Julianna POVTraining days blurred together like bruises.Every dawn, I found myself standing in the courtyard of Sylvaren Academy’s western grounds, hands shaking from the cold, waiting for Kaelen. He was always early—already meditating, his silver hair sharp as glass, his eyes colder than frostbite.“You’re late,” he said the moment I stepped into the circle.“It’s sunrise,” I muttered.“Then you should’ve been here before it rose.” His tone didn’t rise, didn’t fall—it was like a blade that didn’t need to move to cut.I gritted my teeth. “Let’s just start.”Kaelen didn’t waste time with lectures. His way of teaching was cruelty disguised as discipline. He attacked without warning—a whip of air slicing past my cheek.“Too slow!”Another lash. I blocked, stumbled, hit the ground. The mana around me fizzled.“Every time you lose focus, someone dies. That’s what your power means,” he said, pacing. “Do you want that
Julianna’s POVThe morning air in Moonspire was crisp — too crisp, if you asked me. The Elven city never seemed to know what warmth meant. Even sunlight here felt cold, filtered through layers of magic and crystal.Classes at the academy were suspended for the day, which normally would’ve been a gift, but I didn’t feel like celebrating. Ever since we’d arrived, I’d been stuck between being stared at like a miracle or whispered about like a curse.Whichever way you spun it, being me had become exhausting.So instead of joining the others for breakfast, I sat alone on the balcony of our quarters, watching beams of mana light drift lazily between the crystal spires. Below, the Elven students of Sylvaren Academy moved like a single unit — elegant, precise, almost mechanical.Even the wind here moved in order.“Still sulking?” Lyra’s voice came from behind me.“I’m not sulking,” I muttered.She raised a brow. “Then what do you call
Lily’s POVThe path to the Druid Kingdom wasn’t a road — it was a descent.We followed Fianna through a twisting staircase carved into the heart of the Sacred Tree itself, the air growing cooler and wetter with every step. Bioluminescent vines clung to the walls, their faint green glow lighting our way. The deeper we went, the louder the hum of magic became — steady, rhythmic, like the heartbeat of something vast and alive.When we finally stepped out into the underground clearing, I forgot how to breathe.The Druid Kingdom wasn’t dark. It glowed.Massive roots, thick as towers, curled through the open caverns, their surfaces covered with moss and glowing fungi. Waterfalls of pure mana cascaded down the walls, feeding pools that shimmered with silver light. Homes were carved into roots and stones, lit by floating orbs that pulsed softly in time with the earth’s breath.Everything was alive — even the ground beneath my boots.“Oh… wow,
Julianna’s POVThe dream came again — colder this time.The world around me was frozen. Snow covered the streets, frosting rooftops like sugar, but everything underneath was wrong. I stood in the middle of what used to be the Elven city, now nothing but ice and silence. The bridges of crystal were buried beneath frost, the trees cracked and lifeless, their roots turned to glass. I could see my breath, white and thin, vanishing as soon as it appeared and my heartbeat echoed too loud in my ears. I turned slowly, each step creaking on the ice, my breath forming little ghosts in the dark.A whisper moved through the still air.You caused this.The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once— deep and hollow, familiar yet distorted. I turned, searching for it, but all I saw were shadows moving behind the ice.“Who’s there?” I called out. No answer“Time must be balanced. Somebody must die.” A voice said.Then the ice
Chapter 65Lily’s POVBy the time Fianna stopped the fight, the entire street had gone silent.Scott was still glaring at the elf boy, fire flickering faintly around his fists. Julianna looked shaken, dirt on her sleeves and fury burning behind her calm expression. And Fianna — pale but commanding — stood like the weight of the entire Elven kingdom balanced on her shoulders.“Enough,” she said again, her voice sharp and clear. The guards at her side released a pulse of mana that instantly broke the tension, extinguishing every spark in the air.The boys who had been harassing Julianna immediately dropped their gaze.“Your Highness,” one began, voice trembling, “we were just—”Fianna lifted a hand. “, I don’t care.”They froze. Even weakened, she radiated authority like a storm wrapped in silk.“Leave,” she said, each word cold as steel.The elves vanished in a blur of movement, leaving only the fading echo o
Julianna’s POVMorning in Moonspire was blinding.Light spilled through the crystal canopy above like liquid gold, scattering into thousands of tiny reflections. For a city built inside trees, it was brighter than most open skies. The Elves liked everything polished — the air, the walls, even the silence felt scrubbed clean.I blinked against the glow, tugging at the sleeve of my borrowed uniform. It shimmered faintly like it had its own mana pulse. Lyra, walking beside me, looked like she was fighting the urge to roll in the nearest puddle just to ruin the fabric.“I swear, if one more person looks at me like I’m a walking mud stain, I’ll…” she muttered.“Don’t do anything stupid,” I said, though the corner of my mouth twitched. “You might start an international war.”“Then at least we’d be noticed,” she said. “These people look at us like we’re loud background noise.”She wasn’t wrong.Everywhere we went, elves moved graceful