Chapter 2 Freshman Registration

Cecilia Blackwood's POV

On the morning of September first, I stood in front of the stone pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten at King's Cross Station, palms slick with sweat.

This was it.

I walked through the pillar. The light twisted for a moment, and the next second, I was standing somewhere completely different.

A long stone platform stretched in both directions, topped by a soaring glass dome. The platform was packed with people—no, not all people.

A woman walked a hound that sparked with embers. A man had a translucent owl perched on his shoulder. Several teenagers around my age wore matching navy robes with the same key badge pinned to their chests.

"Star Ring Express. Runs once a year. Miss it and you wait till next year."

I spun around.

A girl stood behind me. Chestnut curls pulled into a high ponytail, amber eyes, dragging a battered leather trunk.

She was half a head shorter than me, but radiated an indescribable confidence.

"You a first-year?" She tilted her head. "Me too. I'm Rowan McMillan."

"Cecilia Blackwood."

"Cecilia." She repeated it. "Your badge is glowing."

I looked down. The key badge on my chest was indeed glowing, like some kind of activated rune.

"Normal." Rowan pointed to her own badge, also lit. "Means you've been assigned a dorm. Different colors mean different Rings. You and me, we're both Gold Ring. Supposedly closest to the dining hall."

She winked.

Before I could ask what a Ring was, a deafening whistle sounded from the far end of the platform.

A deep blue steam train pulled into the station.

"Come on!" Rowan grabbed my sleeve and ran for the train.

We found a window compartment and sat down. Rowan immediately kicked off her shoes and curled up on the seat.

"What's your gift?" she asked.

I didn't dare tell the truth. After all, witches were different from mages—I didn't belong to any gift category.

"I'm not really sure yet."

"Me neither!" Rowan said. "My mom's a Waterwhisperer, but Dad says my gift leans more toward... well, his exact words were 'a messy hodgepodge of everything.' What about you? Did anyone in your family go to Star Ring Academy?"

I hesitated. "My mother."

Rowan's eyes lit up. "Really? What was her name? Maybe my parents knew her!"

"She passed away," I said.

Rowan's smile froze for a moment, then she gently patted the back of my hand. No "I'm so sorry" platitudes.

I suddenly thought I might really like this girl.

The train started moving. The sky shifted from gray-blue to deep purple. Building spires were faintly visible on the mountain ridges.

"That's Star Ring Academy." Rowan pointed out the window.

I followed her finger.

A castle sat atop a distant mountain peak. Black stone walls, seven towers arranged in a circle, flames of different colors burning at each spire.

That was Star Ring Academy of Magic.

My new cage. Or maybe, my new battlefield.

By the time the train arrived, it was nearly dark.

The platform blazed with lights. A tall woman stood at the front, wearing deep purple robes, a massive golden key brooch pinned to her chest. Her gaze swept over each of us like she was taking inventory.

"First-years, follow me. Upperclassmen, back to your dorms. Classes start tomorrow morning at seven sharp. Anyone late can deal with the consequences themselves."

No one dared laugh.

I later learned her name was Moira Starling. The headmistress herself.

She led us into an enormous hall. Thousands of candles floated in midair. Four long tables ran parallel, lined with upperclassmen.

"First-years sit in front," Moira said.

I slid into the farthest seat, grateful for a quick escape route.

Rowan sat beside me, excitedly looking around. Suddenly she saw something that made her face go pale.

"Why is he here?"

I followed her gaze.

At the very back of the hall, someone sat alone.

Black hair falling over his forehead. Navy robes like everyone else's, but with dark silver patterns barely visible at the cuffs. Very pale skin that made his eyes stand out even more.

I couldn't name that color.

Not gray, not blue. More like the sky before a storm, carrying a bone-chilling pressure.

His gaze slowly swept the hall. When it passed over me, it paused.

Just one second.

But every hair on my body stood up.

"That's Kane Ashworth," Rowan whispered. "Dark magic heir. Don't stare. I heard the last person who stared at him transferred the next day."

"Transferred?"

"Disappeared," Rowan corrected herself, looking uneasy. "Anyway, no one saw her again."

I stared at Rowan. "Are you serious?"

"My mom says the Ashworth family is born cursed. Their magic isn't learned, it's inherited. Every generation, one goes insane, one kills, one dies. Kane's father supposedly dropped dead at thirty with completely black eyes."

Rowan finished and shrank back into her seat.

But I didn't say anything.

Because I'd noticed something.

Kane sat in the last row. The empty seats around him weren't just one row—they were three full rows.

He didn't look like a monster at all.

He just looked... lonely.

That kind of loneliness I knew too well.

For the past three years at school, I'd been the same way—afraid of being discovered, so I kept away from everyone.

I clenched my fists.

"Don't even think about it," Rowan said, reading my expression. "Seriously, Cecilia, there's a reason everyone avoids him. Dark magic corrupts the mind. It's in the textbooks. Get too close to him and you'll be..."

"Be what? Isolated?"

Before Rowan could answer, Moira stepped onto the platform.

"Welcome back to Star Ring Academy of Magic. First-years, welcome."

Her gaze swept the room. "Rules same as always: no leaving dorms after eleven PM, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits, no offensive spells in the library, and as for the rule about 'no harming other students'—I trust you don't need reminding."

Her gaze lingered on Kane's direction for a moment.

"Finally," Moira said, "everyone will be assigned to different Rings—Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron. Dorms, schedules, meal times are all assigned by Ring. Your badges will automatically update with relevant information at midnight tonight."

She turned and left.

The entire opening ceremony lasted less than five minutes.

Everyone shuffled out. Rowan chattered away, tugging at my sleeve, but my ears only caught one sound.

"Stay away from him. That dark magic heir. Who knows when he'll snap."

I looked back at that solitary figure.

"Cecilia?"

"Yeah."

"You look terrible."

"I'm fine."

I really was fine.

I'd just suddenly understood something: Star Ring Academy wasn't a fairy-tale magic castle. This place had rules too. Prejudice. Discrimination.

I took a deep breath and followed the crowd out of the hall.

The corridor was wide enough for a dozen people to walk side by side.

But when Kane walked through, everyone automatically cleared a path.

As he passed me, he paused. His gaze swept out from under his bangs, passed over the gold badge on my chest, then moved on.

I didn't know what he meant, but my heart was racing.

He couldn't have recognized me, right? I was probably being paranoid.

But one thought was crystal clear: I had to talk to Kane.

No matter if he was the dark magic heir. No matter if those curses were real. No matter if the whole school would hate me for it.

I wouldn't let fear make my decisions anymore.

Never again.