The floor of the sparring hall still held the night’s cold. Not enough to be dangerous. Enough to matter. Condensation clung faintly to the stone near the outer walls, a thin sheen that dulled the overhead light and softened reflections where boots had already scuffed paths across the surface. Breath fogged on exhale. Quick, pale blooms that vanished almost as soon as they appeared. The hall was awake. Not loud. Not rushed. Alive in the restrained, deliberate way only disciplined spaces ever were. Pairs were already forming. Controlled. Ordered. Expected. Students moved into position with the quiet familiarity of repetition. Shields were raised and settled. Casting objects were checked, grips adjusted, weight redistributed across stances honed through months of correction. Instructors moved along the periphery, eyes sharp, hands folded behind their backs, attention drifting without seeming to land until it did. Cael stood opposite his assigned partner and w

Hexis woke before the bell.Not abruptly. Not startled.Her eyes opened the way they always did, already focused, already counting. Two sets of footsteps in the corridor beyond the stone wall. Uneven pace. One dragging slightly. Someone late. Someone irritated about it.She exhaled once and sat up.The room was dim. Pre-dawn light pressed thin against the narrow window, frost clinging to the edges of the glass like breath that had tried and failed to escape. Her own breath fogged briefly in the cold air.Cold never bothered her.It informed.She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Bare feet met stone without hesitation. The floor held the night tightly in this wing. Older construction. Less accommodation. The academy improved comfort where it believed comfort produced better results.Not here.She preferred it that way.Hexis dressed without looking at the wardrobe slate. Undershirt. Wraps. Outer layer. Each movement clean and economical. Her hands finished one task whi

The Winter Ceremony was never announced.It did not need to be.The academy simply prepared.Doors that were usually open closed earlier than expected. Corridors rerouted foot traffic into broader paths. Lanterns were cleaned and relit with steadier flame. Temperature wards along the outer halls adjusted by a margin so slight most students would not consciously notice. Only that their breath lingered longer in the air than it had the day before.The stone remembered winter.The academy always let it.By the time the bells rang, no one was surprised.They came anyway.Students filtered toward the Assembly Hall in layered waves. Instructors walked among them without instruction and without urgency. No one hurried. No one lingered. The flow was smooth in the way systems became smooth only when they had done something many times before.The hall itself was broad and undecorated.No banners.No temporary sigils.Only the academy seal etched permanently into the far wall above the dais.Ben

Chapter 28Between StepsCael had not planned to walk with her.It happened the way most things between them did.Without announcement.Without intent.Without either of them stopping it.They left the lecture hall minutes apart. He finished packing his slate and looked up to find the room already thinning, voices fading down adjoining corridors. By the time he stepped outside, the lamps were lit and dusk pressed blue against the academy stone.Ilyra stood near the balustrade, something faintly projected above her wrist.She looked up.Oh, she said, genuine surprise in her voice. You are still here.You too.They stood there a moment longer than necessary.Neither moved.Then she gestured toward the outer walkways. I was heading toward the west wing. There is something I wanted to check.He did not ask what.I can walk with you.Her smile was small. Careful. Enough.They fell into step.The west wing paths were quieter this late. Students still passed, but less frequently. Conversatio

The bell rang once.Not the sharp call used between classes.Not the measured tone that marked curfew.This bell was older.Deeper.It moved through stone and bone alike, rolling outward from the central hall and settling into every corridor, every stairwell, every enclosed space where the academy breathed.Conversation died in layers.Laughter thinned.Footsteps slowed.The hum of celebration drew inward, as if the building had taken a breath and refused to release it.Cael felt it before he fully processed the sound.A subtle pressure at the base of his chest. Heat gathered instinctively, then stilled. Something inside him understood this moment required restraint.Around him, students turned.Not toward the dais yet.Toward one another.Checking. Measuring. Recognizing the sound for what it meant.End of term.No more pretending the night was only celebration.Lantern light continued to glow warm along the vaulted ceiling, but it felt altered now. Less decorative. More deliberate.