Lyra's POV
Zain's uncle wants me dead.
I can see it in his cold smile, hear it in his calm voice. He's not here to talk. He's here to eliminate a problem—me.
"Uncle Kade?" Zain's voice cracks with betrayal. "You're with the Luminal Order? You told me they killed my parents!"
"They did." Kade's smile doesn't waver. "I gave the order myself. Your parents discovered the Starborn still existed. They had to be silenced."
The words hit like physical blows. I watch Zain's face shatter—the cold, untouchable prodigy suddenly looking like the ten-year-old boy who watched his parents die.
"You murdered them." Ice explodes around Zain, deadly and sharp. "You raised me. Trained me. Loved me. And you killed my family?"
"I did what was necessary." Kade gestures and fifty soldiers raise their weapons—not at Zain, but at me. "The Starborn bloodline is a disease. Your parents wanted to cure it. I chose eradication instead."
The holographic map still glowing around us suddenly flares brighter.
"Additional bearers required," the Codex voice announces. "Summoning compatible signatures."
Three beams of light shoot from the map like reverse lightning, stabbing into the sky.
"What's it doing?" I whisper.
Zain's eyes widen with understanding. "It's pulling more people. The trial needs a full team."
"Seize the girl!" Kade shouts. "Before—"
Three figures materialize in flashes of blinding light, slamming into the ground beside us.
A girl with dark hair lands in a crouch, knives already in her hands. "What the—where am I? I was hiding in the library shadow section and—" She spots the soldiers. "Oh, perfect. A fight. My favorite."
A boy with glasses crashes face-first into the dirt, his scanner device flying from his grip. "Ow ow ow—" He scrambles up, sees me and Zain, then the armed soldiers. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."
A girl in healer robes appears last, landing gracefully. She takes in the scene with quick, intelligent eyes. "Lyra Ashford? The expelled girl from the ceremony? And Zain Korathi?" Her gaze locks on the soldiers. "We're in danger."
"No kidding," the dark-haired girl mutters. She looks at me. "I'm Nyx. Shadow mage. Currently very confused about why magic kidnapped me. Who wants to die first?" She spins her knives, glaring at the soldiers.
"I'm Ren." The boy with glasses grabs his scanner. "B-Rank technomancer. Also confused. Also scared. Mostly scared." His device beeps frantically. "Um, guys? These soldiers have power-dampening technology. We can't use magic within fifty feet of them."
The healer girl—Aria—steps beside me protectively. "Then we run."
"Team Configuration Complete," the Codex announces. "Five bearers assembled. Primary: Lyra Ashford. Secondaries: Zain Korathi, Nyx Solari, Ren Takeshi, Aria Luxen. Beginning First Trial."
The ground beneath us starts glowing.
Kade's expression shifts to panic. "Stop them! The Codex is opening a portal! If they escape—"
A massive portal rips open right under our feet—swirling stars and darkness and energy.
"Jump or die!" Zain grabs my hand, pulling me toward the portal. "Everyone in! Now!"
"Are you insane?" Nyx shouts. "We don't know where that goes!"
"It goes away from the people trying to kill us!" I jump.
Zain jumps with me, still holding my hand. Nyx curses and follows. Ren squeaks but dives in. Aria takes a breath and leaps.
We fall through space itself.
Colors blur. Stars streak past. My stomach lurches. Zain's grip on my hand is the only solid thing in the chaos.
We crash onto a metal platform.
I roll, gasping. My entire body feels like it got squeezed through a tube. Beside me, Nyx groans. Ren throws up. Aria checks everyone for injuries. Zain stands first, scanning our surroundings.
We're back in the academy library's restricted section.
But something's wrong. The shelves are different. The architecture is older. The air tastes strange.
"Did we time travel?" Ren whispers, staring at his scanner. "Because my device says we're still in the library, but the energy signatures are all wrong. This place is... ancient."
The holographic map appears again, now compact enough to hover in front of me.
"First Trial: Prove Your Worth," the Codex voice says. "Objective: Survive the guardians. Unlock Primary Keybearer's first seal. Time limit: one hour."
"Guardians?" Aria asks nervously. "What guardians?"
The library walls start moving. No—things are moving inside the walls. Massive shapes uncurling from centuries of sleep.
Stone constructs. Ancient security systems. Dozens of them, each twice the size of a person, covered in glowing runes.
They turn toward us with mechanical precision.
"We're in a Starborn training facility," Zain realizes. "The Codex transported us through time or dimensions or—doesn't matter. These constructs are designed to test warriors. To kill those who aren't worthy."
"Great." Nyx readies her knives. "I got magic-kidnapped for a death exam."
"I can't fight!" Ren clutches his scanner like a shield. "I'm a technomancer! I hack things, not punch them!"
"Then hack those constructs," Zain snaps. Ice forms around his fists. "Nyx, protect Ren. Aria, stay behind me and Lyra. Lyra—"
"I'm F-Rank," I say miserably. "I can barely light a candle. How am I supposed to fight ancient warrior robots?"
Zain looks at me with something fierce in his gold eyes. "You're not F-Rank. You never were. So stop believing their lies and fight."
The constructs attack.
Zain meets them with walls of ice. Nyx disappears into shadows, reappearing behind constructs to stab their weak points. Aria's healing magic strengthens our movements. Ren frantically works his scanner, trying to find vulnerabilities.
But there are too many. We're being overwhelmed.
A construct breaks through Zain's defenses, heading straight for me. Its stone fist swings down—
My body moves before my brain catches up.
Power explodes from my hands. Pure white energy that shouldn't exist in someone like me. The construct disintegrates.
Everyone freezes, staring.
"What was that?" Nyx breathes.
The holographic map flares. "First seal breaking. Primary Keybearer awakening at 3%. Current rank: D-Level 1."
D-Rank. I jumped from F to D in one attack.
"It's working," Zain says with satisfaction. "The trials unlock your suppressed power. Every challenge you overcome breaks another seal."
The remaining constructs double their attacks, sensing the power shift.
We fight together—five strangers thrown into impossible danger. Zain's ice, Nyx's shadows, Ren's hacked constructs, Aria's support magic, and my newly awakened starfire.
We win. Barely.
When the last construct falls, I collapse. My body feels like it's being rebuilt from the inside. Energy courses through me, rewriting something fundamental.
"Trial One Complete," the Codex announces. "Primary Keybearer advancement: D-Rank Level 1. Portal to Trial Two opening in sixty seconds."
"Wait," Aria says. "We don't get a break?"
Another portal forms. But this one looks different—darker, more dangerous.
Ren's scanner goes crazy. "That portal leads to a dead world. Airless. Frozen. We'll die in seconds without protection!"
"The Codex wouldn't kill us," I say, trying to convince myself. "Right?"
"The Codex tests us," Zain corrects. "If we're not strong enough, we die. That's how Starborn trials work."
Nyx laughs bitterly. "So we jumped from soldiers trying to kill us into magical trials trying to kill us. Fantastic life choices."
The portal pulses, growing unstable.
"We have ten seconds," Ren squeaks. "Then it closes or explodes. I can't tell which."
"Everyone in," Zain orders. "We finish this together or we die together."
We jump again.
This time we land on ice. Endless frozen wasteland under a black sky. My breath crystallizes. Cold stabs through my academy uniform.
"I can't—" Aria's lips are already turning blue. "Too cold—"
Zain's ice magic wraps around us, creating a protective barrier. But I see the strain on his face. He can't maintain this forever.
"Trial Two: Prove Your Unity," the Codex says. "Complete the puzzle before the cold kills you. Time limit: thirty minutes."
"What puzzle?" I shout.
Massive ice pillars rise from the ground, each covered in Starborn symbols. Hundreds of them. And in the distance, something moves.
Something huge.
Ren points with a shaking hand. "Is that... a dragon?"
A creature made entirely of ice and ancient magic emerges from the storm. Wings that block out the stars. Eyes that burn with cold fire. Teeth like frozen spears.
It roars.
The sound shatters three ice pillars, nearly breaking Zain's barrier.
"Everyone behind me!" Zain's ice thickens. "Lyra, can you read those symbols?"
I squint at the nearest pillar. The writing swims, then suddenly makes sense—like my brain just downloaded a new language.
"They're instructions," I whisper. "For... oh no."
"What?"
"To solve the puzzle, all five of us have to stand in specific positions around the pillars and channel our magic simultaneously. But the dragon is programmed to attack anyone who tries."
Nyx groans. "Of course it is."
The ice dragon launches itself at us, jaws opening wide enough to swallow our entire group.
Zain's barrier cracks under the impact.
"We have one chance," he says through gritted teeth. "Lyra tells us where to stand. We run on three. I'll hold the dragon as long as I can. But if I fall—"
"We all fall," I finish.
His gold eyes meet mine. "Then don't let me fall."
The barrier shatters.
The dragon inhales, preparing to freeze us solid.
"THREE!" Zain screams.
We run.