The double doors creaked as Seravyn slipped inside. A hundred heads turned to watch her.
Professor Calivar, tall and unsmiling at the front, stopped mid-sentence. His pale gaze tracked her,
"You, name."
Her throat worked. "Seravyn Vale."
"Next time Vale, you will not enter my class late. And you will not enter without the uniform, are we clear?"
She deadpanned "Crystal," before trudging to the back.
A chair scraped quietly. A boy in midnight blue shifted his bag aside, offering the seat next to him.
Golden hair caught the sunlight, his face so cleanly cut it was almost distracting.
When she sat, he leaned just slightly,
"I saw you earlier at the dorms. I'm Rynn."
"Seravyn," she whispered back.
"Nice to meet you." He gave her a small smile before turning forward.
At the front, Calivar continued,
"The sternum," he said, "is more than bone. For bonded beasts, it is the anchor point of aether flow. Damage it, and you disrupt the bond. Disrupt the bond…" His gaze swept the rows. "And you risk the death of both beast and master."
Pens scratched furiously. Seravyn slid out a notepad and began to write.
"Crimson Path," Calivar continued, "most often bind to bloodhounds, dire wolves, carrion birds, predators of scent and hunger.
Ashen Path, moon-stags, mirrored cats, oath-foxes. Obsidian Path, corrupted serpents, venom-borne creatures that thrive in shadow.
Argent Path, to felines, silver lions, dusk-panthers, beasts of speed"
"Bet the Crimson kids smell like wet dog half the time," Rynn murmured.
The laugh broke out of her before she could stop it.
Every head turned.
Professor Calivar stilled. Slowly, his gaze locked on her. "Miss Vale."
Her stomach dropped.
"Stand," he ordered.
The chair screeched as she rose.
"If you find the lesson amusing, perhaps you'd care to demonstrate. Summon your beast."
The words landed like stone in her chest. Her pulse spiked.
"I—" She swallowed. "I don't have one."
A murmur rippled through the class.
Calivar's brows lifted, unimpressed. "No beastmark?"
Her throat felt raw. "…No, professor."
Calivar's eyes sharpened."Then why," he said, each word a drop of poison, "are you in my class?"
"You are lying," Calivar went on, "Or you have been chosen but not claimed."
A low ripple cut across the room. Someone muttered, "Impossible."
Calivar's gaze swung like a guillotine. "Beasts do not hesitate. If yours has not appeared, then it does not deem you worthy."
The words landed heavier than they should have, pressing against Seravyn's ribs until she couldn't draw a full breath.
Beside her, Rynn shifted.
Calivar's attention speared forward. "Rynn, perhaps you'll demonstrate instead."
Rynn's lips parted in a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Gladly, Professor."
The floor darkened. A ripple spread through the ground like ink and then claws scraped stone. A massive clouded leopard hauled itself into the light. Its shoulders rolled, muscles shifting under its dappled coat,
The snarl it gave was deep enough to rattle the benches. Students flinched, some scrambling back.
The leopard prowled a slow circle around the classroom tail lashing, golden eyes gleaming with amusement before it finally stalked to his Rynn's side and folded down with effortless arrogance.
Seravyn couldn't look away. Her pulse thudded in her ears.
Calivar's voice cut through her awe.
"Enough," he said sharply. "Do not parade it like a trick, boy."
The leopard's ears flicked but it did not move. Rynn only grinned wider, one hand resting between its shoulders as he returned to his seat.
Calivar's pale eyes pinned her again.
"Observe Vale, that is how a bond manifests. Without hesitation. Without delay."
"If yours has not appeared, it is not sleeping. It is not waiting. It is rejecting you."
She met his eyes, "That means nothing."
A ripple ran through the classroom. Whispers, stifled gasps.
Calivar's lips thinned."Nothing? You dare tell me that everything I've taught means nothing?"
"I've survived worse than your lessons," she said evenly, "If a beast refuses me, it doesn't define me."
For a heartbeat, the room froze. Calivar's pale hand clenched at his side. "Do you understand what you are saying? That defiance will cost you everything. It will break you."
"I will not break," she shot back.
Rynn leaned slightly toward Seravyn, "You're not the only one without a bond. Cut her some slack, Professor."
Calivar's eyes snapped to him, "And who gave you permission to speak, Rynn? Do you dare lecture me on discipline?"
Rynn's jaw tightened, but his gaze didn't waver. "I'm not lecturing. Just stating a fact. She's not alone."
"Enough. Both of you, silence.Defiance is noted, Vale. But it will not distract me from my lesson."
With that, he moved to the next demonstration, "The bond is absolute. The death of your beast is the death of the bonded."
The bell rang, and students scrambled to gather their things. Seravyn tucked her notepad under her bag, Rynn falling into step beside her.
"Not many would have done what you just did," he murmured.
"I wasn't exactly trying to impress him," she shot back.
They reached the doors when a sharp voice called out.
"Vale."
Seravyn froze. Rynn stopped too, as he turned to glare at Calivar.
"You," Calivar said, "stay."
Rynn's gaze lingered on the professor, daring him to say more.
Calivar's pale eyes followed Seravyn to his desk. "You're lucky," he said, a faint smile touching his lips as he glanced at Rynn. "He's the brightest of his age."
Seravyn blinked, unsure how to respond.
From a stack on the desk, Calivar picked a small book and slid it toward her. "This will help you understand the nature of beast bonds," he said. "And perhaps, how to summon your own."
She picked it up carefully, "Thank you, Professor."
"Use it wisely," he said, returning his gaze to the papers before him.
Seravyn nodded once and left the classroom.
She fell into step beside Rynn as they walked down the corridor. She kept glancing at the clouded leopard that had silently slinked beside him.
"Your… beast," she said finally,"it's beautiful."
Rynn let out a low chuckle, shoulders relaxing. "Mazakin wouldn't appreciate you calling him beautiful."
Seravyn laughed, the sound lighter than she expected. "Noted. I'll keep it to myself."
"So… what's next? Which class are we headed to?"
Rynn's lips twitched in a grin. "Elemental Arts. That's our next stop."
Seravyn raised an eyebrow. "Sounds… fun."
He nudged her gently as they walked. "It's interesting. And I have some friends that'll love to meet you."
As they approached the classroom, a cluster of students looked up and waved.
A tall figure with striking red eyes and dark hair leaned forward with a smirk.His gaze lingered on Rynn just a heartbeat too long before flicking to Seravyn.
"Rynn" Ryver called,"You've been slacking if this is the new recruit."
Rynn's grin widened, and his hand brushed Ryver's lightly as they approached the desks.
Fey, delicate and radiant with yellow eyes, gave Seravyn a soft smile. "Welcome."
Neil, another Obsidian Path student, nodded with a tilt of his head.
Citrine, also from Ashen Path, laughed softly. "You'll like it here. We don't bite… much."
Rynn gestured toward an empty cluster of desks. "Sit with us. Ryver, Fey, Neil, Citrine, everyone meet Seravyn. She's new."
Seravyn slid into the seat between Rynn and Ryver.
"You'll fit right in," Ryver murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.
Seravyn smiled softly. "Thanks."
Professor Mealis entered, her presence commanding and graceful. All chatter ceased instantly.
"Good day students. Today, we study Hemara," she announced,"The ancient flow that binds life to its vessel. Through Hemara, you can manipulate movement, shield your own currents from intrusion, and if mastered control the living itself."
Ryver leaned just slightly whispering "Hemara's just fancy for blood."
Seravyn focused on the desk before her, noting the cages lined up with small, restless rats.
"Theory without application is a dull blade," she said, gaze sweeping the class. "Now, we move to practice."
Professor Mealis raised one slender hand, and the cages on each desk rattled once, then swung open in unison.
Dozens of small gray bodies poured out, the room erupted into shrieks, desks scraping as students yelped and tried to lift their feet.
Seravyn flinched as one streaked past her boot. Another darted beneath Ryver's chair.
Mealis flicked her wrist, and a rat froze mid-sprint.
"Observe," she said
The rat twitched helplessly in the air, Mealis's other hand closed slowly, and its body bent, twisting like a puppet.
"Hemara is the current within blood. Control the current…" she tilted her wrist, and the rat floated gently back to the desk, "and you control the vessel."
With a snap of her fingers, the creature shook itself, squeaked, and scuttled off unharmed.
"Your turn," Mealis said, her yellow gaze sweeping the students. "Catch one. Any one. Bind its flow, and still its body. Do not kill it."
Rynn leaned back with a wolfish grin, "This'll be entertaining."
Seravyn stared down at the blur of gray fur "You've got to be kidding me. We're seriously supposed to catch rats?"
"Not just catch," Citrine corrected brightly, "Bind."
"Big difference," Neil said flatly, "Rats weren't in the brochure."
Fey let out a quiet laugh,"They're not so bad."
"Speak for yourself," Neil shot back, shifting further up onto his desk.
By the time the shrieking and scrambling had died down, every student had a rat in hand or pinned under a cage lid.
Professor Mealis's voice carried across the room,
"Still them. Hemara is not about brute force, it is rhythm. Align your pulse with theirs, then take the current in your grip.
Citrine was the first to manage it. Her rat froze mid-scrabble, limbs stiffening before settling limply against the desk. She beamed, glancing toward Seravyn like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Fey's followed soon after clean, precise, her rat folding into perfect stillness.
Across the table, Ryver smirked, lifted his hand, and with casual ease had his rat pinned in an invisible vice.
Neil muttered something under his breath as his rat wriggled furiously, but after a tense moment it, fell silent.
All eyes turned eventually to Seravyn.
Her rat sat caged between her hands, whiskers twitching. She stared at it, feeling every gaze on her back.
"Just… focus," Citrine whispered from beside her, "See the blood moving. Like threads. Catch one, and pull gently. Don't think too hard. Just… feel it."
Seravyn set the rat on the desk. She tried to breathe, tried to feel what Citrine described.
Nothing. Just her own heartbeat pounding too loud in her ears.
Her hand trembled as she pressed harder, reaching , willing something to happen. For a second, she thought she had it. The rat jerked, stiffened. Hope flared.
Then it burst.
The crack was wet and violent. Blood sprayed across the desk, flecking her hand and face.
A wave of shrieks rolled through the room as students lurched back from their own cages. Someone gagged.
Seravyn froze, staring at the ruin in front of her.
Citrine's hand flew to her mouth, Fey had gone pale.
Seravyn couldn't move. Her hands trembled inches from the ruined body.
Ryver had flicked the mangled head off the desk with one finger,"Well," he drawled, "that was… unexpected."
Professor Mealis did not laugh.
Her golden eyes narrowed as they locked on Seravyn. She stepped forward slowly, heels clicking on the stone.
"Interesting," she murmured.
"Most novices struggle to stir the flow at all. Yet you gripped it so hard you shattered it."
Seravyn swallowed, throat dry as ash. She wanted to speak, to deny it, to say it was an accident but no words came.
Mealis lifted a hand and the bloody ruin vanished in a blink.
Her gaze lingered on Seravyn. "Control without restraint is as dangerous as no control at all."
Then she turned back to the class and launched into the next point of theory.
Neil cleared his throat awkwardly and shoved a crumpled cloth across the desk. "Uh… here."
Before she could take it, Rynn caught the wipe.
He turned toward her, he brushed the blood from her fingers, then from her cheek.
"Don't look at them," he murmured, "Look at me."
Maelis's gaze returned to Seravyn. "Your name, girl. And your Path."
"Seravyn Vale," she managed. "Of Argent."
"Strange, only Crimson adepts tend to wield Hemara with such instinct."
The bell tolled and the class dissolved.
Ryver slung Rynn's bag over his shoulder without asking, steering him toward the doors.
Seravyn followed close, still numb. Neil stayed at her side.
The corridor opened toward the wide stair that led down to the dining hall.
Ryver hooked his arm through Rynn's hauling him along. "Food before your beast eats someone, yeah?"
Orion Athlar stood at the foot of the stairs.
Ryver's grip on Rynn's arm stilled.
His gaze found Seravyn instantly,
"A word, Miss Vale,"