The classroom was silent as Alex walked to an empty seat. At 5'11", he was taller than many of the other students, making him and his white hair even more noticeable. He kept his eyes down, playing the part of the shy newcomer.
The teacher, a stern woman named Proctor Grey, began the lesson. "Today, we review the Law of Thermal Transfer. Who can demonstrate a basic heating charm?"
A confident boy in the front row stood. He waved his hand, and a small flame appeared above his palm. The class nodded in approval.
Proctor Grey then created a complex, shimmering barrier in the air. "This is a Law of Thermal Insulation. Your task is to bypass it and heat the crystal on the other side."
One by one, students tried. They used stronger flames, focused beams of heat, but the barrier held strong. The crystal remained cold.
Alex watched, his mind working. He could see the barrier's structure, a perfect weave of energy. He saw its keyhole—a tiny, almost invisible flaw where the spell's end looped back on itself.
"Kaelen," Proctor Grey said, her eyes on him. "Would you like to try?"
The whole class turned to look at him. He could feel the Lexicon's eyes on him from the back of the room.
Alex stood up. He walked to the front, his heart pounding. He couldn't use his power. He had to do it their way.
He stared at the barrier, pretending to concentrate. He raised his hand, mimicking the others. But in his mind, he was tracing the flaw, the weak point.
Then, he had an idea. He didn't need to break the law. He could use the flaw.
He focused his will, not on nullifying, but on pushing a tiny stream of heat through that single weak point. It was like threading a needle.
A moment later, the crystal on the other side of the barrier began to glow a soft, warm red.
The class gasped. Proctor Grey's eyes widened. "How did you...? That was... highly efficient."
From the back of the room, the Lexicon spoke, his voice calm. "An interesting solution, Kaelen. Not brute force, but precision. Almost as if you saw a path no one else could."
Alex met his gaze for a second, then looked away. "I... I just got lucky, Proctor."
As he returned to his seat, the girl with the dark hair and intelligent eyes leaned over.
"That wasn't luck," she whispered, her voice low and curious. "You didn't overpower it. You found the seam in the weave. My name is Lyra. How did you do that?"
Alex looked at her, at her clever, searching eyes. For the first time, he felt a different kind of danger. Not from a soldier or a Quillord, but from a smart girl who saw too much.
He gave a small, shy smile. "I just have a good eye, I guess."
But inside, he knew. The hardest part of this mission wouldn't be fooling the teachers. It would be fooling the students, especially the clever ones like Lyra.