Mag-log inMira’s POVThe Royal Court held Lyra’s hearing two days after the laboratory was destroyed. The rescued Guides testified while Caspian presented the ledger, my stolen schedule, and Lyra’s signed order. Every seat in the Academy judgment hall was filled.Lyra faced the council in a plain grey uniform, without her honours chain or Silver Moon badge. Mother sat behind her with the Veyne representatives, but investigators had connected the payment to our family accounts. No one defended her.“Mira arranged this evidence because she hates me,” Lyra claimed. She pointed at me and told the council, “She has always been jealous of my rank. Now she wants to destroy my future.”“You gave criminals my schedule and paid them to make me disappear,” I rep
Mira’s POVI woke on a cold metal table, restrained at wrists and ankles. The room smelled of medicine, blood, and wet stone. My last memory was entering the service path behind the healing hall. Someone struck my neck with a needle.The people who took me knew my routine and how to draw Riven away before the attack. This was not random. Someone inside the Academy had given them the information they needed.Glass cells lined the room. Women in Academy clothes sat inside several, with older Guides in the others. Metal bands covered their temples, and tubes carried silver energy from their bodies into locked containers.A man in a medical coat approached me. A black chain marked his wrist, matching the symbol above the door. “The strange
Lyra’s POVBy the next evening, everyone at the Academy was praising Mira. Students called her a hidden genius and claimed her power exceeded S-rank. Each word fed my anger. Mira had lived beneath me for years, and I would not let her take my place.Caspian had chosen her before the Royal Court, and the Academy had failed to expose her. If she stayed, people would forget I was House Veyne’s Silver Moon daughter. They would remember only Mira’s weaker sister.I needed to remove her without leading Caspian to me. An attack inside the Academy would bring a royal investigation, and he would uncover the truth. I needed people who could carry Mira away before anyone knew she was missing.The Black Chain operated beneath the eastern market. I
Caspian’s POVThe complaint reached the Academy council the morning after the banquet. Seven noble houses had signed it, including three whose children had missed the first mentor invitations. They accused Mira of cheating during the practical assessment and demanded that the Court withdraw its recognition.Their argument rested on her official rank. Academy records still listed Mira as an F-rank Guide, the lowest class for a moon-bearer. The complaint claimed that someone at that rank could not suppress an S-rank Beastman through mental power alone. She would need drugs, a forbidden object, or help from someone stronger.They used Riven as proof. Mira had calmed his wolf rage more than once, even after the Academy confirmed his S-rank strength. The nobles called those events impossible. Sin
Caspian’s POVThe Royal Court held its welcome banquet. Senior instructors, Court officials, military commanders, and every noble family filled the great hall. They claimed the banquet welcomed the new students, but everyone knew its real purpose. The most promising freshmen would receive invitations to train under powerful mentors.I stood beside the royal table in my sea-dragon uniform. The silver Morcant crest rested over my chest, and pale scales showed above my collar. Nobles tried to speak with me, but I sent them away. My choice was already sealed.Across the room, Lady Veyne guided Lyra between important guests. She praised Lyra’s Silver Moon rank and devotion to the Covenant. She did not mention the bribed examiner or the review of Lyra’s honours status. Those facts did not su
Mira’s POVThe instructors ordered everyone back after the swamp assessment. Riven stayed beside me, while Lyra walked ahead with Caden without looking back.Near the forest gate, Varek blocked the path. “Mira, remain here,” he instructed. He faced Riven. “I need to speak with her privately.”Riven refused to move. “Say whatever you need in front of me,” he replied. He had noticed Varek watching me near the swamp.“Meet me at our rooms,” I told Riven. I touched his arm. “Professor Nocturne will not hurt me.” Riven warned Varek not to delay me, then followed the others.Varek waited until we were alone. “Your power is not an ordinary moon-bearer ability,” he said. “You absorbed feral energy,







