The Weight We Carry Back
The street back to the dorms was quiet. Not dead—just hushed. The kind of quiet that didn't mean danger.
Just the kind that meant something was settling.
Their footsteps made soft sounds across the pulse-tiled stone. A light breeze moved between the Lyceum towers, carrying the scent of broth and bloomroot oil from the shop they left behind.
Zephryn walked at the back of the group.
He wasn't dragging.
Just listening.
Kaelen was the first to speak.
"Same table," he said. "Same order. Same smell."
Yolti added, "Same guy at the counter. Swear he's aged backwards."
Selka glanced sideways. "The city doesn't change unless the Choir tells it to."
No one replied.
Because that was the kind of truth that didn't need response.
They reached the courtyard.
The dorm sat there like it had never moved—stone, wood, and memory wrapped in flickering glyphlight.
Bubbalor chirped once as they approached, blinking slow, as if recognizing the pulse in Zephryn's step.
The front door unlocked before he touched it.
Inside, the common area was dimmed. Their hallway glowed just enough to show the floor.
Yolti yawned. "If anyone wakes me up before third bell, I'm sparking them."
Kaelen pulled off his jacket. "You say that every night."
Selka paused beside the stairway.
She looked at Zephryn, but didn't speak.
She didn't have to.
They each said goodnight in their own way:
Kaelen with a nod.
Yolti with a shrug and half-smile.
Selka with nothing—but her eyes lingered until his door closed.
The room was cold when he entered.
Not from air.
From memory.
Zephryn sat on the edge of the bed.
The scarf lay across his lap, still coiled where he'd left it.
He held it for a long time.
Longer than he meant to.
The pulse-shard tucked in its fold hadn't glowed since that night.
But the weight hadn't left.
He laid back slowly.
The ceiling didn't hum.
The dorm didn't breathe.
Only the quiet.
Only the fire under his skin.
He curled the scarf in his fingers.
And asked the one question he never had the right to say aloud.
"Can I really do this?"
TO BE CONTINUED…..