The gates of Serevain Academy were wrought iron and cruel, twisted into ornamental patterns that looked too much like bones. Selene stepped through them with no fanfare just another shadow slipping into a world that mistook bloodlines for power.
Her boots were scuffed, her uniform too plain to be remembered. Good. She didn't want to be remembered. Not yet.
The academy grounds were beautiful too beautiful. Manicured hedges. Floating crystal lanterns. Marble staircases that gleamed in the moonlight. But beauty was always a lie. She'd learned that young.
She didn't walk like a student. She walked like someone scouting an enemy camp.
Students clustered in groups, laughing, posturing. Nobles dripping wealth. Commoners faking confidence. Selene's gaze flicked over each face, every movement, storing information like a blade sharpening in silence. That girl in House Virellia robes eyes always scanning, never laughing. Doesn't trust anyone. Might be useful.
Boy with lightning crest loud, charming, covers fear with jokes. Weak spot: pride.
The redhead who moves like she's been trained. Quiet. Keeps to herself. Watch her.
She didn't smile. Didn't speak.
Her room was on the third floor of Dorm Wing B. She opened the door to find a girl already unpacking short, messy curls, a pair of cracked glasses perched on her nose. She looked up."You must be my roommate," the girl said. "Name's Averine."
Selene gave a nod. "Selene."
The girl studied her with open curiosity. "You're not from any house, are you?"
"No."
"Me neither," Averine smiled faintly, like it was a joke she'd told herself too many times.
Selene didn't unpack. She placed her bag on the bed and scanned the room two beds, two desks, one window, one mirror. A single candle on the desk, half-burned.
She'd slept in worse.
"You always this quiet?" Averine asked.
Selene shrugged. "Do you always ask questions?"
Averine blinked, then grinned. "Touché. Alright. I'll leave you to your brooding. But if you ever wanna know which nobles bite and which ones just bark, I've got notes."
Selene said nothing. But when Averine wasn't looking, she tucked that name away.
Useful.
****
The academy was a machine. Classes. Schedules. Formations. Power hierarchies that were barely concealed under the banners of noble houses.
She watched everything.
Instructor Lirien: Too disciplined. Watches everyone. Unnatural stillness.
House Aurelius students: All flash, no control. Their leader stares too long at his own reflection.
Celeste Nairoveth: Arrogant. Obsessed with appearances. But her magic is sharper than her voice.
Selene blended in like a stain in silk. She didn't raise her hand. Didn't speak unless called on. But she was always listening.
***
She trained before dawn. Not to be better. To be ready.
Shadow responded to stillness. She moved through drills like rituals, her body coiling and striking in silence. Shadows curled around her ankles, soft as breath, sharp as blades.
She felt eyes on her sometimes—mostly students whispering about the girl with no crest. But once, she turned sharply and no one was there.
She didn't trust it.
Her system remained quiet, only a faint flicker when she pushed her magic past its limit. She didn't need its guidance. She'd trained herself to survive a world that chewed people like her into dust.
****
In the dining hall, she ate quickly and alone. Her eyes didn't leave her plate, but her mind marked exits, movements, tensions.
Elian Rhys Caelus. The golden boy. Everyone gravitated to him like he was gravity itself.
She studied him from afar. That smile too easy. That laugh too perfect. But sometimes, when no one was looking, his expression slipped.
Hollow. Haunted.
He was hiding something. Something big.
And something inside her buried deep tightened.
She hated that.
By the week's end, she had a list in her journal:
Target: Elian
Weak links: Multiple.
Threats: Elian. Possibly Lirien. Watch Averine.
Objective: Infiltrate. Understand. Eliminate. Survive.
She didn't care about being liked. She didn't care about belonging. She was here to finish what she was chosen for. Whatever that meant.
That night, as she sat by the window, candle flickering low, the air shifted.
Somewhere beyond the academy walls, a system woke up.
[System Alert: Ominious presence detected: Selene Virline]