Mara took Kael’s application before Gavin could reach for it.“An independent examiner will conduct the test,” she told Gavin. “You may ask to observe. You won’t choose the task or decide whether he passes.”Gavin lowered his hand. “I only offered to help.”Mara placed the application in a folder. “Then let him be assessed fairly.”Kael gave her the remaining information she needed. His lack of recognized magical training took longer to explain than his name and age. He could offer no certificate that belonged to Ethan Cole, and inventing one would only create another problem.Mara left that section marked for review. Before he and Maya departed, she arranged an appointment for the following afternoon.The next day, Kael arrived with his application papers and the thin booklet Mara had given him. He had read it that morning. It explained the course, but not every rule he would be expected to learn.Maya came with him after her regular classes. At the door of the testing room, she paus

At the next shared practical class, Maya went straight to the equipment table with Nina beside her. Kael joined the adult students behind the yellow floor line. He kept his books under his good arm and left Maya to begin the inspection herself.The training focus stood on a waist-high metal stand. It was a thick glass cylinder held between two metal plates, with a hand-sized control pad at the front. Students put magic into the pad, and the device shaped it into a short push against a weighted target.A stone-lined tray sat beneath the stand. A narrow opening connected the glass cylinder to the tray, allowing unwanted power to escape downward instead of striking the people around it.The examiner who had tested Kael stood beside the controls. Mara worked at the next table, checking the inspection students’ assignments.“No one stands between the focus and the target,” the examiner told the class. “If I call a stop, take your hand off the pad. If the device fails to empty, this catch o

Mara took the sign-up sheet down before Gavin could add anything beside Kael’s name.“The instructors will assign the tasks,” she told him. “You’ll receive the same rules as everyone else.”Kael left with Maya a few minutes later. He had a class in the morning and a page of questions to finish before then. Gavin’s choice of opponent would not help him answer any of them.At the Cole repair shop that evening, Thomas cleared a place for Kael’s books beside the counter. They were there for a short visit to sort ordinary repair work. An officer waited outside while Elena checked the supplies in the back room.Thomas lowered himself onto his stool, setting his cane within reach. “How much of this do you already know?”Kael opened the booklet to a sample repair form. “I know how to fix more things than I’m allowed to sign for.”Thomas read the two approval boxes beneath the form. “Then learn who signs. A customer won’t care how clever the repair was if someone takes it away again.”Kael smi

Kael waited until Maya came to the bench before reaching for his bag. Nina had gone to collect her notebook from the spectators’ seats, leaving them a little space in the busy hall.Maya looked at the cup beside him. “Do you need more water?”“No, thank you.” Kael set the empty cup on the tray. “I’m ready when you are.”She did not turn toward the door. Instead, she sat beside him, keeping her bag on her knees.“I want to do the next exercise without being on your team,” Maya told him.Kael rested his good hand on his own bag. “All right.”Maya studied his face. “I’m not saying I don’t want your help.”“You can ask me questions while you prepare,” he answered. “When the exercise starts, you make your decisions with your team. I won’t send you answers from the side.”She loosened her hold on the bag. “I want to finish something and know which part I did. Even if I don’t get the highest score.”Kael nodded. “Then we’ll prepare for that.”Nina returned with her notebook tucked beneath he

The supervisor answered Maya’s warning at once.“Leave the east door closed,” he told her over the radio. “Move back toward the middle of the room. We’re checking the equipment beyond it.”Julian took his hand away from the exit door without touching the handle. Nina moved beside him, keeping the three of them together while Maya stepped away from the wall.At the opposite doorway, their teacher remained visible through the pale barrier. He had cleared the corridor behind him, but each time he approached the opening, the light thickened across it.“I can’t bring you through yet,” he called. “Stay clear while I check the edge.”He held a detector near the doorframe, then withdrew it as the light brightened. Maya watched him wait for the next change. Behind her, the closed east door gave a low, steady hum.Nina set the clipboard on a shelf. “Which side are we watching?”Maya looked from the east door to the wall beside the shelves, then toward their teacher. “I need to compare them. Giv