CELESTIAL FIRE

ira

t belo

ademy, taller than any tree I've ever seen, carved with ancient symbols I can't read.

pletely. I can still feel the mark burning faintly beneath the fabr

ist anymore. Eve

hey're not

ing, no signs that I'm anything but normal. I've gotten good at hiding. Years o

ct opposite of every

e confident, powerful, dangerous. Wolves, witches, vampires, fae-creatures I've only read abo

them. I'm n

. Or at least, that'

e clouds, and floating bridges connect the towers like spider silk. It's beautiful a

sent m

ho knows

ls me more than

. A guard-tall, silver-eyed, armor laced wi

ep forward. "Nyx

I think he'll laugh and tell me i

rientation starts in the Hall

ough the gates, the magic hums against my skin-l

n leaves whisper secrets. Statues move when no one's looking. A girl w

crowd unnoticed, ju

step into the Hal

hing

hift color with emotion. Students fill the tiers, chattering, laughing,

a

when I

Verr

scent Claw bloodline. Everyone knows the stories. Born

e world, eyes sharp, golden, wild. Peopl

weeps over the crow

mach t

ke he's trying to place me.

away

I see

lle. The Va

fect. Pale skin, silver hair, eyes like frozen glass

staring a

at do t

shouldn't have come.

s. Someone a

e center of the hall, standing on the crystal platform

Academy. Only the strong survive

Walls slide open to reveal corridors. Doors slam

t just or

a t

et, heart racing

echoes f

e Trial

hat, the floor

st me as I fall,

n't read. I brace myself for impact, but instead, I land softl

s still

ber, round, with smooth walls. Torches light themselves as I rise. There are no doors

of school

ead. Not spoken aloud.

r truth or

lams again

ept it hidden all my li

ngles, burning through

to myself. "Stay

e, black as ash, with too many limbs and no face. Its bo

I know this: it's not here to

cha

tone where I stood a second ago. Dust explodes. My shoulder hi

Nyxira.

I've never trained. Neve

no way out o

nder its swing, grabbing a loose stone from the floor and

eding o

n fe

nic. My shaking han

k burns

now. N

My sleeve slips, just for a second. The

eature

me for the first time. Not

s a ste

ano

denly-i

rches

m shifts, almost lik

n, chest risi

ust ha

wall behind me. A clean break in the ston

echo fro

y, heart pou

e light, robes dark, face half

are," he says. His voice is quie

kno

you?" I

His eyes glow gol

have just beg