Morning light streamed through tall windows draped in pale silk, filling the breakfast room with a soft golden warmth. Compared to the sweeping vastness of the great hall, this space was intimate—a polished oak table beneath a chandelier of wrought silver, shelves lined with crystal jars and porcelain dishes along the far wall.
Lilith sat at the head of the table, her posture flawless even as she spread marmalade over warm bread. Her crimson hair glimmered in the sunlight, cascading over one shoulder like silk. Across from her, Elias devoured his second plate of roasted ham and eggs with a single-minded determination that would have shamed a knight at a royal feast.
"You eat like someone is going to take it away from you," Lilith remarked, her tone light but edged with amusement as she lifted her teacup.
Elias grinned around a mouthful. "It's just that good," he said, gesturing at the platter.
Lilith's emerald eyes softened. "Try to leave some for the rest of Valebourne."
He only grinned wider, tearing into another slice of bread. For a while, the only sounds were the gentle clink of silverware and the distant chatter of birds outside the open windows, a lullaby of morning peace.
When they finished, a servant appeared at the door, bowing low. "Lord Thorne requests your presence in the study."
Lilith rose first, smoothing an invisible crease from her gown. "Come, Elias. Let's not keep him waiting."
Elias quickly pushed the rest of the bread he was holding into his mouth and jumped off the chair. His steps were swift as he followed behind his sister, exiting the room with her.
The study smelled faintly of parchment and polished cedar, its shelves lined with leather-bound tomes and rolled maps. Sunlight filtered through tall windows, glinting off the silver inkstand on the desk where Caelum stood waiting. He inclined his head as they entered, his teal eyes calm and unreadable.
"My lady. Lord Elias." His voice was smooth, low, carrying the kind of weight that silenced idle thoughts.
Lilith returned the nod and took the chair opposite his desk. Elias settled beside her, straight-backed for once. Caelum stood behind his desk, hands clasped lightly.
"The Academy will not treat you as nobles," he began, his tone calm yet edged with authority. "Even if it is an Academy for nobles. It will treat you as students. And its instructors—each one is a force unto themselves. Know them well."
He drew a folded parchment from the desk and placed it before them. "First, the Dean—High Priestess Maerwyn."
Caelum stopped for a second to look at Lilith, a serious gaze in his teal eyes. "She is your future target, my lady."
Lilith inclined her head slightly, listening in silence. She looked calm on the surface but it was clear that this single sentence made her tense.
"She is the Academy's spine. Warm to all who enter, gentle in tone, and motherly in her care. But make no mistake—her loyalty lies with Idite and her laws. Do not cross her. Not in public. Not in private."
Caelum continued without pause. "Master Dorian Vael—your sword instructor." His gaze flicked to Elias, sharp as a blade. "Gruff, disciplined, and stripped of courtly niceties. He will expect precision and humility. You impressed him once. Maintain that impression."
Elias straightened unconsciously. "Understood."
"Master Sera Halcorth," Caelum said next, and his tone carried a faint weight. "Field magic and tactics. She does not care for names or titles. If you are weak, she will break you. If you are reckless, she will make you regret it." His teal eyes found Lilith's with quiet force. "Hold your strength in check. She will not forgive flamboyance."
"I figured as such," Lilith replied, her voice calm and even.
"Professor Elowen Sirelith," Caelum went on, his cadence shifting like the turn of a page. "Theory and history of magic. Soft-spoken. Patient. She welcomes curiosity but despises recklessness. She will favor those who learn, not those who boast."
He glanced at the parchment. "Professor Thaddeus Greyvale—your historian. An archivist of wars and bloodlines. He adores questions. Ask the right ones, and you will have his respect."
"Madame Corvianne Drae—your dormitory matron." A faint glint of something—amusement, perhaps—brushed his voice. "Her word is iron. She tolerates neither mischief nor disobedience. Do not test her patience."
He named the rest swiftly: Madame Isolde Marrec for mounted combat—"stern but loyal to her craft, nothing more"; Professor Corwin Maithe, "a scholar who believes language is sharper than steel—speak carefully in his presence"; and Celeste Vaer, the Archivist—"gentle, but never mistake her kindness for ignorance."
When the list was done, Caelum let the silence stretch, his gaze resting first on Elias, then Lilith.
"These halls will test you," he said, his voice quiet, steel wrapped in silk. "Not with swords alone, nor spells. But with words. With the eyes that weigh your worth in every step you take. Remember what I tell you now: respect, restraint, and silence where needed. Especially with Halcorth and Vael. They will shape more than your skills—they will shape your survival."
Lilith inclined her head, the faintest gleam in her emerald eyes. "We'll remember."
"See that you do," Caelum replied.
He gathered the parchment into a neat stack, signaling the end of the discussion. Rising, Lilith smoothed her skirts with unhurried grace while Elias stood a little too quickly, his hand brushing the pommel of his sword at his side as if eager to move again.
Caelum's teal gaze followed them to the door. "Take the day," he said evenly. "There will be no shortage of demands soon enough."
Lilith offered a quiet nod before stepping out into the sunlit corridor, Elias trailing behind her. The hush of the study gave way to the gentle murmur of distant fountains and the warm scent of blooming gardens carried through open windows.
Later, the gardens stretched like an emerald sea under the noon sun. Roses spilled over ivory trellises, their petals casting jeweled shadows across the gravel paths. Lilith sat beneath a marble arch draped in silverleaf vines, a porcelain teacup resting in her hand. Her posture was elegant, yet there was a softness to the curve of her shoulders, a quiet exhale that belonged only to moments like these.
Elias moved a few paces away, sword in hand. He wasn't training in earnest—just light, fluid motions, a dance of steel glinting under the sun as he shifted through forms their father had drilled into him since childhood. The whisper of the blade through air mingled with the rustle of leaves and the distant splash of the fountain.
Footsteps approached, measured and unhurried. Caelum emerged from the shade of the colonnade, a bundle of letters in one hand sealed with a rainbow of wax crests. His dark blue hair shimmered like the midnight sea in sunlight, tied loosely and draped over one shoulder.
"My lady." He bowed his head slightly as he stopped before her. "The morning post."
Lilith set her cup down, accepting the stack without much interest. Her emerald eyes skimmed the elaborate seals. "Viscount Aldwyn… Lady Aurelle… Baroness Rheins." She broke the first seal and scanned the letter's looping script aloud, her voice laced with cool amusement.
"'It would be the height of my delight, Lady Silford, to host you for tea in the coming days…'" Lilith's lips twitched as she lowered the page. "Tea, of course. And no doubt an entire afternoon of prying questions disguised as compliments."
Elias snorted mid-swing. "Sounds riveting. Tell them you'll bring me—I'll liven things up."
Lilith gave him a languid look. "I'm sure nothing would horrify them more."
She sifted through another letter, brow arching at the syrupy phrasing. "'Your presence, like dawn upon shadowed hills, would grace my humble home…'" She dropped it back onto the stack. "Charming."
"Shall I prepare responses, my lady?" Caelum asked, tone smooth, betraying nothing.
"No." Lilith set the letters aside like discarding unremarkable trinkets. "Let them wonder why silence greets them."
"As you wish." Caelum inclined his head, then paused as Lilith's gaze lifted to his.
"One more thing," she said softly. "Houses Roskey, Jorde, and Halden. Look into them."
His teal eyes held hers for a moment before he nodded once. "Consider it done."
The breeze stirred, carrying the faint perfume of roses across the garden. Elias's blade whispered through the air one last time before lowering. Lilith lifted her cup again, its porcelain rim cool against her lips. For now, the world felt still—a quiet lull before the tides began to shift.