THE SHADOW QUEEN OF AETHERIA

Lyra's POV

The entire village was watching me. I could feel their eyes burning into my back as I walked toward the crystal in the center of the square. My hands were trembling, but I forced them to stay at my sides.

Today was the day every sixteen-year-old discovered their magic.

And if you had no magic in Aetheria…

You were nothing.

The crystal towered over me, glowing softly in the morning light. I had watched the other children before me touch it.

When Tomas touched it, flames burst around the stone.

When Mira stepped forward, water spiraled into the air.

Everyone had something.

Everyone except me.

“Move faster,” the village elder said impatiently.

I stepped closer.

The crystal hummed faintly, its pale light reflecting in my eyes.

My heart pounded.

Please… just give me something.

Even the weakest magic would be enough.

Slowly, I lifted my hand and placed my palm against the cold surface of the crystal.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The square went completely silent.

Then something strange happened.

The light inside the crystal flickered.

Once.

Twice.

And then… it vanished.

A wave of whispers rushed through the crowd behind me.

“What happened?”

“Why did it go dark?”

The elder stared at the crystal in confusion.

“That… that has never happened before.”

My chest tightened.

“No magic?” someone muttered.

I slowly pulled my hand away.

The crystal remained dark.

Laughter broke out among the villagers.

“Of course she has nothing,” one man said loudly. “She’s just the orphan girl.”

Heat rushed to my face, but I kept my head down.

I was used to their words.

Still… something felt wrong.

When I touched the crystal, I felt something move inside me.

Something cold.

Something alive.

Before I could think about it further—

A sharp cracking sound echoed through the square.

The crowd gasped.

I turned back toward the crystal.

A thin black crack was spreading across its surface.

The elder stumbled backward in fear.

“That… that should be impossible.”

The crack widened.

Then suddenly—

Dark smoke began to leak from the crystal.

And it was moving toward me.

My heart stopped.

The smoke wrapped around my wrist like a living shadow.

Cold power surged through my veins.

And for the first time in my life…

I felt magic.

Behind me, someone whispered a single word. A word that made the entire crowd fall silent.

“Shadow…”

The shadow wrapped around my wrist like living smoke.

I gasped and tried to pull my hand away, but it tightened instead.

Cold energy rushed through my veins. It felt like ice and fire at the same time.

"What is happening?" someone shouted behind me.

The villagers began stepping back. Fear spread across their faces. I stared at the black smoke twisting around my fingers. It moved like it was alive.

Like it belonged to me.

The crystal cracked again. A loud snap echoed through the square. Suddenly the shadow shot back into the crystal.

Everything went still.

The smoke disappeared. The crystal went completely dark. For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then the elder pointed at me with a trembling finger.

"Step away from the stone."

I quickly moved back. My heart was racing. Something had definitely happened. I could still feel the strange power moving under my skin.

Like a sleeping creature that had just opened one eye. The villagers started whispering.

"Did you see the smoke?"

"That wasn't normal magic."

"Something is wrong with that girl."

I lowered my head, trying to ignore them.

But the elder's voice suddenly became sharp.

"You must leave the square."

My stomach twisted.

"Why?" I asked quietly.

The elder's expression had changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

"We need to report this to the capital," he said.

My chest tightened. Report it? Why would they do that?

Before I could ask another question, a deep voice spoke from the crowd.

"Shadow magic."

The words spread through the villagers like poison. Everyone turned toward the old hunter who had spoken. He looked pale.

"Long ago," he continued slowly, "shadow magic belonged to the queens who nearly destroyed the world."

The square went silent. The elder's face drained of color.

"That power was forbidden centuries ago," he whispered.

Then he looked straight at me.

And for the first time in my life…

The entire village was afraid of me.