such a screw-up. Maybe he wouldn't have lost Lyrian.
But it was too late for regrets, he thought.
The damage was already done—in him and by him.
A moment later, the door creaked open.
Rhys stepped in, took in the scene, and immediately knew that something was wrong.
Rhys sighed.
His roommate was acting up again.
And this time… he had an idea why.
He looked at him sympathetically.
"Reone? You okay?"
"I'll clean up the mess in a bit," Reone said.
"Good, but that doesn't answer my question," Rhys replied.
"I'm fine," Reone snapped.
"Really? Because I just bumped into Lyrian looking wrecked. What happened?"
"She broke up with me."
Rhys froze.
Then sighed.
"I'm so sorry, man."
"And you're not surprised," Reone said flatly.
Rhys hesitated.
Reone was right.
He wasn't.
He was only surprised the relationship had lasted as long as it did.
He didn't want to hurt Reone's feelings, but he had to be honest.
"No, I'm not," he admitted quietly. "You're not the easiest person to be with.As your roommate,I should know."
Reone let out a humorless laugh.
"True."
Rhys watched him slipping into that dark, unreachable place he lived in before Lyrian.
And it worried him.
Because despite years of bickering, he genuinely cared about Reone and wether or not he was fine.
And he suspected the sentiment was mutual—though Reone would rather die than admit it.
Rhys sat beside him, thoughtful.
"Come with me to Echian next week?"
"What?" Reone stared at him, stunned.
He wasn't normally the type of person people invited to their homes—twice in one day was unbelievable.
"It's a slight change of topic, I know, but… I'm starting my kingly training," Rhys said. "I could use someone who won't flatter me because of my title. And… you could get a change of scenery."
"Oh," Reone said, staring at him.
He was surprised, but he still considered the offer in his head.
Echian was far away, and he normally couldn't stand Rhys. But the alternative was going home to his father, who would place him at Sovereign Arsenal and try to groom him into some emotionless machine obsessed with profit and power—a prospect which seemed infinitely worse than being around Rhys.
Reone wasn't willing to move in that direction.
Not after Lyrian had shown him how good it felt to,well... do good and care.
He exhaled slowly, wishing she was still with him,even when it was clear that he and Lyrian weren't meant to be.
Still, he wanted to become the kind of man worthy of her—the guy he had never been able to be.
And maybe staying away from his father and going to Echian was the first step in doing that and becoming a better person in general.
Reone didn't have the details yet, but he realized that Rhys's offer was very attractive indeed.
"Echian, huh?" he murmured to Rhys.
"Alright—let's go."