Chapter Fourteen

Lyra's POV

Training, apparently, began before dawn.

I found that out when Maria knocked once and then opened the door anyway, already dressed, hair braided back, a bundle of herbs tucked under one arm.

“Up,” she said. “Before the wolves finish their first patrol”

I groaned into my pillow, “That’s… cruel”

“Magic doesn’t care” she replied flatly.

Outside, the air was cold and clean, dew clinging to the grass like glass beads. The clearing behind the estate felt different in daylight, less ominous, and more ancient. Stones marked the perimeter in a loose circle, each etched with symbols that hummed faintly when I stepped inside.

Maria handed me a wooden staff. “Focus tool, not a weapon”

I weighed it in my hands, “Feels like one”

“Everything is, if you’re careless”

She had me start with grounding, breathing, stance, awareness. Simple things, annoyingly simple.

“Magic doesn’t begin in your hands” she said, circling me. “It begins here” She tapped my sternum. “And here” My feet. “You’re pulling power straight from instinct. That’s why it explodes”

“I survived” I muttered.

She stopped walking. “You barely did”

That shut me up.

We moved to channeling, drawing energy, holding it, and letting it circulate instead of release. Sweat beaded at my temples. My muscles trembled. The hum beneath my skin grew louder and sharper.

Then the pain hit.

Low and Familiar.

I froze.

Maria noticed immediately. “What is it?”

“I—” I shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing. Just—”

Another wave rolled through me, sharper this time. Heat followed. Not magical. Biological.

“Oh,” I muttered. “You’ve got to be kidding me”

Maria blinked. “What?”

“I’m on my period”

She stared.

Then, very slowly, her eyebrows lifted. “Oh.”

I sighed. “Yeah.”

She opened her mouth, closed it, then said, “That… could happen”

I stared at her. “That’s your response?”

“I’ve never trained someone whose bloodline reacts this strongly to hormonal cycles,” she admitted. “But blood is power, Amplifying.”

“Maria,” I said carefully, “I don’t feel amplified. I feel like something’s crawling under my skin, and I have cramps”

The air around us shifted.

The stones vibrated.

Maria’s eyes widened. “Lyra—don’t cast—”

Too late.

Power surged through me, sharp and wild, responding not to intent but state. The staff in my hands cracked, splintering as a wave of energy burst outward, flattening grass and sending dust spiraling into the air.

I staggered back, breath ragged. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I know,” Maria said quickly, hands glowing green as she reinforced the wards. “That’s the problem”

Footsteps crunched behind us.

I didn’t need to look to know who it was.

The moment Caspian stepped into the clearing, everything changed.

He stopped dead.

His head tilted slightly, nostrils flaring.

And then his eyes....

They weren’t black anymore.

Red bled into them, slow and unmistakable, like ink dropped into water.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

He didn’t move closer or bared his fangs.

But the restraint was worse than violence.

Maria swore under her breath. “Caspian—”

“I’m fine,” he said, voice tight, controlled to the point of fracture. “Get her out of the circle”

“I didn’t ask you—”

“Now”

I swallowed hard, backing away as Maria ushered me toward the edge. My skin buzzed, power still coiled and restless, my body painfully aware of itself in a way I hated.

Caspian turned his face away, jaw clenched so hard I thought it might crack.

“I didn’t know it would affect… this” I said quietly.

His laugh was sharp and humorless. “Neither did I”

Maria glanced between us. “You need to leave”

“I will,” he said immediately. “Before restraint becomes a choice instead of a certainty”

That sent a chill down my spine.

He stopped at the edge of the clearing, shoulders rigid. “Next time,” he added, not looking at me, “warn me”

Then he was gone.

The forest exhaled.

I sank onto a stone, shaking. “That was… terrifying”

Maria nodded slowly. “Yes”

“And you’re not going to tell me that’s normal, are you?”

“No,” she said. “I’m going to tell you it’s dangerous”

Great.

She crouched in front of me. “Your blood isn’t just a conduit. It’s a catalyst. Certain states… pain, fear, desire... can spike your output”

“And periods” I muttered.

“Yes,” she said grimly. “Especially periods”

I pressed my palms into my eyes. “So what do I do? Lock myself away once a month?”

“Learn control,” she said firmly. “Not suppression. Control”

I looked up at her. “And if I don’t?”

Her gaze softened, but her voice didn’t. “Then your body will betray you before your enemies ever have the chance”

I leaned back, staring up at the pale morning sky.