Chapter 3 A MAGICLESS BEING IN THE ACADEMY?

Unknown POV

I followed closely, my hands clasped behind my back. Queen Seraphin’s presence wasn’t announced; it was a weight that pressed down on everything in the room, silent and undeniable.

“I trust the girl is accounted for?” Seraphin’s voice came without warning. She didn’t turn to face me immediately. She walked slowly across the chamber, her red robes whispering against the floor. Flames seemed to dance just along the hem, curling upward for a moment before settling back into stillness.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. “The one Kael brought… she is in the Healers’ Chambers at Obsidian Spire Academy.”

Seraphin’s eyes, sharp and burning like molten glass, fixed on me. “Magicless, I presume?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” I hesitated, swallowing the knot of dread in my throat. “At least, that’s what it appears. But… he tried. Kael attempted to touch her magic, to test it… but it kept—bouncing back. As if the energy refused him.”

Seraphin’s lips pressed into a thin line. She moved to the balcony, her fingers trailing along the carved stone railing.

Outside, the horizon burned with the first light of morning, but even the sunrise seemed pale compared to her presence. “A magicless girl… in my academy?” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but the weight behind it could crush mountains. “Do you have any idea what this means?”

I nodded, but the words stuck in my throat. I had no idea. How could anyone? The girl had no magic or so it seemed. And yet… even Kael, the strongest lightning mage alive, had not been able to touch her.

“No magic huh, it's so unbelievable. Or, or shouldn't be what I'm thinking about the prophecy.” Seraphin stylishly snapped her fingers in the air and a bolt of fire rushed out.

“She hasn’t awakened her magic fully,” I said cautiously. “Or… at least, not in any way that can be measured. Kael thought he could provoke it. He failed. Every attempt he made… the energy slipped through him, refused to obey him. He was… unsettled by it.”

Seraphin let out a low hum, almost contemplative. “Unsettled?” she repeated. “The strongest lightning mage, unsettled… by a child of nothing? That should not happen.” Her hands tightened into fists. “Why would someone who has no magic… be allowed inside my academy? Why is she here?”

“She… arrived under his watch,” I said carefully. “He carried her here. He didn’t finish… whatever he intended. She is under the care of the Healers, safe… for now.”

Seraphin’s eyes flared like twin infernos. “Safe?” she spat, the word sharp and bitter. “Safe is a word for fools. If Kael has brought her here, if she is allowed to live even for a moment… danger is already upon her. Every heartbeat she takes in my kingdom could be her last if the wrong people learn what she carries.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the heat of her words burn through my chest. “Yes, Your Majesty. I understand.”

“No, you do not,” she said sharply. She turned toward me, her face framed by a crown of blackened gold. Her expression was unreadable for a moment, and then it softened… almost. “You need to understand something, truly.” She took a deep breath, and I could see the storm behind her calm exterior. “The prophecy spoke of the child of the Ather bloodline. Star-eyed, born of chaos. She will come when the kingdoms are unbalanced, when power is shifting. She will command magic beyond the comprehension of ordinary mages. She is… dangerous. And yet necessary.”

I felt my stomach twist. The words were heavy, and not in a way that brought clarity. Just more questions. More dread.

“Where does she go from here?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Seraphin’s gaze drifted toward the horizon again, toward the jagged mountains that cut through the skyline like teeth. “She must be hidden. She must be watched. And yet, she must be found. That is the paradox of the prophecy.” Her hand flicked once, gesturing vaguely toward the northern border. “The elves. The borderlands near Eryndhel Pass. That is where she must reside, at least for the time being. Among them, she will learn. Among them, she will be shielded… but only if we act swiftly.”

I blinked. “The elves?”

“Yes,” she said, turning slowly to face me again. Her eyes were full of fire and calculation. “And the boys. All of them. The young ones, twenty and below. They will be her… her guardians of sorts, until she awakens.”

I felt a chill creep up my spine. “All the boys?” I asked, the weight of the task pressing down on me like stones.

“They must be ready,” Seraphin said, her voice soft but with an undertone that made the words lethal. “They must not fail. For if the child is not protected… if the child is harmed… the balance of the kingdoms will falter. And the wars that are quietly brewing will ignite like wildfire.”

I swallowed again, feeling the enormity of the prophecy settle like lead in my chest. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Seraphin walked closer to me, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “And you… you will do as I say. Every order. Every command. Fail me, and I will make sure you regret it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” I said again, my voice steadier this time.

She nodded, satisfaction flickering in her eyes. “Good. Now go. Begin preparations. Travel to Eryndhel Pass immediately. Choose your boys. Make sure the child with the Ather bloodline never feels alone, never feels unprotected. She must live long enough for her power to bloom… or the kingdoms are lost.”

I bowed my head, feeling the tension in the room like a living thing. The queen’s words, her urgency, the fire in her eyes, all of it pressed down, suffocating, yet impossible to ignore.

If I'm correct, she's saying Aria is the last bloodline that the prophecy spoke off.

But what gave her that impression? Because the girl doesn't have magic?

I mean, that's not even a good lead.

Seraphin’s gaze lingered on me as I turned toward the door. “Do not fail, or you will answer to me personally,” she said, her voice low and dangerous. “And believe me, I do not forgive easily.”

I stepped out into the cold corridor, feeling the chill of the stone walls seep into my bones.

And the girl… Aria… was alive, in danger, and already being hunted by forces far beyond anything she could imagine.

What if Aria is born without magic? What if Seraphin is mistaken? At the same time, she has never said words that aren't true.

I paused at the archway of the throne room when I heard footsteps.

A cold shrill ran down my spine. Kael w

ould bury me alive if he finds out.

“So, you prefer being her puppet?”