Chapter 5 CHAPTER FIVE

KAEL

I hadn’t planned to interrupt the selection that way—but it was an emergency. And emergencies did not wait for ceremony.

We arrived at the Spire moments later.

The runes etched into the stone archway shimmered at my approach, ancient enchantments woven deep into the foundation responding to my presence. A pulse of gold flickered outward, parting the invisible ward that cloaked the highest point of the Academy from the rest of Aetherian.

My sanctum.

My fortress above the chaos.

Silence settled as we crossed the threshold, broken only by the soft hum of magic that curled through the air like mist.

Here, time felt slower. The chamber was vast, circular, rimmed with spell-forged windows that reflected only starlight...no matter the hour. Books, maps, magical artifacts, and enchanted weaponry were tucked into every spare inch of the stone walls. And at the heart of it all, my command table. My war table.

I turned the moment the veil closed behind us.

“There’s danger looming,” I said without preamble.

Neris halted, his cloak still settling around him. “The Veil?” he asked, already bracing for the worst.

“No,” I said. “South of Virelia. Just beyond the old trade border. I felt a rupture before dawn. Something old—familiar, but wrong.”

“You left the Academy?” His tone didn’t carry judgment, only understanding.

“I had to track it,” I said simply. “And I was right to go. I found another Dreadspawn.”

At that, his expression hardened. The light of the spellfire cast sharp angles across his features, shadowing the lines of his jaw and cheek.

“They’re still moving,” he said grimly.

“I destroyed it,” I continued, “but this one wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t wandering or corrupted by instinct. It was moving with purpose. It crossed the border ward without setting off a single alarm.”

Neris blinked once, his body going still. “No alert from the perimeter stones?”

“None,” I said. “It knew how to get through. And it wasn’t alone. I felt traces… residual signatures. Older. Smarter. Stronger.”

He exhaled slowly, then began to pace, a slow, precise circuit of the chamber. “It’s been months since the last incident. And we’ve dealt with every one discreetly, as ordered. But if they’re returning—and adapting…”

“There’s a source,” I cut in, voice low. “There has to be. These things aren’t spontaneous. They’re being created. Or called.”

His hands clenched briefly behind his back. “If they breach Virelia, if they make it anywhere near the town—”

“They won’t,” I said. Flat and Final.

Neris stopped pacing, facing me fully now. “Should we inform the High Circle?”

“No. Not yet.” I moved to the table, laying my fingers against the runes carved into its surface. “Not until we know more. We can’t risk panic. Not with the Trials underway. Not with the eyes of the realm on us.”

The High Circle… they were power incarnate. The King of Virelia. His Queen. The royal mages. Their appointed war council. Guardians of the realm’s rule and order but not always its truth. Their reach was vast, but their fear ran deeper. If they caught wind of the Dreadspawn, they’d sound the horns before we had answers. The realm would tear itself apart in terror before we ever drew a blade.

His jaw flexed but he didn’t argue. Of all the captains, Neris understood best when to speak, when to act, and when to keep something buried. It’s why I trusted him most. Swift. Discreet. Loyal.

“This stays between the five of you,” I said. “No one else. Not until I say otherwise.”

He nodded once.

“You can return to the selection now. And cancel whatever performance you were planning.” I met his gaze. “There’s no need to parade raw recruits for show.”

His brow lifted slightly. “Even for evaluation?”

“Group them,” I instructed. “Each captain will test them privately. Push them. Break them if needed. But keep their strengths hidden until we understand what’s coming. If the Dreadspawn are targeting magic… we can’t give them a map.”

Neris bowed slightly. “Understood.”

Then he vanished into thin air.

I moved to the edge of the chamber, where the glass wall looked out over the mountains. The sky was beginning to burn violet with dusk, streaks of gold and bruised indigo melting together beyond the horizon.

For a moment, I stood in silence, the cold press of memory creeping in like a shadow at my back.

We’d first seen the Dreadspawn three months ago. A quiet mission beyond the warded borders...routine surveillance along the southern ridge. Nothing unusual at first. Until we found the village.

It was empty,slaughtered and drenched in blood.

And then they came.

Twisted, grotesque imitations of humans. Eyes gone black. Skin pulled taut over unnatural limbs. And worse...their magic felt wrong. Bent. Warped in a way that made the air curdle around them.

We fought them. Killed three.

But not before one of ours…one of the magic knights that was on the mission got bitten. She changed.

Right there. Flesh peeling, veins blackening, her bones breaking and rebuilding into something else.

Something hungrier.

She lunged at us with eyes full of bloodlust.

I ended her myself.

That was the first time we realized the truth. The Dreadspawn don’t just kill. They infect. With one bite, they spread their corruption growing their numbers faster than we can track them. No warning. No cure.

Only blood.

We’ve kept it quiet.

For the sake of Virelia's peace.

The High Circle wouldn’t be able to. They’d sound the alarm, and every kingdom under our alliance would fall into chaos. Trade would stop. Trust would collapse. Civilians would panic.

And if the Dreadspawn are targeting magic specifically, we cannot risk handing them a map of who our strongest are.

They’re hunting bloodlines.

I needed time. Answers. Control.

Which is why I turned back to the obsidian disc mounted on the eastern wall of my sanctum. With a flick of my hand, the runes surrounding it lit up in a spiral of gold and violet.

The disc responded immediately, swirling into motion..revealing dozens of mirrored fragments, each one a vision of the Academy from a different angle.

My magic is tied to Aetherian itself. The founders shaped it that way. As Grand Sovereign, my bond runs through every enchantment, every defense, every illusion layered into this place.

The Spire listens to me and Obeys me.

One mirror shimmered and pulled forward expanding to show the Hall of Selection.

Students stood in rows. Barely fifty now. The ones who survived the Veil.

My gaze swept over them until it caught on—

Her.

The girl I noticed earlier.

I leaned closer, watching her posture, the flicker of raw magic that danced just beneath her skin—uncontrolled, but there. But there is something else about her…something more..but I couldn’t figure it out.

But this was no time to worry about her.

A storm is coming.

And what I hadn’t told even the other captains is that this threat didn’t begin three months ago.

These creatures didn’t just appear three months ago.

It has existed before.

Five years ago.