Thalen didn't stop moving until he reached the East Wing dorms. He slammed the door to his room and leaned against it, chest heaving.
Finn looked up from his desk, one eyebrow raised. "You look like you just outran a dragon. Or kissed one and regretted it."
Thalen didn't laugh. He slid to the floor, head in his hands.
Finn's smirk faded. "Alright, storm boy. Spill."
It all came out in a rush — the headmaster's warning, the book, the word Firstborn, the test with Kael, and the way the runes had shattered. He didn't mention the voice in his head, not yet.
When he was finished, Finn leaned back in his chair, hands folded behind his head. "Well… that's horrifying. Also explains why Cade keeps acting like you kicked his grandmother."
Thalen groaned. "I don't want this. I just wanted to get through a year without—"
The door creaked. Serenya slipped in without knocking, her silver eyes scanning the room before landing on Thalen.
"You're lucky I found you," she said. "Cade's telling everyone you nearly killed him in class. You need to keep a lower profile."
Thalen almost laughed. "Kind of hard when my magic tries to blow up the floor."
Serenya closed the door. "This isn't a joke, Aric. There are people here who would use you. Kael is one of them."
Thalen sat up straighter. "You know about him?"
"Everyone knows about him," Serenya said, her voice low. "Officially he's the head of the Rune Studies department. Unofficially… he's been looking for something. Or someone. For years."
Finn raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess — starts with 'First' and ends with 'born'?"
Serenya didn't answer, but the look in her eyes was enough.
Before Thalen could ask more, a deep horn blast shook the walls.
The three of them froze.
"That's not the class bell," Finn said.
Another blast, lower this time, reverberated through the stone. Outside, the sound of shouting rose, boots pounding in the corridors.
Serenya was already at the window. "Oh no…"
Thalen joined her — and his stomach dropped.
Below, in the courtyard, dark shapes were pouring through a tear in the air itself — creatures that moved like smoke, their bodies shifting between forms, eyes glowing an unnatural green. Where they touched stone, frost spread.
"Infiltrators," Serenya said grimly. "Shadowkin."
Finn swore under his breath. "How did they breach the wards?"
"I don't know," Serenya said. "But if they reach the East Wing—"
She didn't finish. The horn blared again, and students in half-fastened armor raced past their door, weapons in hand.
Thalen's pulse hammered. "What do we do?"
Serenya's eyes met his. "We fight."
She was already moving, strapping a short sword to her belt. Finn grabbed a pair of throwing daggers from under his bed.
"I don't even have a weapon," Thalen said.
Finn tossed him a spear — training-grade, but solid. "Try not to blow up the floor again."
They ran.
The East Wing's main hall was chaos. Students and instructors clashed with the Shadowkin, spells lighting the air in bursts of fire and lightning. But the creatures didn't fight like soldiers — they slipped between attacks, their forms twisting, striking from impossible angles.
One lunged at Thalen. Instinct took over — he planted the spear and let the creature's momentum carry it onto the point. For a second, its body solidified, and the spearhead bit deep. Then it dissolved into black mist, vanishing.
"Don't let them touch you!" Serenya shouted over the din. "They drain mana — and life."
They pushed forward, holding the line with a knot of other students. Finn's daggers flashed, dropping two more of the things, while Serenya's blade carved arcs of silver light through the shadows.
Thalen tried to focus, but every time a Shadowkin came close, the voice surged again.Call me. Let me fight.
He gritted his teeth. No. Not here.
A Shadowkin broke through the line ahead, heading straight for a pair of younger students who'd fallen back in fear. Without thinking, Thalen sprinted. The spear left his hands, whistling through the air — and just before it struck, a crack of lightning ripped from the tip, blasting the creature into a spray of mist.
The courtyard went silent for half a heartbeat. Then the fighting surged again, fiercer than before.
At the far end of the yard, more Shadowkin were pouring through the tear — and standing in the center of it, cloaked in darkness, was a tall figure with green-glowing eyes. Even at this distance, Thalen could feel its gaze lock on him.
It lifted a clawed hand and pointed straight at him.
Serenya saw it too. "Whoever that is," she said, "they're here for you."