LOGIN93 Inside, the team was greeted with food, drinks, and constant reminders that every single guard in Squadron Five had eyes on Avi. Joren whispered: “So this is normal for you?” “Unfortunately,” Avi muttered. Mikan wandered through, took one look at the stunned recruits, and deadpanned, “Ah. Fresh mortals.” “Mikan,” Avi groaned. Trace appeared next, baby Connor in his arms, the infant shifting to tiny dragon form mid-yawn. Kael almost fell backwards off his chair. Once everyone settled, Brie leaned forward with a bright smile. “Now that you’re here, I want you to choose a team name. Something fitting. Something you’ll shout into battle.” Mira whispered, “Is that… allowed?” “By my authority as Queen,” Brie said. “Yes.” Avi blinked. “Brie, they’re not mine.” “Oh, they are,” Brie said. “The moment they chose to follow you.” The recruits exchanged looks. This… felt big. Bigger than just passing training. And slowly, they began to smile. The sun hung low over the villa, castin
92 The announcement came at dawn, delivered by Commander Verek himself. Avi’s team, Kael, Joren, Lees, and Mira, had assembled in the briefing hall, still half convinced their graduation orders were a joke or a test. Verek looked… tired. And older. And deeply aware that the next words he spoke might reshape the Wing Corp forever. “Your first assignment,” he said, hands clasped behind his back, “is an audience with Their Majesties, Queen Brieanika and King Trace, at the Draynor Royal Villa.” Every trainee stiffened. Kael muttered under his breath, “That’s not an assignment, that’s an execution waiting to happen.” Verek shot him a warning look. “The purpose,” he continued, “is to familiarize Their Majesties with the team that will be responding to any Dawlya faction members who attempt to defect or” his gaze flicked briefly toward Avi “seek alliance with the Circle.” Silence. A heavy one. Avi felt every pair of eyes on her. Not hostile, just… overwhelmed. She couldn’t blame them.
91 Cain arrived at the training grounds faster than anyone expected. His boots hit the stone with a force that made several trainees flinch. Avi’s team fresh off their final test straightened, unsure whether to salute or run. Chance cleared his throat. “Cain. Good. You’re here. We were just finishing a briefing.” “That much I gathered,” Cain growled, eyes sweeping the group until they found Avi. His posture eased half a breath then tightened again. “Someone wants to explain why every trainee in this building suddenly smells like they were assigned to my mate?” Verek coughed into his fist. Kael took a tiny step back. Joren muttered something that sounded like oh stars, here we go. Avi crossed her arms. “Cain, calm down.” “I am calm,” he lied, jaw ticking. Chance exhaled and stepped between them. “Avi’s team has been selected for a specialized deployment. Given the Dawlya situation, and the fact that faction members may attempt to break from the council to follow the Circle… the
90 The last trial dawned cold and sharp, the kind of morning that made even seasoned fliers check their wings twice. Avi stood with her squad on the wind-scarred plateau, the rising sun throwing gold along the edges of their armor. Today everything was determined everything, placement, rank, and whether they would be treated as equals among the elite. Avi couldn’t feel the Circle at all. It had gone quiet the night before, slipping into the background of her mind like a predator settling into the dark. Chance said that was a good sign that it was learning restraint but Avi still found herself waiting, wondering, bracing for its presence. Commander Verek strode before the trainees. “Final assessment,” he announced. “Team operations. No solo heroics. The course will shift under you. Adapt or die.” He paused, eyes flicking briefly to Avi. “Begin when the flare fires.” Kael, Joren, and the others exchanged quick nods. No hostility, no hesitation after weeks of grueling training and th
89 Sleep did not come gently. Avi drifted off in Cain’s arms, exhaustion pulling her under despite the tension still coiled through her body like a second spine. She felt safe physically but her magic was far from quiet. The Circle had been restless ever since the emissary bowed and left the throne room. Even Cain’s scent, grounding as it was, only muted it… not silenced it. Sometime after midnight, the whispering began. Not words. Not truly voices. Echoes. Footsteps on stone corridors she had never walked. Breath against her ear that did not belong to Cain. Avi jerked in her sleep, a soft gasp breaking from her throat. Cain startled awake, immediately on alert. “Avi?” he whispered, brushing hair from her face. She didn’t respond; she was trapped somewhere between dream and magic. She stood in the heart of a massive, ancient chamber—circular, carved into black stone. Candles burned in spirals around her feet, dripping wax that fell upward instead of down. The Circle Keeper st
88 The emissary bowed before the throne, her dark Dawlya robes folding like a living shadow around her feet. The air in the throne room felt taut, charged as if the very stone beneath them waited to hear her words. Brie sat straight-backed, regal. Trace’s hands were folded, but Cain stood just behind Avi, ready to move at the slightest threat. Mikan’s gaze was cold steel. The emissary lifted her chin, meeting Avi’s eyes. “Circle Keeper Avin,” she said, voice soft but carrying. “The Dawlya Council has learned of your… awakening. They request no, they insist that you come to us. The Circle must be housed among its own. And…” She hesitated. “…there is a faction forming. Many believe you may be the rightful heir to Seppa’s legacy. Some whisper "you are more.” Avi’s heart lurched. Her dragon stirred uneasily beneath her skin. The Circle that newly awakened presence pulsed like a heartbeat behind her eyes. Cain’s hand hovered near her back, ready, protective. “She’s not going anywhere,







