Relia slouched in her computer chair, locked in a staring contest with a blank document. Master Nightfang’s final paper was due this Kelsday, but she couldn’t find the energy to start it.

Training had always come easily for Relia. When she trained, she bought herself more time in this world. Even if she didn’t reach Artisan, every little bit helped. But school papers were a different story.

She’d always promised herself she’d never complain about her condition, or use it as an excuse. She wanted to live a normal life, and normal students did their homework. Still, the pain in her channels grew sharper and more distracting every day. This time, her pills wouldn’t be enough to save her.

No, no. Don’t think about that. You’ll just go into another downward spiral.

Relia brought her hands to the keyboard and began to type. Her mind loved to mope around, but action was the best remedy. Besides, schoolwork was just another kind of training. It might not build her mana, but it kept her focused.

Her focus shattered a second later when someone knocked on her bedroom door. Relia straightened in her chair and spun toward the sound. Who could that be? Elend and Irina were both working, and Akari and Kalden were having their date night.

Then again, maybe they’d turned their movie night into a training session. That sounded just like them, come to think of it. Akari claimed to love Mana Arts movies, but then she’d analyze the fight scenes as they played out. It was kind of annoying, to be honest. Not everyone had seen those movies a thousand times.

“Just a second!” Relia scooped up a box of shardbreaker pills from her bed and stuffed it behind the pile of stuffed animals. Then she kicked some laundry into the closet and closed the wooden doors.

Finally, she opened the bedroom door and found Elise Moonfire standing in the hall. Her sister wore a long winter coat that fell to her knees, along with a knitted scarf and hat.

“Hey.” Elise sister gave a nervous wave. Well, it looked nervous, but it was probably an act. Elise had looked sincere during the qualifying rounds, too. But how long had it taken her to betray them? Fifteen minutes?

Relia pushed her door closed. “Go away.”

“Wait.” Elise slid her boot between the door and the frame. “I know you’re pissed at me, but this will only take a second.”

Relia peered down at the boot, then started cycling mana into her right hand. “You really wanna go? Kalden beat you in three seconds. I’ll do it in one.”

Elise stepped back, and her blue eyes went suddenly round. Relia didn’t normally threaten people, or even get angry. But that came with a perk; when she actually got mad, people listened.

“I just came here to tell you one thing,” Elise said. “Please, can I come in?”

Relia narrowed her eyes. “How’d you even get in the house?”

“Glimmer let me in.”

“Why?” Relia had wanted to go back to her apartment tonight, but Elend insisted it was safer here. Now Glim was letting their enemies step through the front door?

“You probably won’t believe this,” Elise said. “But I’m really sorry for how the qualifying rounds ended. If I could do it over, I would. All of it.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you.” Relia took a step forward, wishing she could loom over people the way Kalden did. “You think I’m a doormat, don’t you?”

“No.” Elise stepped back. “Everyone knows you’re the best in your class.”

“Skilled, but stupid. Still makes me the weak link, huh?” Her breath hitched, and tears stung her eyes “Leave, or I’ll drag you outside myself.”

“I’m adopted!” Elise blurted out.

“You’re . . . what?”

“I’m adopted,” she repeated. “Our parents never had any kids after you.”

Relia blinked several times as she processed this. She’d always assumed they were biological sisters. The odds of having two kids with krustoplega were low, even when the parents abused soulshine. She’d assumed the Moonfires would take the risk.

Elise took a deep breath, and her hands were shaking. “Our parents never abused soulshine. That’s not where your condition—”

“What condition?” Relia broke in.

She winced. “Grandmaster Darklight told me about it.”

“Which Grandmaster Darklight?”

“Um . . . Elend.”

Great. Since when did Elend share her secrets? Relia had only told Akari and Kalden about that. Now, he’d gone and spilled the beans to Elise Moonfire? He might as well have told the whole Artegium

“I’m sorry,” Elise began again. “I never knew that—”

“Save it.” Relia crossed her arms. Lots of people would treat her better if they knew, but that wasn’t fair. Basic human decency shouldn't be reserved for people on death row.

Elise paused as if gathering her thoughts again. “I know where it came from. Your condition, I mean.”

Relia let out a huff of annoyance. Was she about to defend their parents now and say it wasn’t their fault?

“I guess there’s no easy way to say this …” Several heartbeats passed before Elise spoke again. “Lyraina Trelian is your grandmother.”

Relia laughed at the absurd claim. “Nice try. I knew Lyraina. She trained me and gave me my aspect. I think I’d know if we were related.”

Elise blinked at that. Clearly, whatever lie she’d concocted, she hadn’t factored in this part. Still, she pressed on. “Ashur Moonfire is Lady Trelian’s son. He’s part Mana Artist, part Aeon. That’s how he advanced so quickly.”

Elise handed her an envelope before she could reply. Relia took it and stumbled toward her desk in a daze. Her room was dark, and the sun hung below the trees in the backyard. That left her lamp and computer as the only decent light sources.

She slid a bundle of papers from the envelope, spreading them all over her desk. The first featured several excerpts from Aeonica, a book of myths from the Aeon homeworld. Her gaze darted toward a highlighted section about Lyraina’s order, the Redeemers.

One paragraph described Moonshard, the Redeemer's Construct technique. She’d seen her old master use this before. Sozen Trengsen had also used a variation of it against Dansin Roth yesterday.

The next paragraph described an Angelic Cloak technique that could heal any wound.

They called it Moonfire.

Azul’s ashes. If this was true, then Lyraina had hidden a clue in plain sight. Moonfire sounded like any other clan name, so no one had questioned it. Even her father probably hadn’t known until it was too late.

The next page described the differences between Mana Artists and Aeons. Relia knew most of this already. Mana Artists had channels, and Aeons had souls of Etherite. This meant Mana Artists were physically stronger, but Aeons had access to Angelic mana, giving them stronger techniques over all. Aeons were glass cannons, in other words.

But the highlighted parts revealed something new. Mana Artists and Aeons could procreate, giving their offspring both sets of powers. If the mother was an Aeon, she would pass Etherite directly to the child, and those children would be born with Aeon souls. This had been the case with Relia’s father, Ashur Moonfire.

But things were more complicated with an Aeon father. In these cases, the children had the potential for a crystal soul, but not the soul itself. Sometimes, nothing happened. Other times, the children’s bodies would attempt to turn their own mana into crystal souls. This was known as krustoplegia.

The evidence grew stronger as Relia read on. One study claimed that all patients with krustoplegia had Aeon blood in their veins. Soulshine didn’t cause the condition. It only amplified it.

Finally, the last paper spoke of a cure. A cure for krustoplegia.

The paper shook in Relia’s hands, and tears clouded her eyes. Even as a little girl, she’d never dared to hope for such a thing.

“Do you see what this means?” Elise asked.

Relia glanced up and saw her sister standing beside her. Still, she didn’t reply. She couldn’t make herself believe it.

If this paper was right, then Relia was an Aeon without a crystal soul. But if she built one—if she became a true Aeon—then her body would stop trying to build one for her. Her condition would vanish, along with all the pain, and the looming threat of death.

It all seemed so simple in hindsight. Why would anyone keep this knowledge a secret?

“This is why our parents never had more children,” Elise explained. “The odds of getting someone with krustoplegia were much higher than they thought.”

Relia wiped the tears from her eyes and fell back into her desk chair. “The part about Lyraina can’t be true. I spent years training with her. Why wouldn’t she tell me?

“I didn’t know that she trained you,” Elise said. “My parents never told me. But there’s only one explanation. What if she wasn’t there when you were born? What if she only learned about you later? After our parents abandoned you?”

Relia drew in a shaky breath as the pieces fell together.

“What if our parents traded your name for a soul oath?” Elise went on. “Lyraina could find you, but she couldn’t speak the truth. Not to you. Not to anyone.”

Okay, maybe that made sense. It also explained another mystery—one that had bothered her for years. Lyraina was an immortal from another world, and her powers rivaled Mystics. Why would she seek out an orphan girl with a terminal illness? Why would she train her and pass on her greatest secrets?

But in hindsight, Lyraina had always treated her like a daughter. Or a granddaughter, in this case. Now it all made sense.

Relia glanced at the papers, then back to Elise. “Elend gave you this, didn’t he?”

Elise gave a cautious nod.

“How much did you know before that?”

“I knew Lyraina was Ashur Moonfire’s mother,” she replied. “That’s all. I didn’t know you were dying, or that it could be cured.”

Relia nodded. Elend had shared parts of this theory with her before, but she hadn’t listened to him. She’d assumed it was a ploy to make her take soulshine. Clearly, he’d spent the last few years digging for proof, and he’d even brought in Elise to strengthen his case.

She sat there for a long while as possibilities raced through her mind. Still, one fact stood out above all the rest. Soulshine hadn’t caused her condition. And if she took the drug now, she could reach Artisan and cure it permanently. The journey wouldn’t be easy, but she’d bet anything that Elend had a plan.

Tears of joy filled her eyes, but they seemed so inadequate. She’d never gotten news this big before, and her brain didn’t know how to process it. She actually had a chance to survive. To survive! Not just one more year, but an entire lifetime. Long enough to graduate Koreldon University. To reach the ranks of Master, Grandmaster, and Mystic. To get married, have children, and grandchildren.

Azul’s ashes. What else could she do with a whole lifetime? With enough power, she could share the truth about krustoplega and Aeons. She could find more people with this condition, and help them feel the way she felt in this moment. She could fight with Akari and Kalden until the end, and help them re-take their home.

“You forgave me once,” Elise’s words pulled her from her thoughts. There was another pause as the other girl seemed to gather her courage. “Can you forgive me again?”

“I forgive you for hurting me . . .” Relia dug her heels into the carpet and rose from her desk chair. Her joy turned to anger as she remembered the aftermath of the qualifying rounds. “But you put my friends in danger yesterday. Real danger. And I was part of it.”

Elise broke eye contact, but she didn’t deny it.

“Akari’s more of a sister to me than you’ll ever be. I love her, and she almost died yesterday because of you.” Relia narrowed her eyes and closed the distance between them. Her hands shook at her sides, and she bit off each word as she spoke. “Elend can do what he wants with you, but I never want to see you again.”