You ever get that feeling someone's watching you, but when you turn around it's just a teacup vibrating aggressively on its own?
Yeah. Tower life was getting weird.
It started small.
A pulse in the air. A twitch in the walls. My bookshelf rearranged itself alphabetically—in Elvish.I didn't ask it to. I barely read Elvish.
Then the mirror spoke.
Just once.
"You've been seen."
Which is… rude?
And absolutely not included in the enchantments.
So I did what any self-respecting, magically overpowered shut-in would do.
I ignored it.
I went about my day like normal:
Watered my enchanted cabbage
Refilled the cocoa charm
Rewatched my spirit-projected K-drama rerun about a duke who turns into a chicken (5 stars, by the way)
Everything was fine. Everything was perfect.
Until the mailbox exploded.
My tower has no doorbell.It has a magic warded perimeter and a spirit-locked gate that detects intruders, solicitors, and people who bring bad vibes.
So imagine my surprise when a scroll teleported directly into my living room.
Wrapped in blue silk. Sealed with gold wax. Glistening with an official magical crest.
I poked it with a spoon.
It hummed.
"Nope," I said. "This is how curses start."
I stepped back.
The scroll unrolled itself. Mid-air. Dramatically. With a flash of light and an unnecessary glitter effect.
TO: Lysara Aetheria, Age 10
You are hereby invited to attend the Royal Academy of Aetherion for the Gifted and Magical.
Semester begins in one month. Attendance is strongly encouraged.
Housing, uniform, and scroll materials will be provided.
Do not reply. The invitation is magically binding.
Regards,Headmistress Marigold of the Silver Crown
I stared at the scroll for a full sixty seconds.
"Excuse me??"
I didn't apply. I didn't exist in public record anymore.This school should not even know I'm alive.
Which meant…
"Someone outed me."
My magic flared—just slightly. The lights flickered.
I clutched the spoon harder.
This wasn't part of the plan.
I stormed to the top floor observatory, my feet making dramatic stomps against the enchanted staircase. (It groaned dramatically in response. We were all being dramatic.)
"Spirits!" I called to the wind. "Which one of you snitched?!"
No reply. Just leaves rustling outside, the scent of lemon thyme floating through the air, and the distant screech of a probably-magical hawk.
The letter lay open on my bed now, shimmering quietly.
Not a threat. Not a curse. But definitely a summons.
I hadn't left this tower in over a year. I had food, magic, peace.I even made indoor rain once because I missed gloomy weather.
But this?
This was fate. Creeping back in.
And yet... I was curious.
The name "Aetherion" tugged at something in my memory.A location. A plotline. A place that definitely existed in The Lightkeeper's Heir.
I needed to be careful.
If I went, I had to be invisible. Unremarkable. A side character to my own story.
"No drama," I whispered to myself. "No prophecy. Just vibes and mild education."
I grabbed a scroll and scribbled a reply to Theo.
"Did. Not. Sign. Up.Who snitched?Also: Do they have noodles at this school?
Love,Your retired younger sister."
I attached it to my enchanted raven (his name is Biscuit) and sent it flying into the dusk.
Then, with great resignation...
I began packing.
Not books. Not clothes.
Spells.Ward runes.And my anti-social charm bracelet. (Repels conversation by 20%. Still testing.)
The academy was calling.
And if the story insisted on dragging me in...
I'd go.On my terms.
In disguise.
In silence.
And definitely not in a school uniform if I could help it.
[End of Chapter 5]