The sun hadn’t yet risen when Kael slipped from the dormitory, careful to avoid the patrols of senior students. The academy grounds were quiet, cloaked in mist, and the faint scent of dew mixed with the distant smoke from the city beyond. His heart thudded, not from fear, but anticipation. Tonight, he would train alone—really train. The Shadowfire pulsed faintly around his palms, sensing his intent. Yes… we move together, now. Its whisper was softer than usual, almost coaxing. Kael inhaled deeply. “No distractions. No mistakes.” He moved to the secluded courtyard behind the eastern wing, where the old statues of the founders stood like silent guardians. Here, the teachers rarely came, and even Darius would not bother searching. It was perfect. Kael knelt, placing his hands on the ground, and let the Shadowfire hum beneath his skin. Every fiber of his being ached to release it—to feel its full strength—but he resisted. Control came first. Discipline. If I let it loose now, I could l

The courtyard was alive with noise. Students sparred in pairs, blades flashing, elements crackling through the air. Fire whips scorched the stone tiles, water surged into shields, wind gusts sent opponents stumbling.Kael stayed at the edge, hands tucked into his sleeves, watching quietly. He hated these sessions. Not because of the fighting — he wanted nothing more than to test himself — but because everyone knew he didn’t belong here.“Hey, failure.”The voice cut through the crowd. Kael stiffened before he even turned.Darius Veylan stood across the courtyard, arms folded, a smirk tugging at his lips. His crimson-embroidered uniform gleamed as though it had been stitched with fire itself.“You planning to just watch forever?” Darius said loudly, drawing the eyes of half the class. “Or are you going to embarrass yourself again?”Laughter rippled. Kael’s stomach tightened. He forced his voice to stay even.“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”“Oh, but you do.” Darius stepped clos

Morning came harsh and gray. The academy courtyard bustled with tension as dozens of students assembled in neat rows, uniforms crisp, eyes glittering with excitement or fear. Whispers ran through the crowd like sparks across dry grass—everyone knew this day had been coming.“The Trial of Embers”.Kael stood at the edge, his shoulders stiff, his bandaged arm aching faintly beneath his sleeve. He felt like a shadow pressed among flames. Around him, students laughed, compared weapons, or summoned their elemental sparks to show off. Every burst of fire, ripple of water, or crackle of lightning seemed designed to remind him of what he lacked.Lyra nudged him lightly with her elbow. “You look like you’re about to get executed, not tested.”Kael managed a hollow smirk. “Isn’t that the same thing?”She rolled her eyes but grinned. “Not if you plan on making it out alive.”Before he could answer, the instructor’s voice boomed across the courtyard. Master Arath, a stern man whose hair was more

The Hollow spat them back out in silence.One moment Kael was standing over the corpse of the beast, its body smoldering from the black fire he couldn’t hold back. The next, the realm twisted, folding in on itself, and they were standing once more in the courtyard of the Academy, the dusk sky above them bruised purple.The instructors rushed forward. Students who had been waiting gasped at the sight of the battered survivors.But all Kael could hear was the echo. The hiss of Shadowfire in his veins. The memory of its hunger clawing at his chest.Lyra gripped his arm, grounding him. She was pale, but her eyes searched his face with steady determination. “You’re alive. We made it.”Behind her, Darius was already speaking to an instructor, his voice sharp, arrogant as ever—yet edged with something else this time. Not mockery. Not even triumph. Suspicion.Kael looked away. He couldn’t face those eyes.“Dismissed,” the instructor barked. “Recover. Report back at dawn for debriefing.”The c

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the high windows of the Academy halls, but it felt dimmer somehow—thinner, weaker. Kael walked the corridors with his hood drawn low, the ache of last night’s training still etched into every muscle. His palms burned where the Shadowfire had lashed him, though he’d bound them tightly to hide the marks.He told himself no one could see.But the whispers said otherwise.“Did you hear?” A voice floated from behind a column. “The duel in the courtyard—he nearly burned Darius.”“No,” another hissed. “Not burned. Something darker. Something wrong.”Kael’s steps faltered. Students glanced his way, then quickly looked aside. Some eyes carried curiosity, others unease. But most carried fear.They can’t know, he thought, his chest tightening. They didn’t see enough. I crushed it down before… before it showed too much.But the whispers had already grown legs, running faster than truth ever could.Training that day felt heavier than usual. Every movemen