Lyra's POV
The village had never felt this quiet before.
Normally, by sunset the streets of Ashford were filled with noise. Farmers returned from the fields, children ran through the dirt roads, and the smell of cooking fires drifted through the air.
But tonight, everything was different.
Everyone was talking about the crystal.
About me.
I sat outside the small wooden hut I called home, staring down at my hands.
They looked completely normal.
No glowing symbols. No strange markings. Nothing that showed what had happened in the square earlier.
And yet…
I could still feel it.
A faint cold sensation moved beneath my skin, like a shadow slipping through my veins.
Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the moment the crystal cracked.
The black smoke.
The whispers from the villagers.
Shadow.
The word made my stomach twist.
Shadow magic wasn't just rare.
It was forbidden.
The stories said shadow mages once ruled ancient kingdoms before they were hunted down and destroyed. Entire wars had been fought to wipe them out.
Which meant only one thing.
If the kingdom believed I had that power…
I would be hunted too.
A sudden sound pulled me from my thoughts.
Hoofbeats.
At first they were distant, barely noticeable.
Then they grew louder.
Many horses.
My heart skipped.
Ashford was a small village. Visitors were rare.
Soldiers almost never came here.
I stood slowly and looked toward the road leading into the village.
A line of riders appeared in the fading sunlight.
Black armor.
Silver crests on their chests.
Royal soldiers.
Fear spread through the village faster than fire.
Doors opened. People stepped outside their homes. Within minutes the entire village was gathering in the square again.
The soldiers rode straight toward the crystal.
There were at least ten of them.
Their armor looked heavy and polished, far stronger than anything a village guard would wear.
At their head rode a tall man with a scar cutting across his cheek.
He dismounted smoothly and studied the crystal.
Even from a distance, I could see the crack running across its surface.
The commander's expression darkened.
"This report better not be a waste of the crown's time," he said.
His voice carried easily across the silent square.
The village elder stepped forward nervously.
"I assure you, Commander, what happened today was… unnatural."
The soldier's eyes narrowed.
He placed a gloved hand on the crystal, examining the fracture carefully.
"This stone has survived for centuries," he muttered.
Then he turned slowly toward the crowd.
"Who touched it?"
No one answered.
People began glancing in my direction.
My chest tightened.
The elder swallowed hard and lifted his trembling hand.
"It was… Lyra."
He pointed directly at me.
Every head turned.
My heart began pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears.
The commander started walking toward me.
Each step felt impossibly slow.
I forced myself not to run.
Running would only make me look guilty.
When he finally stopped in front of me, his sharp eyes examined my face carefully.
"You are Lyra?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered quietly.
"You touched the crystal during the awakening ceremony?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"What magic did it reveal?"
My throat felt dry.
"I… don't know."
A murmur spread through the villagers.
The commander studied me for several long seconds.
Then he glanced back at the cracked crystal.
"Strange," he muttered.
Another soldier stepped closer to him.
"Commander, could it be corruption magic?"
The commander shook his head.
"No. Something else."
His eyes returned to me.
For a moment, I thought I saw curiosity in his expression.
Then it disappeared.
"You will come with us," he said.
The words hit me like a stone.
"Come with you?"
"To the capital."
My stomach twisted.
"Why?"
"Because," he replied calmly, "the Royal Magic Academy will want to examine this situation."
Fear crept up my spine.
The academy.
Only noble children were trained there.
Commoners never even saw its gates.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked quietly.
The commander looked almost amused.
"No."
He turned away and gestured toward his soldiers.
"Prepare a carriage."
The villagers stepped back as the soldiers moved around the square.
No one defended me.
No one spoke.
They were afraid.
Afraid of me.
I looked down at my hands again.
The cold sensation beneath my skin had returned.
Stronger this time.
Whatever power had awakened inside me…
It wasn't going away.
And tomorrow…
I was leaving the only home I had ever known.