جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Chapter 32The next afternoon, the penthouse was completely quiet. The weather outside the big glass windows was grey and cold. A thick mist hung over the dark pine trees of the academy. Principal Alistair Vance was away at an emergency meeting with the school board, leaving his private residence empty.I stood inside his personal study, holding a soft white cloth and a spray bottle of water. I was supposed to be cleaning the dust from the heavy mahogany desk and the iron bookshelves. But my body felt incredibly heavy, and every step I took required all my strength.The midnight break-in at the computer server room had taken a terrible toll on my health. My royal bloodline magic was furious. It was trapped beneath my skin, fighting against the mental seals I used to keep it hidden. The energy inside my body felt like boiling water, bubbling up toward my throat.I walked over to the large black leather couch in the center of the room. As I lifted my arm to wipe the leather surface, a s

Chapter 34The morning of the mid-term history exam was freezing cold. A heavy, grey mist covered the entire campus of Lunar Ridge Academy. Inside the main building, the atmosphere was incredibly tense. High-ranking noble students walked into the large examination hall with serious faces, their leather shoes clicking loudly against the polished stone floorboards.The room was arranged with rows of heavy wooden desks. Each desk had a student’s name printed on a small white card. Because I was a low-ranking scholarship girl, my desk was placed at the very back of the room, near the cold glass window. Marcus Sterling’s desk sat in the middle row, surrounded by his wealthy noble friends.I arrived twenty minutes before the exam monitors. The large room was mostly empty, save for two students whispering in the front row. I walked straight to my desk at the back. I lifted the wooden lid and looked inside. The space was completely clean. I had already removed the blue cheat sheet the day bef

Chapter 36The clock on the wall of the basement office read 11:00 PM. The entire academy was completely dark. Outside, the cold wind was howling through the dark pine trees, and a freezing rain was beating against the small, dirty windows of the facility department.I sat at my father’s old wooden desk, the light from a single yellow lamp shining down on my face. My body was shaking with an intense, icy exhaustion. The deep magic burn inside my chest was throbbing like a heavy iron weight behind my ribs, leaving the bitter, familiar taste of copper at the back of my throat. My royal veins were pulsing softly beneath my white uniform sleeves, but I could not stop to rest.Two hours ago, a secret message had flashed across the administrative monitors. Chief Financial Officer Cassandra Vance was moving her plan forward. She had initialized the surprise physical facility inspection twelve hours early. Instead of tomorrow afternoon, she was going to arrive with her senior auditors and hig

Chapter 38The heavy winter mist did not leave the mountains of Lunar Ridge Academy. Inside the grand executive office on the top floor of the tower, the air was freezing cold and completely silent.Principal Alistair Vance stood in front of a massive wall of digital monitors. The bright blue light from the screens cast sharp shadows across his hard, marble face. On the screens, dozens of live camera feeds showed every corner of the school. He could see the crowded dining hall, the cold stone corridors, and the dark entrance to the basement archives.Alistair’s amber-golden eyes were completely fixed on one single screen. It showed the third-floor library hallway.On that screen, a small girl in an oversized grey maintenance uniform was slowly pushing a heavy wooden mop. It was Evangeline Cross. Even through the digital lens, Alistair could see that her movements were slightly stiff. He saw her stop for a second, her small hand pressing hard against her chest as if she were hiding a t

Chapter 40The afternoon rain was hitting the tall, stained-glass windows of the grand academy library. Inside, the air was very heavy and smelled of old paper, leather books, and floor wax. Because the mid-term exams were over, the library was mostly empty. Most of the noble students were celebrating in their luxury lounges, leaving the long rows of wooden tables quiet and dark.I stood in the far corner of the history section, holding a soft cloth. I was supposed to be wiping the dust from the heavy iron bookshelves. But my body felt incredibly weak. The internal magic fire inside my chest was burning with a terrible, punishing heat. My royal veins were pulsing with a faint golden light beneath my white uniform sleeves, and the dry taste of copper blood was thick at the back of my throat.Just two more shelves, I whispered to myself, pressing my hand hard against my aching ribs. Then I can return to the safety of the tower.Suddenly, the heavy, aggressive scent of burning wood and h