Aeris came to just before dawn, his sister’s fingers still laced through his, and for a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to let go. Three heartbeats passed, his mind circling that simple touch. It was easier, somehow, to hang on to her hand than face what waited.They’d stopped in a dry gully, two rough days since they slipped from Ossin’s fortress. Far enough that Rhea had allowed real flames, some actual warmth for the first time in ages. The others were already awake, Rask rummaged through the dwindling stockpile, Renner squinted over another torn strap, his stitches so tidy you’d think he was half his age. Rhea stood above, posted at the rim, her bow hanging ready on one shoulder. Smoke drifted from their fire, thin and stubborn, curling up toward a sky that still wore the last lonely stars.Alba blinked up at him, her voice still scratchy from sleep. “You slept,” she said. “Actual sleep. I checked. Twice.”Aeris managed a smile. “Yeah, I noticed,” he replied, and that old, dog-e

“Corin and Wren Dunmoor,” the woman said, barely looking up from her papers, her voice flat, like she’d already decided none of this mattered. “Sponsored by Lady Essa Dunmoor. Late admission, special dispensation requested…,” she stopped to squint at the page, “delayed travel due to road conditions in the eastern provinces.”“Yes, ma’am,” Aeris replied, careful, steady, not rushing his words. That voice had taken nine days to practice. He offered the apology she’d expect, but he knew she wouldn’t care.Everyone apologized. That’s just how these things went. The officer cut through his words without blinking. “Everyone expects an exception,” she said, flipping the page, and Aeris felt his heart rate pick up, despite his best efforts, his face stayed still. He could almost hear his pulse booming in his ears, and honestly, if the demon’s heartbeat was syncing with his nerves, he wouldn’t be surprised.She tapped at the record. “Your aunt’s letter says your parents died from fever, twelve

By the time the third bell chimed, the lower hall looked nothing like it had that morning. The desks were gone, replaced by a single raised dais in the center, its surface encircled by runes that gave off a pale, unsteady glow. The faint humming seemed to seep straight into Aeris’s bones, the same runic script, he realized with a prickle of dread, that he’d seen in Ossin’s fortress. Chairs lined the walls now, with students nervously waiting their turn, the whole room crackling with an invisible energy that caught at Aeris’s skin every time he moved.“Controlled resonance field,” Rask had said, back at the inn. Aeris had cornered her, almost desperate to know what to expect after seeing the notice. “Big academies use smaller versions to measure aptitude, safely. It draws out whatever magic a student can produce, only for a moment, just strong enough for a teacher to see what’s what. It won’t do anything to suppression ink the way daily life hasn’t already.”That “won’t” barely passed

At dawn, two attendants carried Alba’s trunk across the courtyard without a word between them.Aeris watched from his window. He hadn’t slept. Sometime before the bell, the rain had stopped, and now the cobblestones glistened like wet slate. The attendants wore plain gray uniforms, faces smooth and unreadable, their steps perfectly in sync. Alba walked between them, swallowed up in Wren’s gray robe. Her shoulders stayed squared in that brave way she had when she was scared but refused to show it.Right at the edge of the courtyard, she paused and turned her head. There was no way she could see him through the glass at that distance, but she pressed two fingers to her chest and held them there for three long counts. I’m here. It was the sign she used during the worst fevers, when she could barely whisper and he’d sit with her through the night.He pressed his fingers to the cold glass. She turned away, slipped under an arch in the north wall, and disappeared.His new roommate arrived w