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Everything is the same except me.
Somehow I’ve changed and that thought unsettles me.
I quickly shower off and get dressed in clean clothes, all too aware that I’m late and Headmaster Emerai will lose his temper if I’m not present at the Culling Assessment. I dress in a clean set of black tactical gear, complete with my black gloves and vest, before clasping on my white cloak, a crescent moon brooch at the center of the cowl.
Foregoing looking in the mirror, I leave my room in haste. I stopped looking at my reflection a long time ago. I can’t remember the color my eyes used to be, only that it wasn’t this distilled gray that I despise.
A shout echoes through the valley as I exit the Nova House. I glance at the mass of people huddled in front of Alkrose. The Culling Assessment. Oh, how I love this day. The weak get tossed out, some interesting gems come to light, and then the fun really begins. Better yet, I don’t have to worry about Terra. She’s fortunate to avoid the first-semester exam, or I suppose the other Houses are lucky that the Nova students do not have to participate in it.
The scent of iron prickles my nose and goosebumps shudder up my arms. I crack my neck. Velis is craving bloodshed, and I’d be lying if I said the scent of blood didn’t make me primal. I once dreaded the unwanted hunger—but I find the Shadow’s craving for death to be a fitting exchange.
I’ve been awake for three days. Velis needs to kill again soon.
I step off the side of the bridge and let my body feel the air around me, whistling and filling my lungs with shards of cold pain. The fall is greater than the Shadowless can survive—four stories. I land on my feet and the ground reverberates beneath me. Velis hums eagerly, deep in my chest. He can always sense my excitement for the Culling.
The lake is completely frozen over this time of year. I walk straight across it and get to the gathering quickly, approaching hundreds of students. Not a single head turns my way—a little surprising, but I’ll take the reprieve. I spot Kallos and Nekane standing close to one another on the other side, their arms crossed, with grim expressions on their faces.
Always so serious. They never took to the Culling very well. Velis and I seem to be the only two having any sort of fun anymore.
Headmaster Emerai shouts above the murmuring students, “Cosmos and Ekko are next. Send forth your students.”
I grin. Making an unexpected entrance is always my game. Emerai enjoys the thrill too, so I know I’m not at risk of getting in trouble with Dr. Cein. I’d love to fight a Cosmos—they’re the strongest we have around here typically and they still die so easily. But who knows, maybe I’ll get some amusement out of this one.
I break the circle and face the Cosmos House student, a dark-haired young man with despair on his face. I know a broken toy when I see one; he is a shattered mess. The students gasp and start to whisper amongst themselves. “That’s not a student. Who is that?” My eyes flick over to Kallos and Nekane, who remain impassive. They know the way this goes; the destruction instructor gets to show off. But I don’t miss the grimace that flickers briefly across Kallos’s face.
Pity. I wanted to have fun, but it seems he’s taken a liking to this one.
I smile and crack my knuckles. My tongue glides across my teeth as I prepare to turn this boy into red dust.
5
Finn
My black cloak whips viciously in the winter wind. The sting of Martin’s death is fresh; it’s bitter in my mouth. His blood soaks the snow beneath my feet, a dark, disturbing red.
I clench my teeth. I pity the poor bastard from the Ekko House who will face me; I’m in a really fucking bad mood.
Corvus already fought, and so did Kai. Both were successful in their battles, thank gods. Fistfights mainly, beating their opponents into bloody messes, but not killing them. No one exerted as much cruelness and power as Frederick did against Martin. And I’ll remember that when I’m tearing his head clean off his shoulders.
I see a flicker of white. I glance up at my opponent and my eyes widen. A brilliant white cloak dances with the wind. A sharp young man, maybe a handful of years older than me, wears it like a warrior sent from the gods themselves. His hair is as white as Kai’s. His eyes are gray. A Fernestian? Why is he the only one wearing a white cloak?
There’s something dark in his soul, making my Shadow, Laphia, curl inside my veins.
“He’s not a student from Ekko House,” one of the Ekko students says.
A roar of agreement rallies around them, but Emerai raises his hand to silence them. Smiling, he shouts, “It would seem that our destruction instructor, Elias, has finally arrived. He will have his fill. Proceed.”
Elias smirks, making my blood chill. My brows pull inward and I can’t keep the terror from pooling inside my chest. The circle hushes as everyone holds their breath.
“What are you waiting for?” Elias says in a low tone. “It’s not fun if you don’t struggle a little first.”
I grit my teeth and change my stance, firm against the uneven snow. Taking a sharp breath, I try to focus on my inner magic, picturing the bird made of flames I summoned in the Cosmos homeroom. Martin appears in my mind. In his hand is a long, fiery blade. A buck-toothed smile passes over Martin’s face and then the darkness whisks him away.
When I open my eyes, there’s power flowing through my veins, burning hot like the phoenix’s flames, collecting in the palm of my right hand. A blinding flare whirls through the air, lashing out at everyone standing in the inner circle to the right of me.
Elias takes a step backward, his eyes flickering with fire and excitement.
I grasp the flame in my palm and it solidifies into a blazing sword of fire, like hot steel just pulled from the forge. Licks of embers spew from the blade. I can’t help the manic grin that curls my lips. There is darkness inside me and I want to kill this man more than anything. He’s not some student in the same boat as me, he’s Fernestian and a professor at this heinous academy.
