Olivia's POV
I don't sleep all night.
Every time I close my eyes, I see Director Thorne's cold face. Her warning echoes in my head. "Stay away from the North Tower."
By morning, I'm exhausted. I drag myself out of bed and put on my uniform. The mirror shows dark circles under my eyes. Great. First day of classes and I look like a zombie.
The dining hall is massive and loud. Hundreds of students eat breakfast at long tables. I grab a tray of food and look for somewhere to sit. Every table I approach goes silent. Students stare at me, then turn away.
The Null-Spark. The charity case. The girl who doesn't belong.
I find an empty corner and eat alone. The eggs taste like cardboard but I force them down. I'll need energy for today.
My first class is Basic Magic Theory with Master Aldrich.
I arrive early. The classroom has rows of desks facing a raised platform. Students file in. The blonde girl from the boat—Victoria—sits in the front row with her friends. They're all perfect. Perfect hair, perfect uniforms, perfect everything.
I take a seat in the back.
Master Aldrich enters. He's a short man with wild gray hair and spectacles that keep sliding down his nose. "Good morning, first years! Today we begin with the fundamentals. Levitation!"
He waves his hand. His coffee cup floats off the desk and hovers in the air. Students gasp and clap.
"Simple telekinesis. Every mage learns this first. Now, everyone take out your practice object. Pencil, quill, whatever you brought."
I pull out a pencil from my bag. My hand shakes.
"Focus your energy on the object. Visualize it rising. Feel the magic flow from your core, down your arm, through your fingertips. Begin!"
Around me, objects start floating. Victoria's quill spins in elegant circles above her head. The boy next to me makes his pencil do loops. Even the nervous-looking girl across the aisle manages to lift her eraser an inch.
I stare at my pencil.
Nothing happens.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Focus. Feel the magic. Mom always said I was special. She said I had power inside me. I just have to find it.
I push harder. My head starts to hurt. Come on. Move. Please move.
The pencil wobbles.
Yes! It's working!
Then it stops. Falls flat on the desk.
"Miss Hart, are you quite finished making faces?" Master Aldrich says.
The class erupts in laughter.
My face burns. "I... it moved a little."
"A twitch is not levitation." He sighs. "Try again. Everyone else, continue practicing."
I try five more times. The pencil doesn't even wobble. Sweat drips down my back. My head pounds from the effort.
Victoria leans over to her friend but speaks loud enough for me to hear. "Why is the charity case even here? She can't do basic magic."
Her friends giggle.
I want to disappear.
"That's enough for today," Master Aldrich finally says. "Miss Hart, please see me after class."
Everyone packs up and leaves, whispering and staring at me. When the room empties, I approach his desk.
"Sir, I can do better. I just need more practice—"
He holds up his hand. "I'm reassigning you to remedial magic. Basement level, starting tomorrow. This class is too advanced for your... abilities."
"But I haven't even had a real chance—"
"The decision is final." He looks at me with pity, which somehow feels worse than cruelty. "Not everyone is meant to be a powerful mage, Miss Hart."
I leave before he can see me cry.
Lunch is worse. The cafeteria is packed. I grab my tray and search for a place to sit. Every time I approach a table, conversations stop. Students look away or whisper to each other.
Victoria sits at the center table, surrounded by admirers. She sees me and smirks. "Lost, charity case? The reject table is over there." She points to an empty table in the corner.
Laughter spreads through the cafeteria.
My throat tightens but I won't cry. Not here. I sit at the empty table and force down my sandwich. It tastes like nothing.
As I eat, I notice something strange.
Professors walk through the cafeteria, and each one wears a silver device on their wrist. The devices glow green when professors pass students. But when they pass me, the glow fades to nothing.
What are those things? Why don't they work on me?
After lunch, I wander the hallways. I need to find my next class but I'm lost in this maze of corridors. Some hallways are blocked by red holographic barriers with signs: "Restricted Zone - Authorized Personnel Only."
There are so many restricted areas. More than half the castle seems off-limits. What are they hiding?
I turn a corner and freeze.
At the end of the hallway, I see another restricted barrier. But beyond it, through the shimmering red light, I can see a staircase leading up. A sign reads "North Tower - No Student Access."
Director Thorne's words come back to me. "Stay away from the North Tower. Students who go there don't come back the same."
Why? What's up there?
I'm staring so hard at the barrier that I don't hear footsteps behind me until a voice speaks.
"Curious about places you don't belong?"
I spin around. A professor stands there—young, maybe thirty, with sharp features and cold eyes. The device on his wrist glows faintly, then dies when he looks at me.
"I was just looking for my classroom," I stammer.
"Then look elsewhere." He steps closer. "The North Tower is forbidden for good reason. Students like you..." He pauses, studying me with an expression I can't read. "Students like you should be especially careful."
"What does that mean?"
He doesn't answer. Just walks away, leaving me shaking in the empty hallway.
Everything about this place feels wrong. The restricted areas. The glowing devices. The way professors look at me—not with pity, but with something else. Fear? Suspicion?
I finally find my next classroom and stumble through the rest of the day. Every class is the same. I fail at basic spells while others succeed. Teachers shake their heads. Students whisper.
By dinner, I'm numb.
I eat alone again, then drag myself back to my tiny room. I collapse on my bed, still in my uniform. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Maybe—
My door flies open.
I jolt upright. My roommate, Melissa, storms in. I didn't even know I had a roommate.
"Finally, you're here," she snaps. She's a tall girl with red hair and freckles. "I've been trying to get reassigned all day. I'm not sharing a room with a Null-Spark."
"I didn't ask to be your roommate either," I mutter.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
She glares at me. "Just stay out of my way. Don't touch my things. Don't talk to me. Pretend I don't exist."
"Fine."
She turns to her side of the room, then pauses. "And stay away from that wall." She points to the wall I touched last night—the one that glowed. "I felt something weird from it yesterday. It's probably just old magic residue, but still. It gives me the creeps."
She felt it too?
After Melissa falls asleep, I wait an hour. Then I quietly get out of bed and approach the wall.
I press my palm against the stone.
It's warm again. Warmer than before.
The symbols appear, glowing bright blue in the darkness. But this time, they don't disappear. They spread across the wall like living things, forming patterns and words I can't read.
Then I hear it.
A voice. Faint and distant, like it's coming from very far away.
"Help us."
I stumble backward, my heart pounding.
The symbols fade. The voice stops. But I know what I heard.
Someone—or something—is trapped in this wall.
And they just asked me for help.