Varin hurried through the halls of the Arcanum, sweat forming on his brow.


    Each year, hundreds of hopefuls came to test for magical talent. The vast majority failed—nothing unusual.


    But today…


    Today, he had tested someone impossible.


    His grip tightened around the fractured Resonance Stone in his hand. He could still feel its lingering energy—a wrongness that made his skin crawl.


    Not only had that blond-haired freak activated the stone—he had broken it.


    A cold shiver ran down his spine.


    There were forbidden Affinities, dangerous forces outlawed by the Arcanum. Affinities that were erased from history for the threat they posed.


    And I just tested someone with one.


    Varin reached his master’s door and took a shaky breath. He has to know.


    Knocking twice, he waited.


    The door swung open soundlessly.


    Inside, Magister Kael sat behind his desk, a single candle flickering beside him. His sharp, ageless features studied Varin in silence.


    "You look troubled, Varin," Kael said, folding his hands.


    Varin swallowed. "There''s been… an anomaly."


    Kael arched an eyebrow.


    "A forbidden Affinity," Varin forced out. "One of the applicants—he cracked the testing stone."


    For the first time, genuine interest flickered across the Magister’s face.


    "Show me."


    Varin placed the fractured stone on the desk. The cracks bled darkness, as if the void itself had touched it.


    Kael picked it up, turning it over in his hands. A long silence followed.


    Then, the Magister let out a slow exhale, his fingers lightly tapping the stone.


    "Tell me, does anyone else know?"


    Varin shook his head. "I came here immediately."


    Kael set the stone down. "You did well."


    Varin started to relax—


    —until Kael lifted two fingers and whispered something beneath his breath.


    A surge of heat exploded in Varin’s chest.


    His breath vanished, his limbs locked in place.


    Pain lanced through his body—a terrible, searing agony that burned him from the inside out.


    His mind screamed, but no sound escaped his lips.


    Then—


    His body crumbled to ash.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Kael flicked his wrist, and a gust of wind swept the remains out the window.


    He turned back to the cracked stone, his expression unreadable.


    "A forbidden Affinity," he murmured. "I suppose I should see for myself."


    <hr>


    Raine sat rigid in the small office, his heartbeat thudding in his ears.


    Something was wrong.


    The Adept had left in a hurry, his face pale.


    The longer Raine sat there, the more his instincts screamed—he was in danger.


    He had seen how the Adept looked at him after the test. Not with curiosity or approval—but fear.


    His gaze flickered to the metal coin box on the desk.


    Stealing from the Arcanum was suicide…


    …but if he was about to be hunted, he needed every advantage.


    He reached forward—


    "Stealing, are we?"


    A chill shot through Raine''s spine.


    He whirled around—


    A man stood in the doorway.


    Tall. Dark-haired. Dressed in flowing black robes. His presence filled the room like a stormcloud, his expression unreadable.


    Raine hadn’t heard him enter. Hadn''t even felt his approach.


    "Who—?"


    "You sensed danger," the man interrupted smoothly. "And you were right to."


    Raine’s chest tightened.


    "You can call me Magister Kael."


    Raine''s breath caught.


    The head of the Arcanum. The most powerful mage in the city.


    And he was here, alone, talking to him.


    Kael stepped forward. "Listen carefully. The moment you cracked that stone, the Arcanum took notice. Right now, they''re mobilizing to capture you."


    Raine felt the blood drain from his face.


    "If they take you," Kael said, voice calm, "you will never leave their dungeons alive."


    Raine’s heart pounded. "Then I have to run—"


    Kael chuckled. "Ah, but you misunderstand. You think this is the real Arcanum?"


    Raine frowned.


    "This?" Kael gestured around them. "This is just a backwater outpost. The real Arcanum is thousands of miles away. And when they come for you, they will not stop until they find you."


    Raine swallowed hard. "Then what do I do?"


    Kael smirked. "You leave, of course. And I will assist you."


    Raine hesitated. Could he trust this man?


    Kael moved to the metal box and plucked out two handfuls of silver and gold coins. He sorted through them, plucking out a single, unremarkable silver mark.


    "See this?" Kael murmured. "A tracking spell. Had you taken it, they''d have found you in days."


    He dropped the cursed coin back in the box and handed the rest to Raine.


    "Take this," Kael said. "It will last you the week."


    Raine''s fingers tightened around the money.


    "A week?" he asked warily.


    "If I’m not there by then," Kael said, his gaze hardening, "you run."


    Without another word, Kael turned toward the door.


    But as he left, he paused. His eyes, dark and piercing, lingered on Raine for a moment longer than necessary.


    "You have no idea what you are," he murmured. "Not yet."


    Then, he was gone.


    Raine didn’t hesitate.


    He turned on his heel and left.


    Every instinct screamed at him to run.


    Instead, he forced himself to walk, to keep his head down, to blend into the sea of rejected applicants leaving the hall.


    Only when the Arcanum was far behind him did he allow himself to breathe.


    But his mind raced with unanswered questions.


    Who was Kael really?


    Why was he helping him?


    And just what the hell had he awakened inside of him?


    He glanced down at his trembling hands.


    Whatever it was…


    It had made even the Magisters afraid.