Beneath the Lake, the Mind Wanders

Some nights, the lake didn’t reflect the stars. It absorbed them. The stillwater behind House Halcyon stretched like a dark mirror, its glassy surface untouched even by the wind. And tonight, as Quentin Flax floated just beneath that surface—breathing through an Aether-bound veil woven from his own focus—he saw no stars above him. Only shadows. “You’re not supposed to be …