CHAPTER 2

The carriage slowed as it approached the gates of Lycoria Academy, and Elena’s chest tightened before they even stopped. The walls rose high and cold, carved from dark stone that seemed to swallow the light. Students moved beyond the entrance in small groups, their voices low and familiar. Elena stayed still a moment longer than necessary, wishing the journey had not ended so quickly.

Elaine stepped down first, posture straight, expression calm and certain. Heads turned almost immediately, attention shifting toward her without hesitation, as if she demanded notice. She moved forward without pause, carrying the quiet confidence of someone who expected to be seen. A step behind, Elena followed, lowering her gaze the moment her feet touched the ground.

“Since when does Lycoria accept just anybody?”

“They don’t look like nobles.”

“At least the one in front is easy to look at.”

“Yeah. She’s very pretty.”

The words drifted easily through the air, unchallenged. Elena kept walking, her steps steady as the whispers settled around her. Elaine did not slow, already drawing attention without effort. Elena followed toward the admissions building, the space between them forming naturally as her sister stopped now and then to ask for directions.

Lycoria was not a place wealth could open. Only those chosen, by lineage or by the goddess, were allowed inside, and even then, most were tested until they broke. It was not a school in the way people imagined, but a place where rulers, warriors, and saintesses were shaped.

Elaine waited just long enough for Elena to catch up. “Listen, after today, we go our separate ways,” she said, pushing the door open before taking a seat near the front.

Elena didn’t protest. Not because it didn’t sting—but because she had learned long ago that protesting changed nothing. She slipped into a seat at the back, folding her hands in her lap as the room filled around her. If this place was meant to decide her worth, then she would endure it first.

Students filtered in with quiet excitement, voices overlapping, chairs scraping against stone. The noise faded the moment the instructor stepped forward. She wore dark academy robes, her hair pulled back tightly, her presence enough to silence the room.

“Welcome to Lycoria Academy,” she said. “Some of you are here by blood. Others by merit. A few by the goddess’s will alone. It makes no difference now. From this moment forward, you all begin at the same place.” Her gaze moved across them. “The bottom.”

A murmur rippled through the hall before dying under her stare.

“The system is simple, but not forgiving,” she continued. “Every first year starts at the lowest rank. No exceptions. No advantage. No protection.” Her voice did not change. “If you remain in the same rank three times, you are removed.”

The word settled inside Elena, heavy and cold.

Removed.

Not failed. Not retried. Just… gone.

“You will be tested in three areas,” the instructor said. “Combat. Control. Devotion. Pass, and you move forward. Fail, and you try again, until you cannot.”

Combat meant fighting with nothing but strength and skill. Control meant instinct, transformation, and power that came naturally to others. Devotion was quieter, harder to measure, but no less final.

“You will find your schedules in your packets,” the instructor finished. “Your performance from this day forward will decide your future here.”

The room broke into motion, chairs scraping, voices rising again. Elena stood when the movement around her left her no other choice.

The door closed behind her as she stepped into the corridor. Noise rushed back all at once, but it felt distant, like it belonged somewhere else. Her grip tightened around the paper in her hand. Still, she kept walking.

The packet crinkled faintly in her grasp. Her name was written clearly at the top, followed by symbols she didn’t yet understand. Combat grounds. Assessment halls. Prayer chambers. Every line left little room for doubt.

She barely noticed the people around her. Her thoughts carried her forward until she walked straight into something solid, the impact knocking the breath from her chest. Her balance slipped, and she hit the ground before she could catch herself. A few nearby voices paused, then moved on as if nothing worth seeing had happened.

When she looked up, a young man stood before her. Dark clothes, composed posture, and the kind of quiet presence that made the corridor feel smaller around him. He did not move immediately or offer a hand. For a moment, he seemed somewhere far beyond the walls of Lycoria.

The Crown Prince stood as still as carved stone. His attention was not on her, but somewhere past her shoulder, distant and unreadable, as though he had followed a thought into the corridor and forgotten where he stood. Elena turned before she meant to, trying to see what had drawn it. His gaze had settled on Elaine.

Elaine had already stopped several steps away, posture straight, expression calm as she met his eyes without hesitation. Neither of them spoke, yet the silence between them felt settled, almost natural. It was the kind of stillness that made everyone nearby instinctively step around it. Even the noise of the corridor seemed quieter there.

His expression did not change. Whatever held his attention remained hidden behind a calm face and steady eyes. Then, as if returning from somewhere else, he finally glanced down. His gaze passed over Elena so briefly she could not tell whether he had truly seen her.

Something tightened in her chest. Not surprise, and not quite disappointment. It was the old certainty she knew too well, the feeling of standing close enough to be noticed and still being overlooked. Some people drew the world toward them without trying.

She pushed herself up quickly, brushing dust from her skirt. “I’m sorry,” she said, though she was not sure if he had heard. He did not answer, his attention already shifting elsewhere. A second later, he stepped past her and continued down the corridor.

The space he left behind closed just as quickly. Voices resumed, footsteps crossed, and the academy moved on without pause. Elaine turned after a moment and continued walking as though nothing unusual had happened. Elena tightened her grip on the paper in her hand and forced herself forward.

Elena stepped aside, tightening her grip on the paper. The corridor filled with motion again, voices rising as if nothing had interrupted them. She lowered her gaze and continued forward without looking back.

A sharp bell rang through the corridor, cutting through every conversation at once.

Students stopped mid-step as a voice echoed from the far end. “First year, report to your assigned grounds immediately. Failure to arrive on time will be recorded.”

Elena’s fingers tightened around the paper.

This was it.

There would be no second chances here—only proof, or failure.

She glanced down at the instructions again, her chest tightening as the words settled into something real. Combat grounds. Control halls. Devotion trials. There was no more waiting.

She took a step forward. Ahead of her, students were already moving with the certainty of people who knew where they belonged. Elena followed, slower than the rest, the paper tightening in her hand. For the first time, she understood something clearly: no one here was waiting for her to catch up.