Mixed— chapter twelve: Rumors and Remorse

Professor Thale’s eyes flicked to me. “Alright, Ryder. Your turn. Go on—cut it.”  

I swallowed hard, gripping the scalpel as I reached toward the pale, bloated toad. The moment my fingers brushed its skin, my Luminor pulsed—orange, hot, alive.

The toad shimmered once, then vanished.

Gasps erupted across the classroom as, in its place, a glowing core shaped exactly like the toad’s body hovered above the tray, pulsing faintly in rhythm with my stone.

My stomach dropped. I cleared my throat, forcing my voice steady. “Uh… what do I do now?”

The room was silent except for the buzz of the hovering core.

Professor Thale’s lips pursed into the thinnest line. Her gaze lingered on me, unreadable, before she finally spoke. “…Alright. That will be enough for today. Everyone clean up. Your next class begins soon.”

The class erupted in whispers, eyes darting between me and the glowing toad-core.

I shot Kael a look across the table—the are you serious look. He just grinned, his blue stone pulsing bright with delight, like he’d just watched the best show of his life.

The class spilled into the corridor, voices buzzing with half-whispered rumors. Juniper slipped out of the stream of students and caught up to me and Kael, her bangs falling into her eyes.

“What was that?” she whispered, her voice urgent.

Kael snorted, not even breaking stride. “Mind your business, worm.”

Juniper’s lips pressed into a thin line, her purple stone faintly flickering in her fist.

I scowled at Kael, adjusting my glasses. “Juniper, I don’t know what that was. Whatever it was, Professor Thale clearly didn’t want anyone talking about it.”

She let out a heavy sigh, then shot Kael a glare sharp enough to cut glass before pushing past us, her braid swinging behind her as she headed for her next class.

Kael smirked. “Touchy.”

I frowned, my Luminor pulsing faintly in my pocket. Too touchy… or too right.

Juniper stopped a few steps ahead and turned back, her red eyes narrowed but softer than before. “Thanks for standing up for me. Worm or not,” she said, still scowling.

Kael’s face went pink. He threw his hands up. “I—I wasn’t standing up for you! I was just putting that girl in her place!”

Juniper didn’t answer—she just shook her head and disappeared into the stream of students, her braid vanishing around the corner.

“Ooooh~,” came a sing-song voice.

Taron strolled past Kael with that same smirk he always wore, his blue Luminor glowing faint in his hand. He clapped Kael on the shoulder before sauntering through the classroom door we had just left.

Kael scowled after him. “He’s worse than Seraphina.”

I adjusted my glasses, watching the door swing shut behind Taron. My stomach tightened. If he had seen what happened with the toad core, he wouldn’t let it go quietly.
The whispers started before I even stepped out of the classroom.

“Did you see it vanish?”

“No cut at all—just gone.”

“The Ravenwood kid—of course it was him.”

Everywhere I walked, voices followed, sliding just low enough that the professors couldn’t hear. Juniper had already slipped away, her head down, but I caught the quick glances she threw me in the hall—half worried, half afraid.

Kael strutted beside me like nothing was wrong, his blue stone glowing faint, steady as always. “Let them talk,” he muttered. “Rumors make you sound scarier. That’s a good thing.”

Easy for him to say. My stomach churned. Every whisper sounded like a nail in my coffin.

Then Seraphina pushed past, her golden braid whipping my shoulder as she sneered, “Enjoy your attention while it lasts, Ravenwood. The council doesn’t like freak shows.”

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to look straight ahead. My Luminor pulsed faintly in my pocket, shifting colors no one else could see.

Kael leaned close, smirking like always. “Don’t let her get to you.”

But the murmurs kept chasing me down the corridor, and for the first time, I wondered if Kael was wrong—if this wasn’t strength, but a noose tightening around my neck.

Seraphina stormed off, golden glow trailing like fire behind her. A few students snickered under their breath at Kael’s barb, but most quickly fell silent when the air in the corridor shifted—heavy, sharp, like the walls themselves were holding their breath.

Professor Thale was standing at the far end of the hall. No one had seen her arrive, but her green eyes were already fixed on us.

“Ravenwood. Kael. Seraphina.” Her voice carried, quiet but cutting through every whisper. “My office. Now.”

Kael’s grin faltered, slipping off his face like wax.

I adjusted my glasses, throat dry. The orange pulse in my pocket throbbed harder, as if it already knew what was coming.

Seraphina lifted her chin smugly, trying to look unfazed, but I saw her hand twitch around her golden Luminor.

The corridor split open as students pressed against the walls to let us pass, their whispers rising again the moment our backs were turned.

“Detention,” Kael muttered under his breath as we walked. “Called it.”

I didn’t answer. My mother’s words from the dream gnawed at me. Choose your path… before they choose it for you.

And now, with Professor Thale’s shadow stretching long across the floor, I wasn’t sure I’d have the chance.

Kael sat hunched over the desk, quill scratching furiously as he used detention for what it really was—time to finish an overdue assignment. I leaned back, arms crossed. I’d already finished mine days ago.