“I’ll catch you later, K,” he said flatly.
“Uh… yeah. Sure. Sounds good.”
Seph gave me one last look — small, uncertain, unreadable — before turning toward the door. Dev opened it for her, the two of them stepping out into the hall like they were already a unit, already moving in a rhythm I wasn’t part of anymore.
The door clicked shut behind them.
And just like that, the room felt too big.
Chapter 28
Seph
I was tense and I think Dev knew it.
He guided me through the building towards a back entrance. I followed and was surprised to see he had led me to the vegetable garden out the back. A large greenhouse sat on the property and we headed straight for it. As we walked I saw a disgruntled looking gardener replanting a bunch of flowers in one corner.
“Ash?” I murmured.
Dev chuckled. “Who else. Come on. I want to show you this place.”
We stepped behind the greenhouse and he led me to the very back where a bench sat next to a small pond. The area was peaceful and empty.
“This is my favourite spot at Darkmoor.” He said, finally.
“It’s lovely.” I said, looking around.
“It’s also private. No one really comes here but me.” He watched me carefully. I tensed.
“Dev – “
“You promised me you would explain. So explain. I’m listening.” His voice invited no argument. And what could I say? He had seen me use my power on that monster.
At first I tried to brush it off. “Dev, I don’t know what you think happened.”
“You drained that creature dry. You withered it to a husk. That is no power I have ever seen before, Seph. Tell me the truth - You aren’t a null are you.”
It wasn’t a question, and we both knew it.
I took a deep breath and looked out over the pond. “I was told for years that I was.”
“But?”
“But.” I exhaled slowly. “My sister, Sable had an APA rating of 78 Light. Did you know that?”
Dev just stared at me. “That’s … high.”
“The highest ever recorded in my family. Even my dad, champion Light healer and council figurehead was only a 69L. So they were so proud of her. They bragged about her every chance they got.”
“Seph, what does that have to do with anything – “
I cut him off. “She could make ultra violet light from the age of 12. She was a genius. By the time she was 16, she already had offers at every university in the county.”
“Seph!”
I raised my hand. “I’m getting there. But you need to understand this. You need to realise just how exceptional she was. How impressive she was at everything she did. She was smart, kind and beautiful. She was practically perfect. So my parents assumed I would be similar.”
Dev leaned back on the bench. “But you weren’t.”
