บททั้งหมดของ THE SHADOW QUEEN OF AETHERIA: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

Lyra's POV The village had never felt this quiet before. Normally, by sunset the streets of Ashford were filled with noise. Farmers returned from the fields, children ran through the dirt roads, and the smell of cooking fires drifted through the air. But tonight, everything was different. Everyone was talking about the crystal. About me. I sat outside the small wooden hut I called home, staring down at my hands. They looked completely normal. No glowing symbols. No strange markings. Nothing that showed what had happened in the square earlier. And yet… I could still feel it. A faint cold sensation moved beneath my skin, like a shadow slipping through my veins. Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the moment the crystal cracked. The black smoke. The whispers from the villagers. Shadow. The word made my stomach twist. Shadow magic wasn't just rare. It was forbidden. The stories said shadow mages once ruled ancient kingdoms before they were hunted down and destroy

Lyra's POV The gates of the Royal Magic Academy rose like a fortress against the sky, black stone etched with golden runes that glimmered faintly in the sunlight. Even from the road, I could feel the weight of centuries pressing down, a magic older than anything I had ever known. My stomach tightened. This was no ordinary school. This was a kingdom in miniature, where the powerful trained and the weak… disappeared. The carriage rolled to a halt before the massive gates. Soldiers and staff hurried about, escorting students inside. I stared, unable to believe that I, Lyra Vale, a poor girl from a forgotten village, was about to step inside. "Here we are," the commander said gruffly. "You'll be assigned a room, and then your lessons will begin immediately. Prince Kaelen will supervise your training personally." I swallowed. His words did nothing to calm the nervous flutter in my chest. Prince Kaelen. The future king. Cold, brilliant, and dangerously intelligent. I could still se

Lyra's POV The Academy was quiet at night, the kind of silence that pressed against your ears and made every creak of the stone floor sound like a shout. I had slipped out of my dormitory, careful to avoid the patrols of the hall monitors. My satchel clutched tightly, I walked toward the courtyard garden, the only place where shadows felt natural. Here, the golden glow from the torches did not penetrate fully. Darkness pooled between the hedges and statues, wrapping around me like a familiar cloak. I could feel the pulse of magic beneath my skin, whispering and twitching with impatience. I knelt, placing my palms on the cold stone fountain at the garden’s center. The water shimmered, reflecting faint silver light, and I let the shadows rise. The tendrils slithered across the fountain, curling around the water’s edge. My heartbeat synchronized with their movement. Slowly, carefully, I experimented. A shadow lifted from the fountain, formi

Lyra's POV The arena slowly emptied after the Trial of Control, but the unease it left behind clung to me like smoke.Students whispered as they walked past.Some glanced at me quickly before looking away.Others stared openly.I kept my head down and walked toward the courtyard, trying to pretend nothing unusual had happened. But the moment replayed in my mind again and again.The shadow creature.The chain of darkness that had burst from the floor.The silence that followed.I hadn’t meant to use it.But instinct had taken over.And someone had seen.Kaelen.The thought made my stomach tighten.The courtyard fountain glittered under the afternoon sun when I arrived. Students gathered in small groups, talking excitedly about the trial.“Did you see the lightning spell from the noble boy in Group Two?”“One of the girls nearly burned down the corridor!”“They say three students lost control completely.”Their voices blended together until they became background noise.I sat

Lyra's POV Something had changed at the academy. I noticed it the moment I stepped into the main hall that morning. Students were whispering. Not the usual gossip about instructors or duels. This was different. Every time I walked past a group, their voices lowered. Some of them stared openly. Others avoided my gaze entirely. I sat beside Nira at breakfast, trying to ignore it. She leaned closer and whispered, “Okay… what did you do?” “I didn’t do anything,” I said quickly. Nira raised an eyebrow. “Then why are people talking about you?” I frowned. “What are they saying?” “That you did something strange during the trial yesterday,” she said quietly. “Some students said the shadow creatures… reacted to you.” My stomach tightened. So people had noticed. “Rumors spread fast here,” she continued. “Especially when someone shows unusual magic.” I forced a calm expression. “They’re exaggerating.” Nira studied me carefully, but before she could question me further, a voic