I woke up to something shaking me.

  Gentle, but insistent.

  "Sekire, time to get up."

  Familiar voice, Hinata.

  I opened my eyes, it was still dark outside.

  "What time is it?"

  "Very early," she smiled, small, "The Queen is already waiting for you."

  My stomach turned.

  The training.

  With Caliope.

  Who everyone said was merciless.

  I sat up, slowly.

  "My condolences," Hinata said, dry but genuine tone.

  I looked at her.

  "You're the second person to say that."

  "And you won't be the last," she picked up clothes from the chair, "Wear this, training clothes, more comfortable than a dress."

  She helped me change.

  Black pants, simple white shirt, light boots.

  Everything a bit big, but it worked.

  "Where's Fuyumi?"

  "Helping Her Highness Mabel get ready."

  I paused.

  "Mabel? Waking up early?"

  Hinata laughed, low.

  "It's because of Ferme."

  Ah.

  "She's going on the mission to Netherheart Mansion, and her personal knight is Ferme," Hinata finished adjusting my clothes, "So she's having a breakdown trying to get dressed perfectly."

  "She likes him that much?"

  "Yes, but she won't admit it," Hinata sighed, "With everyone she's playful, teasing, kind of annoying sometimes, with him it's the same thing, but more, intimate? I don't know, but she can't admit she likes him."

  I finished putting on my boots.

  "What do you think he feels?"

  Hinata paused, thoughtful.

  "Not even Mabel's prediction spell knows, let alone me."

  Wait.

  "She tried using prediction to find out?"

  Hinata burst out laughing, covering her mouth to not wake everyone up.

  "SHE TRIED!" She wiped tears, "It was hilarious! She stood there for like ten minutes, super concentrated, all serious."

  More laughter.

  "And when she came out of the prediction, she was RED, screaming that her power was useless and didn't work right!"

  "Why didn't it work?"

  "Because she doesn't control her power properly, as you've probably already noticed," Hinata took a deep breath, composing herself, "And also because prediction doesn't show what Mabel wants to see, it shows what she needs to see, and apparently, knowing if Ferme likes her isn't necessary."

  I laughed, small.

  "Poor Mabel."

  "Poor Ferme, he puts up with her teasing every day and has no idea why."

  Hinata led me to the door.

  "Good training, try not to die."

  "Thanks for the confidence."

  "You're welcome."

  Training Grounds

  The grounds were large, open space, packed dirt floor, trees around, training equipment at the edges.

  And in the center.

  Caliope.

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  Sitting in a simple chair, small table beside her, drinking tea.

  White hair tied in a high ponytail, training clothes, black pants, white shirt with rolled-up sleeves.

  No crown, no jewelry.

  Just the queen, ready to work.

  I approached, slowly.

  She looked up, smiled.

  "Good morning, Sekire, did you sleep well?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty."

  "Excellent," she placed the cup on the table, "Before we begin, I need to apologize."

  I blinked.

  "Apologize?"

  "For my demeanor yesterday, during the audience," she looked at me, directly, "I was rude, too analytical, cold."

  Pause.

  "And there was inappropriate prejudice, popular belief says that redheads resemble the Succubus Goddess Lilitra, it's silly superstition, but for a moment, I let that influence my judgment."

  She stood up.

  "You didn't deserve that, I'm sorry."

  The sincerity was clear.

  I laughed, small.

  "It's okay, Your Majesty, I wasn't offended."

  "Even so, I shouldn't have acted that way," she walked to the center of the grounds, "Now, let's begin."

  I followed.

  "First thing, what do you know about mana?"

  I took a deep breath.

  "I took the stone test, to discover affinity, but the stone didn't react with color, it, just turned into a regular colored feather."

  Caliope raised an eyebrow.

  "Colored feather?"

  "Yes, later I discovered I have Transmutation magic, or something like that, but I don't know the limitations, I can't use spells, I only know the basics about how mana works."

  Pause.

  "And I can't release a significant amount, the most I can manage is a sensor enchantment, pretty bad."

  Caliope was quiet, processing.

  Then she sighed, loud.

  "That method hasn't been used in two hundred years."

  "What?"

  "The stone test, it was considered improper," she crossed her arms, "Because mages with affinities close to elemental ones, like ice for example, were classified as water, so they were trained completely wrong."

  "And that caused problems?"

  "Yes, big ones, incorrect development, blockages, sometimes permanent damage to the core," she shook her head, "And the stone only recognized elemental magic, any other affinity simply wouldn't light up, the stone would turn into a regular colored feather, this happened with any non-elemental affinity."

  She looked at me.

  "What backward kingdom still uses that?"

  "...Kitsumi."

  "Of course," dry tone, "Explains a lot."

  She walked around me, evaluating.

  "So let's do this properly, from scratch."

  She stopped in front of me.

  "Mana, what is it?"

  "Magical energy?"

  "More specific, mana is vital energy that flows through everything, air, earth, water, you, me, every living being has mana," she gestured, "Inside you, there's a core, that's where your mana is stored and where it flows from."

  She touched my chest, lightly, center.

  "Here, feel it?"

  I closed my eyes, concentrated.

  And I felt it, small presence, warm.

  "Yes."

  "Good, that's your core," she stepped back, "Now, the correct way to discover affinity isn't to force mana into an external object, it's to let mana flow naturally and observe how it manifests."

  She picked up something from the table, a flower, red rose.

  "Sit, comfortable posture."

  I sat, legs crossed.

  "Breathe deeply, slowly, feel the internal warmth."

  I breathed, in, out.

  The warmth was there, in the center of my chest.

  "Now, imagine that warmth migrating, from the core, through the internal pathways, to the palm of your hand."

  I visualized, the warmth moving, slow, careful.

  Flowing to my arms, then to my fingers.

  "Open your hand."

  I opened it.

  Caliope placed the flower in my palm.

  "Let the mana touch the flower, gently, without forcing, just, touch."

  I concentrated, the mana flowed.

  It touched the flower.

  And the flower changed.

  Not withering, not burning.

  But transforming.

  The petals hardened, the color changed, red turned brown.

  In seconds, it was no longer a flower.

  It was a twig.

  Small, dry, simple.

  But it was transformation.

  I opened my eyes, wide.

  "I, I did that?"

  "Yes," Caliope smiled, "Transmutation, transforming one thing into another, rare, powerful, and—"

  Something happened.

  The mana kept flowing.

  But it didn't stop.

  More and more and more.

  The twig started changing again.

  Wood turned to stone, stone turned to glass, glass turned to sand.

  And it didn't stop.

  The ground around me cracked, lines spreading.

  The sand in my hand exploded into flowers, then crystals, then metal.

  "Sekire! Stop!" Caliope shouted.

  I tried.

  But I couldn't.

  The mana kept pouring out, uncontrolled, violent.

  The ground broke more, pieces lifting, transforming, wood, stone, glass, everything changing without stopping.

  Then Caliope moved.

  Fast, precise.

  She touched my chest.

  And injected mana.

  Different from mine, controlled, firm.

  It entered my core.

  And locked the flow.

  Forcibly.

  The mana stopped coming out.

  The chaos ceased.

  Everything froze.

  I fell forward, breathing heavily.

  Caliope caught me, firm.

  "Breathe, slowly, you're okay."

  I tried, but I was shaking.

  "What, happened?"

  "Your flow is unstable," she helped me sit up straight, "Very unstable, the mana doesn't come out smoothly, it comes out in explosions."

  She looked at me, studying.

  "Maybe because of trauma, you're repressing something internal, and that won't let the flow go naturally."

  She touched my shoulder, gentle.

  "But relax, I'm the most skilled theoretical mage in the kingdom, we'll fix this together."

  She smiled, confident.

  "You won't go through this alone, I promise."

  I looked at her.

  Then at the destroyed ground around us.

  Then at my trembling hands.

  And I felt.

  Not relief.

  But conflict.

  I know what's causing this.

  The truth hit like a punch.

  I know exactly what's causing it.

  The cambion transformation, in the dungeon.

  When I exploded the door, when the horns grew, when the claws formed.

  When I used his power.

  Vhorkan's.

  And then rejected it, consciously, deliberately.

  Because I didn't want to be like him.

  Didn't want to use a monster's power.

  Dad loved me without that power.

  Jullen sacrificed himself without that power.

  So I didn't need it either.

  But now.

  Now the rejection was causing this.

  Blockage, instability, uncontrolled explosions.

  Because I was denying part of myself.

  A part I didn't want to accept.

  But that existed anyway.

  I'm a cambion.

  Half demon.

  Half his.

  And no matter how much I deny it.

  It won't change.

  Something tightened in my chest.

  Anger? Frustration? Despair?

  All at the same time.

  "Sekire?" Caliope touched my face, gentle, "Are you okay?"

  I wasn't.

  But I couldn't say.

  Couldn't tell her I was a cambion.

  That I had demon blood.

  That I was rejecting part of myself because I hated my biological father.

  "I'm fine," I lied, weak voice.

  Caliope didn't seem convinced.

  But she didn't press.

  "Rest today, we'll try again tomorrow."

  She helped me stand.

  "And Sekire?"

  I looked at her.

  "Whatever you're repressing, whatever is causing this instability," her eyes were serious, but kind, "You'll need to face it, eventually."

  Pause.

  "Because denying part of yourself will only hurt you more."

  I swallowed hard.

  And nodded.

  But inside.

  The war continued.

  Accepting his power means accepting that I'm his daughter.

  And I don't want to be.

  I don't want to.

  But maybe I don't have a choice.