Chapter 2 CHAPTER TWO
AERIS
Trial Day always begins in silence.
Not the peaceful kind, but the heavy, suffocating stillness that wraps around your bones and makes every breath feel like it could be your last.
Maybe that’s why the sunrise is so devastatingly beautiful this morning.
A defiant blaze of color across the sky..rose gold bleeding into amber, clouds rimmed in fire. Like the heavens are putting on a final show just in case some of us don’t survive the day.
I stand at my window for a moment, letting the sight sear into my memory.
Just in case.
Then I turn away, tighten the straps of the travel pack strapped to my back, and head for the stairs. The leather bites into my shoulders, the weight dragging me down with every step. Forty pounds of enchanted steel, emergency potions, books, spare clothes, and spellbooks I barely know how to use. All of it crammed into one pack meant to keep me alive—if I’m lucky.
Among the mess of items inside, there was a small velvet-wrapped bundle nestled at the top—a parting gift from my best friend, Zoey. She should’ve been going with me this morning, but she’s still seventeen. Next year i would see her
Maybe...if i still was alive
By the time I reach the bottom of the tower, sweat clung to the back of my neck and my lungs are on fire.
Three months of pre-Trial conditioning.
And I can still barely make it down without cursing under my breath.
“Aeris.”
I turned to see Kaelia standing there like she’s about to be crowned Empress of the Nine Realm
Taller than me by several inches, she radiates poise and power. Her dark cloak falls in perfect folds, her pack rests lightly against one shoulder, and her jet-black hair is twisted into an intricate braid—our mother’s signature style. Every detail about her is calculated and controlled.
In contrast, my chestnut-brown hair tumbles freely over my shoulders, unstyled and soft. My frame is smaller, more delicate...where Kaelia is fierce and commanding, I am quiet and cautious. Though we were born together, we look nothing alike. Her sharp grey eyes cut through everything in their path. Mine, deep ocean blue, often waver.
I didn’t have to ask if she was nervous. She wasn’t.
She met my gaze, one brow arching with that familiar mix of impatience and superiority. “Took you long enough.”
“I was enjoying my last sunrise,” I muttered, still trying to catch my breath.
She smirked, cold and confident. “Dramatic. You’re not going to die today, Aeris.”
Easy for her to say. She’s been prepared for this her entire life. I’ve spent mine just trying not to fall apart.
Our footsteps echoed sharply as we made our way toward the exit hall, passing beneath soaring arched ceilings and enchanted sconces that flickered to life as we moved. The corridor smelled faintly of lavender oil and old magic...our mother’s signature blend. She always said scent was a form of memory; if you breathed something in long enough, it would stay with you when everything else fell apart.
Our parents waited by the gate.
Serenya Thalorian is as poised as ever in her crimson robes, eyes sharp and mouth set. She didn't smile when she saw us, she merely nodded, as if ticking off items on a list. Beside her, Thane Thalorian stood with arms crossed, his sword belted at his hip more as a symbol than a weapon. He hadn’t drawn it in years.
“You’re late,” he said.
I opened my mouth to explain, but Kaelia was quicker. “We’re on time. Aeris just took the long route.”
A flicker of annoyance crossed Father’s eyes, but he said no more.
Mother stepped forward, adjusting a clasp on Kaelia’s cloak with precise fingers. “You remember the strategy we discussed?”
Kaelia nodded without hesitation. “Strike first. Ask questions later.”
“And keep your magic sharp.”
“Always.”
Then she turned to me. Her hands hesitated for a heartbeat, caught between adjusting my cloak or simply moving on. She chose to move on.
“You know the rules,” she said, voice colder than the morning air. “Stay focused. Don’t draw attention to your weaknesses. If your magic falters, compensate with instinct. If you panic—don’t.”
I swallowed hard. My mouth tasted like iron.
Typical.
The gates creaked open. Outside, two silver-carved carriages waited—one for each of us. No matter how close we were by blood, no matter how tightly fate had bound us, the Trials were a solitary path.
Mother’s voice rang out clear and final, cutting through the quiet. “Finally. Goodbye.”
Father nodded once. “Make us proud.”
We arrived at the edge of Aetherian Academy just as dawn spilled molten gold across the horizon. The carriages slowed on a jagged cliffside path, overlooking a valley blanketed in silver mist. All around us, students leaned forward, craning to catch a glimpse of the Academy.
And there it was—. Aetherian.
It rose like a dream carved from moonlight and shadow. Silver towers pierced the clouds, their spires crowned with floating crystal orbs pulsing softly with magic. Ivy-draped halls connected by suspended bridges twisted through the air. Waterfalls poured from nowhere, vanishing before they ever touched the ground. Runes shimmered faintly on every surface, like the entire structure was breathing with ancient power.
I pressed my hand to the window, heart pounding. This was the place of legends,the cradle of the Trials. The forge that shaped champions… or broke them. Maybe I would’ve admired it more if I weren’t being led to what felt like my execution.
Beside me, Kaelia studied the view with her usual sharp calm, already calculating. Other students stepped out of their carriages, boots crunching on moss and gravel. I followed, the morning air crisp with the scent of magic and mist.
Murmurs spread.
“Is that it?”
“It’s more beautiful than the stories.”
“I thought we’d enter through gates.”
But before anyone could speak again, the ground trembled faintly. A gust of wind stirred the mist and a low, ancient sound rang out, like a bell tolling from deep underground.
Then… the Academy vanished.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“It was right there—did it just disappear?”
“What’s going on?”
“Is this part of the test?”
Where towers once stood, there was now only a single structure: a bridge.
It wasn’t stone or steel, but something living...woven from light and shadow. It shimmered like a heat haze, twisting through the mist in elegant, impossible arcs. It hovered in open air, suspended across a chasm with no visible supports.
Beautiful. Terrifying.
I hadn’t expected the test to begin so soon. I thought we’d be sorted into dormitories first. Maybe endure a ceremonial dinner. I didn’t expect this: to be thrown into a nightmare before our feet even touched campus ground.
Ahead, a woman hugged her daughter tightly before letting go. Their hands clung for a heartbeat longer—then parted.
My chest tightened.
Serenya Thalorian would never. She definitely would call that a weakness
Then almost immediately, Two figures emerged from the mist, tall and cloaked in black armor etched with silver runes. Their faces were hidden behind obsidian masks, blank and unreadable.
Maybe they are the instructors..or executioners.
One stepped forward. His voice echoed—not loud, but clear, as if spoken inside our heads.
“Your first trial begins now.”
The murmurs died instantly.
He gestured toward the bridge. “This is the Veil. A test conjured by the founders of Aetherian. It is alive. It senses your doubt. And it feeds on it.”
The second figure lifted a hand. The bridge shimmered, rippling like it had heard him.
“If you falter,” the first said simply, “you fall.”
A beat of silence.
“Below lies the Abyss. And within it—failed students. Creatures warped by time and magic. They were once like you.”
The dread in the air turned sharp, like static.
“You are forbidden from flying, teleporting, summoning, cloaking, or using any magical enhancements. You will cross with instinct alone. If you cheat, the Veil will know. And it will punish you.”
I stared at the edge. The bridge pulsed faintly beneath the mist, each step vanishing into haze.
No lights. No handrails. No visible end.
“There are no second chances.”
My lungs stopped working. The world shrank to the sound of my heartbeat and the quiet dread of everyone around me.
To my right, Kaelia remained still, jaw tight. Not afraid. Focused.
Behind us, whispers resumed.
“Wait, what if we fall?”
“They wouldn’t kill us… not on day one, right?”
But no instructor responded. No illusion shattered. No comforting words followed.
Just silence
Then, a boy stepped forward. Broad-shouldered, confident—either brave or stupid. His cloak trailed behind him as he placed one boot onto the bridge.
The Veil shimmered.
Step by step, he walked forward..sure, steady—until the mist swallowed him whole.
He was gone.
We waited.
Then a second student approached. A girl with perfect curls and too-clean robes. Her steps were slow, cautious. Five paces in, the Veil shuddered.
She screamed.
Gasps erupted but no one reached her. No one dared.
Her feet slipped and her arms flared and before I could blink twice,the bridge gave way and she vanished,her screaming cutting off like a snuffed flame.
She was gone..
Realization settled on all of us like a shroud.
This was no simulation.
I counted the heads around me. Just over sixty students remained out of eighty I counted earlier and one thing was sure...
The number would keep dropping.