Aetherion Academia #1: Shadows of Rebirth
I sat on the edge of the massive silk-covered bed, the torn crimson dress on the floor like the remains of a flayed skin.
My ribs throbbed with every breath, a grinding reminder of the A-class hunters who had nearly turned my night into a permanent residency in the academy graveyard. My shoulder, where the spiked club had grazed me, was a map of heat and stinging fire, silk fibers embedded in the shallow wound.
I reached out, fingers twitching with fatigue that went deeper than muscle. I summoned the Winter Wand from my telepathic mental space.
It materialized in a flurry of crystalline frost and silver light, ancient pale wood humming with a cold resonant frequency that vibrated through my