It was midnight at the Sky Piercer.
Aegis sat cross-legged on the meditation platform, trying to sync her breathing with the ambient aether while Rosanna floated nearby in those perpetually loose robes that threatened a wardrobe malfunction with every breeze. The ghost queen looked more solid tonight, more real, like someone had turned up her opacity settings.
"You're distracted," Rosanna observed.
Aegis sighed.
"The Winter Trials are in a month."
"Liar."
"They are!"
"I meant, that's not what's distracting you."
Aegis opened one eye.
"How can you tell?"
"Your aether's moving like a drunk spider trying to build a web. Something's got you tangled up."
[Drunk spider. Even ghosts are roasting me now.]
"It's... complicated."
"Most interesting things are. Tell me."
So Aegis did. About Darius and his engagement bullshit. About Talia's barely controlled rage. About Serilla appearing out of nowhere and making everything twelve times more complicated just by existing.
