A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs-Chapter 204: The space between thought and soul

{Elira}

~**^**~

When I got back to the dorm, my friends were sprawled across the room, their chatter a low hum against the faint music playing from Nari’s speaker.

I shut the door quietly, drawing their attention almost immediately.

Cambria was the first to notice the paper bag in my hand. "What’s that?" she asked, lifting her chin curiously.

"Snacks," I said, setting the bag on my desk. "Two first-years gave them to me on my way here."

"Your fans?" Nari gasped dramatically, sitting up so fast her pillow tumbled to the floor. "I almost forgot you have fans now."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess?"

But Tamryn crossed her arms, the voice of reason as always. "Elira, I don’t think you should eat that."

Everyone turned to her.

She leaned forward, her tone firm but calm. "You really need to be careful this period, Elira. You’ve been getting attention from all sides lately—some good, some not. You don’t know who might send what, or what their intentions are."

That single thought cooled the excitement in the room. I stared at the bag, Tamryn’s warning echoing somewhere deep in my chest.

Cambria got up and tugged the bag closer. "Let’s not jump to conclusions," she said, opening it.

"See? Just snacks and juice. Everything is sealed." She sniffed one of the candy wrappers and shrugged. "Smells fine."

"Still..." Juniper murmured, glancing from the bag to me.

Before I could respond, Nari grinned and plopped beside the desk. "Okay, fine, give them to me. If it’s poisoned, I will know first."

"Nari!" we all said at once.

She laughed and reached into the bag anyway. "Relax, I’m joking. Mostly." She unwrapped a candy and popped it in her mouth. "Mm. This is good. Whoever gave these to you has great taste."

Juniper sighed and joined her, taking one of the biscuits. "Well, if we both die, Elira, you can avenge us on Founder’s Day."

I couldn’t help but laugh, tension loosening from my shoulders. "Fine. If you insist."

By the time Nari reached for another candy, Cambria was shaking her head with a smile. "You know, Nari, I always suspected your whole ’I’m watching my weight’ mantra was a scam from the beginning."

Nari pointed at her with a biscuit in one hand. "First of all, I am watching it. It just keeps running away."

That sent Juniper into a fit of laughter, while Tamryn groaned and muttered, "Hopeless, the both of you."

I smiled, sinking onto my bed as the laughter filled the room. The sound was light, easy, comforting in a way I needed.

And though Tamryn’s warning still lingered somewhere at the back of my mind, I allowed myself this small peace.

By the time the laughter died down, the room had quieted into its usual rhythm—the soft hum of the air filter, the rustle of sheets, and the faint click of Nari’s tablet before she finally dozed off mid-scroll.

Cambria’s bed lamp went off next. Then Juniper’s slow breathing filled the room. And Tamryn had also already surrendered to sleep, her soft snores giving her away.

I lay on my back, staring at the faint shadows dancing on the ceiling. My body was exhausted, but my mind... refused to rest.

’Less than a week to Founder’s Day.’

The thought pulsed like a heartbeat in my head—heavy, insistent, full of the weight of everything that had happened. From the first duel to that witch’s words... every step had brought me here.

I turned on my side and shut my eyes, trying to focus on the steady rhythm of breathing around me.

But then, a familiar warmth stirred at the edge of my thoughts.

Selene.

Her voice came softly, like wind brushing across a still lake. "You’ve grown stronger, Elira."

A tired smile tugged at my lips. "You sound surprised."

"Not surprised. Proud." There was a pause, her tone deepening, more serious now. "But strength draws attention. Not all of it is good. You must be cautious. Your enemies are not sleeping. They are watching, waiting for you to falter."

I frowned slightly, staring at the faint light from Cambria’s lamp. "You mean Regina?"

Selene’s response carried a low hum. "Her... and others. Some fear your rise. Others envy it. Do not mistake silence for peace."

A chill crept across my arms despite the warmth of the room.

"So what do I do?" I whispered in my mind. "Avoid everyone? Stop fighting?"

"No," Selene said firmly, her tone laced with calm authority. "You keep walking forward, but with your eyes open. Trust your instincts; they are sharper now. And when the day comes... you will know what to do."

I exhaled slowly, the tension in my chest easing just a little.

For a moment, it felt like she was sitting right beside me, the steady pulse of her presence wrapping around me like a blanket.

"Selene?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I can really win?"

There was a long, thoughtful pause before she answered, her voice soft but steady. "You’ve already started to, Elira."

Her words lingered long after her voice faded, echoing gently in the back of my mind. But I turned onto my back again, staring at the faint shimmer of moonlight on the ceiling.

A breath slipped past my lips, soft but uncertain. "Selene?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to teach me," I whispered, barely forming the words out loud as I remembered Zenon’s last statement to me in the woods, telling me to keep practicing even in my dreams.

"Teach me how to fight with our power in a vision. Just like Zenon and his brothers have been teaching me all this while."

The silence stretched for a moment, and I wondered if she had gone. Then, her voice filled my mind again—low, deep, and threaded with something I couldn’t name.

"Are you ready for what that means?"

"I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t."

Selene chuckled softly, the sound curling through my head like smoke. "Then close your eyes, Elira. Let go of what’s around you—the room, the sound of breathing, even the pain. Let everything fall away."

I obeyed, exhaling deeply. The world dimmed. The sounds of my dorm melted into silence. And then warmth. It spread from the centre of my chest, spiralling outward, until I felt it hum beneath my skin.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the middle of a vast, moonlit field. The sky stretched endlessly above, jewelled with a thousand silver stars.

Selene stood across from me, her hair a red cascade, her eyes glowing with that same, familiar light. She looked both ethereal and solid, a mirror of what I could become.

"Welcome back," she said with a faint smile. "Here, no one can watch you. No one can harm you. Here, you learn what it means to be."

I blinked around, breath fogging faintly in the cool air. "Where... are we?"

"The space between thought and soul," she answered. "The place only we can enter."

Then her expression sharpened, and a gentle breeze stirred between us. "Now, show me what you’ve learned from your mates so far."

I hesitated, feeling the weight of her gaze. "From the brothers?"

Selene nodded. "All of it. Every strike, every defense, every way you have learned to rise."

So, I moved. Slowly at first—stances, shifts, the rhythm of what Zenon drilled into me until my legs ached.

Selene circled me, her energy thrumming like a heartbeat against the air. Then, suddenly, she attacked.

It was fast—a burst of red light streaking toward me. I barely had time to duck. The air around her shimmered, alive with power.

"Again," she commanded.

We moved—strike, dodge, breath. My body knew what to do, but her energy was stronger, wilder, harder to read than any opponent I had faced.

Every time I stumbled, Selene’s voice cut through the field just like Zenon would:

"Don’t fight against the flame, become it!"

I felt the spark flare inside me, hot and bright. It licked through my veins like wildfire.

I gasped as faint golden tendrils curled from my fingertips, swirling and burning with life.

"That’s it," Selene said softly, pride glinting in her tone. "You see now? You are the fire, not its prisoner."

The heat roared inside me, but this time it didn’t hurt. It pulsed in rhythm with my heart, bending to my will.

I lifted my hand, the air shimmered, and flame blossomed from my palm, coiling gracefully like a ribbon.

Selene smiled. "Control isn’t about silence, Elira. It’s about balance."

I understood what she meant, so I fought her again, but with purpose this time. The fire bent, obeyed, and followed.

And when the vision began to fade, I heard her voice again, calm and confident:

"You will be ready when the moonlight calls, my flame."

My eyes snapped open. The dorm ceiling came back into focus. The air felt warmer, the world quieter.

A soft glow faded from my fingertips as I exhaled shakily. I was trembling, but smiling.

Outside, the moonlight spilt faintly through the window, pale and silver, like a quiet promise.

Satisfied, I finally let sleep take me.