The rest of the day passed in silent drills.
Sera was taught controlled breathing.
Control heat.
Control thoughts.
And she failed most of them.
When Astrid finally dismissed her by evening, Sera's robe was damp with sweat, her arms were sore from balancing stones on her wrists, and her head throbbed from trying not to think of fire.
"You'll train here every day until further notice. And from tomorrow, you'll also begin attending regular classes with the other Houses."
"Really, won't that... cause problems?"
Astrid smirked. "Oh, absolutely. I'm sure of it."
She paused before vanishing down another hallway.
"Just a warning... Stay sharp, Sera. Duskmoor doesn't tolerate weakness. And it never forgets a mystery." Astrid's voice echoed in the training ground.
* * *
Back in her room that night, Sera curled under the stiff sheets, her body aching, mind still buzzing.
She hadn't seen any of the House students since her Trial, but their whispers haunted her.
[She is Unclaimed.]
[Unwanted.]
[Her magic is Unstable.]
[She is Dangerous.]
She turned onto her side, staring at the moonlit ceiling.
No House had claimed her during her evaluation trials.
But somehow, she felt something had claimed her.
A force old enough to fracture the ancient runes.
What was it?
She clutched the pendant around her neck. Her thoughts ran rampant in her head.
What if the others were right?
What if she was dangerous?
What if—
Her door creaked open.
She sat up sharply. Her eyes darted towards the entrance.
Astrid stepped in, eyes scanning the room with caution.
"What happened?" Sera asked with confusion. "Why are you here?"
"Sorry. I felt something spike. You okay?"
Something spike... like what?
She didn't feel anything.
"I... I think so."
Astrid stepped closer to her bed, her gaze narrowing. "Your pendant. It's glowing," she pointed.
Sera looked down in surprise, and she was right...
The carved eye pulsed faintly.
Not with light. But with breath.
Like it was alive.
Astrid placed two fingers against Sera's wrist. "You're flaring again."
her brows were furrowed and she was frowning...
"But, I'm not doing anything."
"I know, you don't have to." Astrid pursed her lips. "Things like this happen of their own accord. You can't control it. Yet."
Sera clenched her jaw. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
Astrid let out a long breath.
"Endure."
"Now rest up, Sera. Don't think too much." She turned to leave.
Then paused.
"Just try to survive. For now."
And the door clicked shut.
Sera lay back down.
She was empty, she didn't know what she was supposed to do...
That night...
She didn't cry.
She didn't sleep.
She only stared into the dark.
Waiting for something inside her to move again.
* * *
The next morning, Sera joined the other first-years in the Grand Lecture Hall.
It was the first time she'd been around the others since the Trials.
The hall, shaped like an inverted dome, seated students by their Houses—each section marked with its sigil:
A full moon with a claw for Werewolves, House Fenrir.
A fanged serpent coiled around a goblet for Vampires, House Nocturne.
A swirling vortex encasing a crystal eye for Mages, House Aetherion.
A leaf-shaped wing over a spiral knot for Fae, House Thistlewild.
A star within an eye encased in a crescent moon for Seers, House Oracle.
A dagger pierced through a veil for Shades (Phantom Kin), House Vesper.
An open eye surrounded by tentacles for Deepfolk (Eldritch/Underwater Kin), House Abyssus.
And finally, there was a seat directly in the center, however, it remained unmarked.
A cracked seal for Unknown (Placeholder/Unassigned), House Umbra. Which was yet to be carved on the seat.
That was where she was told to sit.
Alone.
She felt hundreds of eyes trailing her as she walked the long aisle past the other students.
Most whispered, and some didn't even bother to hide their stares.
A few even leaned closer to their friends to speak in hushed tones.
"Look, it's her—the Umbra girl."
"She is the one who cracked the Trial ring…"
"I heard she's not even marked."
Sera gritted her teeth and sat down. Her back straightened on instinct. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.
From the raised platform at the front of the hall, Headmaster Kael stood silently, his robes flowing like shadow itself. When the hall finally fell silent, he stepped forward.
"Welcome, initiates," he said, voice smooth but commanding. "You all now stand on the threshold of power, privilege, and peril. All three will tempt you. But I know for sure, not all of you will endure the temptation."
A murmur rippled through the students.
Kael's eyes swept across them. And then... he looked directly at Sera.
"Some of you have already disturbed the balance," he said, not looking away. "Some of you are the balance's reckoning."
Sera felt a cold flush creep up her spine.
Then Headmaster Kael turned, and the moment passed.
The rest of the orientation continued with lectures on school policies, magical conduct, the Houses' purpose, and the Council's role in supervising advanced rituals.
Each section was delivered by a different professor.
Sera tried to keep up, but most of it blurred together.
When the session ended, she was gathering her satchel when a voice called behind her.
"You forgot your dignity."
Sera turned.
It was the silver-haired vampire boy from the Trials—Eris of House Nocturne. Tall, sharp-featured, with a cruel mouth that looked like it enjoyed giving orders.
He leaned lazily against the rail.
Sera ignored him and kept walking.
But another voice stopped her—this one less mocking, more curious.
"She's not even wearing a sigil."
This time it was a werewolf girl from House Fenrir, her tawny braid swinging behind her like a banner. Her yellow eyes glinted with something like intrigue.
Eris's voice floated over. "Because no House wanted her. She's unclaimed."
"Or too dangerous to claim," the werewolf girl murmured, her gaze never leaving Sera. "Which is even more interesting."
Sera turned sharply, her expression calm.
"If I'm so unworthy, why are you both so obsessed?"
That caught them off guard.
Eris straightened. "We're not obsessed. We're cautious. There's a difference."
The werewolf girl chuckled. "Speak for yourself. I am interested."
She stuck out a hand. "Kaelen of House Fenrir."
Sera eyed her warily, but shook it.
"I'm Sera."
"I know." Kaelen winked. "The whole school knows."
Before Sera could respond, Professor Nia—one of the Arcane Instructors—called for students to proceed to their practical classrooms.
Their next class was Elemental Affinity and Control. Sera was placed in the Neutral section, surrounded by water, fire, and earth users from all Houses. The instructor was a fae woman with shifting, translucent wings and a voice that rang like bells.
"Today," she said, "we test your innate affinity. The element you connect with most will define how you cast, shape, and even think."
A series of crystal pedestals were wheeled into the training hall, each glowing faintly—blue for water, red for fire, green for earth, white for air, silver for light, and black for shadow.
"Approach," the instructor called. "One at a time."
The students went up, palms pressed flat to the crystals, and the results were straightforward.
Blue light surged for water users.
Green vines curled for the earth users.
Flames burst for fire.
When it was Sera's turn, the instructor gave her a long look.
"You may begin," she said.
Sera stepped forward.
Her hand hovered over the crystals, unsure which to touch.
Eventually, she chose the black one. Shadow. It felt like the closest thing to what lived inside her.
She pressed her palm to the stone.
Nothing happened.
No light. No sound. No reaction.
The instructor frowned. "Try again."
Sera did. Still nothing.
Then she touched the red crystal—fire.
Nothing.
Blue—water.
Nothing.
Each time, silence.
The room grew tense.
The other students whispered again.
"Doesn't even have an affinity?"
"Is she a Null?"
"No. Nulls don't break sigils. She's something else."
Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. She turned to leave, but the instructor suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
Sera froze.
The crystals were glowing.
All of them.
Every pedestal, every color—each stone trembled faintly, then brighter, brighter still, until the entire room was bathed in a rainbow of shifting magic.
Then snap—the light winked out.
The students stepped back.
The instructor stared at Sera with wide eyes.
"That's… impossible."
Sera looked down at her hands. They were warm. Her heart thundered like a drum.
"What does it mean?" she asked quietly.
The instructor swallowed. "It means you don't just connect to one element."
"You connect to all of them."
That night, back in her room, Sera couldn't stop shaking.
Her body buzzed with energy. With power.
Was this what Astrid meant? Was this the reason they feared her?
She opened her satchel to review her notes—and found something that hadn't been there before.
A scroll.
Unmarked.
She opened it.
The ink shifted on the page as she read:
"They will fear you. Because they cannot control you. But when the veil tears, they will beg for your protection."
—From the Book of Umbra, Fragment 2
Below it was another line, scrawled by hand:
You are not the first. But you may be the last.
Sera stared at the scroll long after the ink faded into nothingness.