CHAPTER 35
The cool night air wrapped around them like a velvet shawl, the moonlight casting long shadows on the cobbled streets. Lanterns flickered above merchant stalls, and the quiet hum of the sleeping city felt almost magical under the starlit sky.
Azi walked beside Sorayael with his hands tucked in his coat pockets, a lopsided grin tugging at his lips. "So, what's the plan, oh mighty job-seeker?" he asked, voice laced with amusement.
Sorayael puffed her cheeks. "Find a shop desperate enough to hire someone like me."
Azi chuckled, nudging her with his elbow. "Desperate enough to hire a kid, you mean?"
She shot him a glare, though it held no real heat. "I am not a kid."
She groaned, but when they passed a food stall, he stopped suddenly and pointed. "That one."
The vendor handed over warm skewers wrapped in paper, and Sorayael tried to protest... she really did-but the aroma was too tempting. She took a cautious bite, then another, eyes closing for a second as the flavor melted on her tongue.
Azi grinned in victory. "Told you."
They wandered like that, through winding alleys and sleepy roads, stopping now and then when Azi got distracted by another snack or some odd-looking trinket. Sorayael found herself smiling more than she expected, the weight on her shoulders lighter, just for a moment.
Then, as they rounded a quieter street near the inner district, her gaze landed on a curious little building tucked between a tailor's shop and an apothecary.
The window glowed with a gentle violet hue, and floating sigils danced in the glass.
A wooden sign read: 'Lyrenna's Arcana - Magic Supplies Training Grounds.'
Her eyes sparkled. "There!"
She grabbed Azi's sleeve and pulled him toward the door.
He arched a brow. "A magic shop? Planning to sell potions or set the place on fire?"
Sorayael took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Um, excuse me... are you hiring?"
The woman behind the counter tilted her head, eyeing Sorayael from head to toe. Her gaze flicked briefly to Azi, then returned to Sorayael, as if weighing something invisible between them.
Sorayael straightened her back. "I may be young, but I'm not inexperienced."
Azi stifled a laugh behind her, mouthing "She totally is."
Sorayael elbowed him without turning. "I'm good with enchantments, can read runes, basic ones, and I learn fast. I just need... something."
The shopkeeper narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Why?"
Sorayael blinked. "Why... what?"
Sorayael hesitated, unsure how much truth to reveal. "I just need some money. For myself."
There was a long pause. Then, with a wave of her hand, the hovering scrolls tucked themselves neatly into a chest. "Well then," the woman said at last, "this shop does have a habit of welcoming... the unusual."
She stepped from behind the counter and gestured toward the backroom door. "Let me test your aptitude, girl. If you're decent, I'll find you something to do. Nothing grand. Dusting, labeling potions, delivering charms. But if you impress me..."
Sorayael's eyes widened. "Really?"
As Sorayael followed her eagerly, Azi leaned against the counter, arms crossed, with a crooked grin on his lips. "Looks like someone's getting hired."
The shopkeeper glanced back at him. "And you? What are you?"
Left alone in the softly glowing shop, Azi wandered past a floating orb of light and poked a jar labeled 'Blink Toad Tongues - Dried.' He wrinkled his nose. "Definitely not food."
But his smile lingered.
He had followed her on a whim. Or maybe not a whim at all. Maybe it was the instinct he'd honed for years, the same one that told him when someone was walking too close behind, or when a lie was dressed in silk. The same instinct told him now: there was something about Sorayael worth guarding.
And not just from danger.
From being forgotten.
From fading into a world that wouldn't stop for a girl like her.
He closed his eyes briefly, whispering to himself, "I'm free out here... and so is she."
Then he glanced toward the backroom where her voice could be faintly heard. Loud. Enthusiastic. A bit chaotic.
And he grinned again.
The backroom was nothing like the warm, lamp-lit storefront.
It was darker, cooler, with softly pulsing glyphs etched into the stone walls.
Shelves overflowed with vials, tomes, and curious contraptions that ticked and whispered in tongues Sorayael didn't recognize.
A silvery mist clung low to the floor, making every step feel as though she were stepping into a dream or a memory long forgotten.
The woman, who still hadn't introduced herself, motioned for Sorayael to stand at the center of a glowing circle etched into the floor.
Sorayael swallowed hard. Her fingers twitched nervously at her sides. She wasn't even sure how to classify her magic-not even when she didn't understand it. Not when it surged like a tide in her blood one moment, and then silenced itself the next.
But she stepped into the circle anyway.
The woman raised a hand, murmured an incantation under her breath, and the glyphs around the room brightened, responding to the spell, responding to her. The resonance circle sparked faintly beneath Sorayael's boots. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then... a hum.
It started low, deep in the floor, then climbed like a melody finding its rhythm.
The symbols along the walls flickered and shifted hue, from pale gold to silvery blue, then to a strange, iridescent shimmer that no normal spell should've produced.
The mist on the floor stirred, spiraling around her ankles, drawn toward the pulsing energy of the circle.
The shopkeeper narrowed her eyes.
The woman was silent for a long moment, then gave a short, amused exhale. "You're dangerous."
Their eyes locked.
And then, the woman smiled. "Good answer."
The resonance circle faded. The hum died down. Sorayael stepped out, chest still slightly heaving from the invisible pressure of the magic's call.
Sorayael's face lit up. "Really?!"
From the other room, Azi's voice floated in. "Did you blow something up? I heard humming. That better not be her blowing something up."
Sorayael grinned.
As she exited the backroom, Azi leaned off the counter and gave her a once-over, eyebrow raised. "Well?"
She couldn't help but smirk. "Guess I'm employed now."
He gave a mock gasp. "They hired you? Do they know what they've done?"
She stuck out her tongue. "Jealous I'm useful?"
It wasn't a perfect start.
But it was hers.
And for the first time in a long while, Sorayael felt like the world might actually be big enough for someone like her.
...........
From the shadows of a slanted rooftop, half-swallowed by the fog of midnight, a cloaked figure watched the two wanderers below.
The girl's laughter, soft and unaware-danced like windchimes through the narrow streets, trailing behind her as she darted after the prince with playful annoyance. Her presence radiated something faint but unmistakable... something buried and ancient. Something he had not felt in a very long time.
The figure narrowed his eyes.
The girl, Sorayael. She bore the traces of a light long thought lost. And yet here she was, walking beside a boy cloaked in royal shadows, the forgotten prince with oceanic eyes, the one born with black hair instead of silver. The one cast aside.
He watched as Azren moved subtly, instinctively keeping Sorayael on the side farthest from strangers, his hand twitching ever so slightly near his coat whenever someone drew too close. Protective, even without knowing why.
The wind shifted, carrying the faint scent of burnt aether from a passing lantern. The figure exhaled slowly.
'No one else must find her. Not yet.'
Let the world believe she's just another girl. Let the nobles mock the prince for choosing a strange company. Let her power sleep a little longer.
Because when she awakens fully... the balance will tip.
The cloaked figure turned, his form melting into the dark like smoke swept into the breeze. But as he vanished, his final whisper lingered in the night, unheard by anyone but the stars overhead:
"Please... stay hidden just a little longer."
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Author's note:
Late upload! My apologies. The author is sick??. Enjoy your reading!