Lunch hour at St. Kevin’s was nothing but predictable, bustling with excited chatter and the occasional squeal as students lined up for the day’s hot meal in the cafeteria.

  What was on the menu today again? Something with red beans. Supposedly good for the brain. The sandwich bar was also open, offering slightly less fresh options of salami, ham, cheese, and an assortment of pickled things no one asked for.

  Eydis sat with Colette and Birgit at an eight-seater oak dining table. Unlike the tables around them, theirs sat in awkward silence, since Natalia, the glue that held their group together, was missing.

  Eydis, too, felt that unsettling sensation returning, only much stronger than on the first day of her part-time job.

  “Hey, you okay?” Colette asked. “You look kinda pale.”

  “I’m fine,” Eydis muttered.

  Birgit sipped her orange juice and glanced at the empty seat beside them. “Where’s Natalia? She never skips lunch.”

  “Girl eats like a b—” Collete coughed. “Like someone with a very healthy appetite.”

  Eydis stabbed her pie with her fork. As a Fire-affinity Gifted, Natalia’s metabolism burned through calories fast. Missing a meal wasn’t like her.

  "Maybe she’s still in class?” Birgit suggested. “You know, that secret lesson she wouldn’t tell us about?”

  Gifted training. So Natalia kept her ability a secret from her best friends. Eydis began to suspect that her disappearance might be connected to the unease clawing at her.

  Experience told her that coincidences were never really coincidences. She pushed back from the table and took the tray of untouched lunch.

  “Where are you going?” Colette called.

  Eydis ignored her, returned the tray and headed for the door. Outside, the fresh autumn air that met her skin did little to shake the feeling of unease. If anything, it grew worse. She shut her eyes and concentrated.

  There. The shadows lingered near the Chapel. No, slightly to the left, which was… The gym?

  She followed her senses, eased inside the empty basketball court, and the sensation grew stronger.

  A voice startled her. "This area is off-limits, student."

  It was one of the teachers, a woman Eydis didn't recognise. Just then, the floor beneath her gave a barely perceptible tremor, and the shadows moved.

  "Take me to the source of this, now!" Eydis commanded.

  “I suggest you watch your tone.”

  “I suggest you take me there.”

  The teacher bristled. "What’s your name? Detention slips are the least of your worries if you continue to disrespect a faculty member."

  “Issue all the detentions you want.” Eydis took a step forward and towered over the shorter woman. “Right after you take me to where this magic is.”

  “You… you can sense it?” The teacher’s surprise seemed genuine, her gaze darting instinctively to the blank wall behind Eydis.

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  Eydis smirked and glided towards the wall.

  "Wait! STOP! That's the Sanctuary. You don’t have clearance," the teacher shouted.

  "I don't." Eydis eyed the access panel. “But you do.”

  The teacher froze. Her eyes darted to the access card in Eydis’s hand that she hadn't noticed before. Where had...? She reached for her pocket.

  Empty.

  Eydis didn’t waste any time and swiped the card. The panel beeped green, followed by the click of gears and a rush of air. The wall opened to reveal a stairwell, descending underground. Once she stepped through, the entrance closed instantly behind her, leaving the teacher behind in stunned silence.

  The Sanctuary. Natalia’s Gifted training ground.

  And the shadows.

  Natalia was in danger.

  The marble floor hit Natalia like a punch, driving the air from her lungs. Her strongest flame attack had been effortlessly consumed by the purple mist coiling around Tiffany.

  The way the mist slithered around her, brushed her face, made her smile stretch too wide, it felt alive.

  Like it understood.

  Like it enjoyed this.

  Natalia groaned, blaming the thought on a brain jolt from the fall.

  Tiffany twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger. “Really? That’s it? Boring.”

  “It’s a game to you?”

  The blonde grinned. “Maybe?”

  Natalia pushed herself to her feet, legs unsteady.

  Tiffany raised her eyebrow. “Still fighting? Or do you just like losing?”

  Natalia had never cared much for competition. But the longer this dragged on, the more twisted the fight felt. If Tiffany won this, if she climbed the ranks… what would she do to Eydis? She was already insufferable without magic.

  Focus.

  Clenching her jaw, Natalia threw her hand forward again, channeling her anger into heat to summon another wave of fire. Sparks burst from her fingertips and ignited into a wall of fire.

  "Predictable." Tiffany formed a shield out of the same swirling mist.

  Instead of vanishing like before, the flames hit hard against the violet shield, erupting in a sharp CRACK that rippled through the arena. The impact left the previously clear protective dome shimmering with a purple haze.

  Around the arena, the crowd of Gifted students gripped their seats as the ground shook slightly beneath them.

  "Hah! Even a C-Class runt can pull off a spark or two." Tiffang unleashed a tendril of the dark energy toward Natalia. "But it won't be enough.”

  Natalia evaded the brunt of the attack, though a stinging burn seared her arm. Gritting her teeth, she hurled a blazing fireball at Tiffany’s feet.

  Tiffany stumbled back. “You’ve got some nerve,” she hissed, purple mist spiralling into two fierce tendrils around her arms.

  Natalia wobbled as she got to her feet. Her reserves were gone, and she couldn’t dodge the next hit. The tendril hammered into her chest. Her vision blurred from tears of pain and helplessness.

  Magic… she thought bitterly, it was supposed to be a gift. It was supposed to make me feel special.

  But all Natalia ever wanted was a normal, even boring life where the biggest problem was a forgotten wallet on a grocery trip or a burnt batch of brownies. She wanted a 9-to-5, a cheap apartment to call her own, and eventually, a messy dinner table with a family she helped build.

  As Natalia’s head struck the marble floor, memories she had fought—and failed—to bury surged to the surface. Fire, screams, and the sight of Lionel amidst the destruction.

  This cursed power, she hated it with every fibre of her being.

  Through watery eyes, Natalia saw Tiffany laughing, her face stretched in manic delight. But the sound barely rose above the crackling flames in her memory.

  Then Tiffany’s grin dropped. Her eyes widened in panic as her hands rose, trembling as though they moved against her will.

  “No. No!” she whimpered.

  Dark shadows emerged, lashing toward Natalia’s heart.

  Natalia clenched her eyes shut, a choked sob escaping her lips.

  But the air plummeted in temperature, warped and distorted.

  The audience gasped. Tiffany's hands remained suspended mid-air.

  A silver blur streaked across the arena, an instantaneous arrival that sent a shockwave rattling the barrier. A Gifted student interposed between Natalia and the malicious shadows.

  CLANK.

  With a blunt, dull sound, the student parried the lethal attack effortlessly. She lowered her weapon...

  An old, wooden practice sword. Astra's.

  "What just happened...?" Tiffany sputtered.

  Astra stood between Natalia and Tiffany. "Stop.”

  But of course, it didn’t listen.

  In a split second, the dark energy launched from Tiffany, coiling toward Astra like a striking snake.

  Astra’s sword slashed down, effortlessly severing it mid-air. A terrible wail rang out as the shadow recoiled, slamming back into Tiffany, who collapsed, drained by the force of its return.

  “Enough!” Astra finally raised her voice.

  Tiffany’s body convulsed violently. Just as Astra stepped forward, Natalia’s whimper made her pause.

  Astra was beside her innstantly. Checking Natalia's vitals, she turned sharply towards a teacher. "She needs medical attention. NOW!”

  Natalia felt a strange detachment from her body, the scene around her blurring as if she were watching it through a fog. When she was helped onto the stretcher, she caught a glimpse of her.

  Eydis.

  But gone was her familiar mischief that had always lit up her face, making it impossible for Natalia to look away. In its place was concern, sending a warmth blooming in Natalia’s chest, even when she could see nothing but blackness.