Bureaucracy in the Fae Ward moves with the pace of a paralyzed sloth, leaving me with an itchy feeling between my shoulder blades, as if staying here is the worst decision I''ve ever made.


    Selene spends most of her time slinking around the Fae Ward, finding pockets of space with less wards to sneeze over. Vanessa and Marcus stick with me, with Vanessa sharing my bedroom.


    Our first lesson doesn''t happen for three days. Why?


    Application for Unlicensed Magus to Practice Dangerous Magic Within Residential Areas.


    It''s an actual title of a piece of paperwork Magister Orion had to file. Apparently, new wizards (though the official Fae-paperwork term is magus, unknown origin) are deemed a deadly force. Whoever runs this place has a serious stick up their butt about me learning magic.


    "I don''t like it," Vanessa says, staring out the window. "They''ll have your name on official paperwork. We have no idea how deep Renard''s influence lies."


    "It''s only within the Fae Ward," I point out, like I have the other thirty times she''s mentioned it. "If they''re going to find me here, the paperwork won''t be the only reason."


    Marcus, of course, is quiet. We already know how he feels. He hates it and doesn''t trust the paperwork, either.


    Not that I disagree with either of them—it''s just that, like them, I feel stuck.


    It doesn''t help that I''ve been unable to reach Lucas for three days. Knowing that they''re fighting over there, not knowing the full details...


    The stress has all of us on edge.


    "Have you made any progress?" Vanessa changes the subject to sit on the bed beside me, where I''m surrounded by five papers with different runes written on them. Unlike the magic book I''m still kicking myself over for leaving in my room at the lodge, these runes don''t disappear, and Vanessa and Marcus are able to see them.


    In that other life, that other death, I was nothing. Only pain. No name, no self, just pure sensation. And in that moment of complete dissolution, something else emerged. Something primal and powerful.


    I focus on that feeling, on the memory of being unmade by fire. The bright core of magic within me pulses in response, as if recognizing a kindred spirit. For the first time, I feel a connection to that power.


    It''s not about reaching or grasping or forcing. It''s about becoming. About letting go of who I think I am and embracing something deeper, more elemental.


    My mind opens to fire and the magic surges forward, no longer held back by my attempts to control it. It flows through me, around me, filling every part of my being with warmth and light.


    My eyes snap open. The paper with the fire rune is floating an inch above the bed, glowing with an inner light. As I watch, stunned, it bursts into flame, consumed in seconds and leaving nothing but a faint wisp of smoke.


    "Holy shit," I whisper, staring at the empty space where the paper used to be.


    Vanessa jumps up from beside me, her eyes wide. "Ava? What just happened? Did you do it?"


    It''s a silly question. We all know.


    But I can''t blame her for asking, because hell, I''m thinking the same thing. Was that me? Did I do that?


    I look at her, then at Marcus who''s rushed over from his position by the window. A giddy laugh bubbles up from my chest. "I did it. I actually did it!"


    The elation is short-lived as the reality of what just occurred sinks in. I destroyed one of the runes Magister Orion gave me. More importantly, I accessed my magic for the first time on purpose—and I have no idea how to control it.


    "We should probably tell Magister Orion," I say, my limbs shaking, as if using that tiny amount of power sucked the life from my body.