Lyra's POV
The crystal platform beneath my feet is cold, even through my worn boots. I can feel hundreds of eyes on me—students, teachers, nobles from across the sector—all waiting to see my magical rank displayed for everyone to judge.
My hands won't stop shaking.
"Next student: Lyra Ashford!" the announcer's voice booms across the Grand Hall.
I step forward, trying to ignore the whispers that follow me like shadows. The ranking crystal hums to life, scanning my magical energy. Above my head, a hologram flickers into existence.
F-Rank. Resonance Level: 0.3
Laughter explodes through the crowd. Not quiet snickers—loud, cruel laughter that echoes off the vaulted ceiling. My face burns hotter than any fire spell I've ever tried to cast.
"She can barely light a candle!" someone shouts.
"Why is she even here?" another voice adds.
I've heard it all before. Three years of this. Three years of being the academy's biggest joke. But it still feels like knives cutting into my chest every single time.
I force myself to stand tall. Back straight. Chin up. Don't let them see you break. I learned that lesson the hard way during my first year.
Then Headmaster Vorn Ashford—my adoptive father—steps onto the stage beside me. His silver robes shimmer with expensive enchantments. Everything about him screams power and perfection. Everything I'm not.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he says, his voice smooth and commanding. "I have an announcement regarding Miss Ashford."
My stomach drops. What is he doing?
"Three years ago, my family made a charitable decision." His smile doesn't reach his cold eyes. "We sponsored Lyra's admission to give an underprivileged child from the outer colonies an opportunity she would never have received on her own merit."
The hall goes silent. Then the whispers start—sharper, meaner than before.
"Charity case?"
"She didn't even earn her spot?"
"No wonder she's so useless."
My vision blurs. He's doing this on purpose. In front of everyone. Broadcasting it across the entire sector. Destroying whatever tiny shred of dignity I had left.
But why? Why now?
Before I can process what's happening, movement catches my eye. Kael Vantris—my childhood best friend, the boy I've known since we were seven years old—walks onto the stage. His hand is wrapped around my stepsister Celeste's perfect, manicured fingers.
My heart stops.
Kael and I grew up together in the outer colonies. We promised we'd both make it to Celestian Academy. He got in first, told me to follow him, swore he'd help me survive here. For three years, I held onto that promise even as he grew distant. Even as I watched him get closer to Celeste.
But this—seeing them together like this—this is different.
"Headmaster," Kael says, his voice carrying across the silent hall. "I have evidence that Lyra Ashford stole Professor Chen's research on portal mechanics."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"What? No! I never—"
"I found the files on her personal device this morning," Kael continues, not even looking at me. Like I'm not standing right here. Like we weren't best friends for eleven years. "I wanted to give her a chance to confess privately, but she refused."
Celeste steps forward, tears already streaming down her beautiful face. Of course she's crying. She's always been perfect at playing the victim.
"I tried to help her," Celeste sobs. "I really did. But she's been so jealous of Kael and me. She couldn't stand that we were happy together."
The crowd's sympathy shifts instantly to her. I can feel it happening—the way everyone's looking at me now. Not with pity anymore. With disgust.
"Check her device," Kael demands.
Two security guards appear on either side of me. One yanks my communication device from my pocket. The other restrains my arms when I try to grab it back.
The lead guard's face goes grim as he scrolls through my files. "The stolen research is here, Headmaster. Transferred three days ago."
"I didn't put that there!" My voice cracks. "Someone planted it! I've never even seen Professor Chen's research!"
But no one's listening. The crowd is already turning against me, their voices rising in anger.
"Thief!"
"She should be expelled!"
"Arrest her!"
The guards' grip tightens on my arms. I'm being dragged off the platform, my boots scraping against crystal. Through the chaos, I see Kael lean down, his mouth close to my ear.
For one horrible second, I think he's going to tell me this is all a mistake. That he'll fix it.
Instead, his words are ice in my veins.
"Did you really think someone like me would waste time on F-Rank trash? You were useful for copying homework back in the colonies, Lyra. But this is the real world now." His smile is cruel. "Stay in your lane."
Everything inside me shatters.
The guards haul me through the crowd. Students press back, like I'm contaminated. My scholarship badge is ripped from my uniform. My academy access card is confiscated. Within minutes, I'm thrown into a holding cell in the basement.
Through the bars, I watch a guard carry away the small box of my belongings. Including my communication device—the only way I can check on Finn, my twelve-year-old brother who's sick back home.
"You'll be expelled and arrested at dawn," the guard says. "Count yourself lucky if that's all that happens to you."
The lock clicks. Footsteps fade away.
I'm alone in the darkness.
Three years of suffering. Three years of believing that if I just worked hard enough, kept my head down, survived—things would get better.
All for nothing.
I sink onto the cold floor, my back against the wall. My mind is spinning. They planted evidence on my device. But why? What did I do to deserve this?
Then I remember something. Last week, I was working late in the library. I saw Celeste and Kael leaving Professor Chen's office looking nervous. Carrying something.
They stole the research themselves.
And they're framing me for it.
But why? To get rid of me? To cover their tracks? Both?
Rage burns through the numbness. Hot and fierce and completely unfamiliar.
If I'm going to be destroyed anyway, I might as well go down fighting.
There's one place in this academy that might have information to prove my innocence. One place that holds dangerous knowledge about the Ashford family's dealings, about the academy's secrets.
The Echoing Library. The forbidden section that students whisper about. Where people who enter don't come back.
I pull a bent hairpin from my pocket—the one a janitor showed me how to use on stuck locks last year when I accidentally got trapped in a storage room during a late shift.
My hands are steady now as I work the cell door's mechanism.
The lock clicks open.
I step into the corridor, my heart pounding.
If they want to destroy me, fine.
But I'm taking the truth down with me.