FIRST LESSONS
The gates of the Academy For the Gifted had closed behind her yesterday, but the weight of her past still clung like ashes to her skin.
Noelani awoke in silk sheets, clutching the pillow like a lifeline. Morning light spilled through her windows, and birdsong trickled in as if the whole world outside had no idea what he had come from.
She sat up slowly. Her nightgown clung to her, the fabric softer than anything she'd ever worn. It still felt like it didn't belong to her. Like none of this did.
Today would be her first day of classes.
She didn't know what most of them were. "Runes and Resistance," "Magical Attunment," "Species and Power Theory." She'd stated at the schedule dif hours last night, mouthing the words like they might turn into something familiar.
She padded across the room barefoot, ran her fingers along the edge of the desk. She was still afraid to touch things, As if someone would appear and punish her for it. For existing.
But no one had come.
Not even in the dark.
She'd slept the whole night through.
?
The courtyard buzzed with voices. Uniforms swayed In the breeze—students in all kinds of colors, crests, and cuts. No one looked the same. Some had pointed ears. Some had wings. Others walked through shadows like they were water.
Noelani moved quietly through the crowd, biting the inside of her cheek. Her uniform was simpler: dark blue, with silver embroidery and a small sapphire pinned at her collar.
People stared.
Not all of them kindly.
"That's her."
"The one from the cult?"
"No way shes full human. Look at that hair.
Look at those eyes."
"I heard she doesn't even know
What a mating bond is."
"Bet she won't last a week."
She passed a group of older girls who leaned against a vine-covered archway. One of them looked her up and down with a half smile .
"Shiny new toy," she whispered. "Let's see how
Long before she breaks."
Noelani kept walking, faster now. She didn't understand half the things they said. But the tone—the bitterness— that was familiar.
A sharp voice called from behind her.
"Noelani."
She turned.
Lucien Vale.
He stood tall at the entrance to the main building— black coat sweeping behind him, hair neatly tied back. His presence cut through the crowd like a blade.
"Walk with me." He said.
She hurried to his side.
He didn't touch her. But his presence alone made people step aside. Like the air shifted when he passed.
"I—I'm not late, am I?" She asked quickly. "I tried to get here early and I didn't forget anything, I don't think—"
"You are perfectly on time," he said, not unkindly. "I thought you might prefer to avoid the heavier foot traffic."
She blinked. "You mean... people staring?"
He didn't answer. But he didn't have to.
?
The first room smelled like citrus and chalk dust.
"Welcome to basic Magic Attunement," said a professor with floating braids and glowing hands. "Here, we learn how to listen to our magic before we command it."
Noelani clutched her book tightly abd scanned the classroom. A few familiar faces caught her attention—and her breath.
All four of them were here, spread across the room like planets thar had no idea they were in orbit with each other.
She slipped into a seat near the back, grateful to disappear.
But the Rowan sat down next to her.
And Caeden. On her other side.
"Good morning," Rowan said with a small smile, His snowy hair falling across his cheek. "You look less scared today."
"I'm not!" She said too quickly. Then softened. "Okay, maybe a little."
"Don't worry," he said, voice like quiet thunder. "You've got us now."
She looked up. "I do?"
Rowan paused, caught off guard. "Yeah. You do."
Across the room, Aeryn leaned back in his seat, crimson eyes sharp. When Another student —a warlock boy with too many rings — leaned a little too forward to glance at Noelani's chest, Aeryn's gaze darkened.
Lysander, slouched against a column, let out a quiet, annoyed sound —low and wolfish.
Noelani didn't notice.
She was raising her hand.
"Um," she said aloud. " Is it normal if your skin starts tingling when someone looks at you like they want to... I don't know. Eat you?"
A few students laughed.
One boy near the front muttered, I'd eat her."
That time, Lysander stood up.
The temperature in the room spiked by ten degrees. Flames licked up the sleeves of his jacket. Even the professed paused mid-lecture.
"Lysander." Professor Myra warned gently.
He smirked. Sat back down.
Noelani blinked, unaware. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all." The professor said. "Just... maybe rephrase next time."
?
Noelani wondered the gardens after class, still reeling.
Her cheeks felt warm. Her heartbeat had done strange things when Rowan leaned in to explain a rune. When Lysander winked at her. When Caeden murmured in her ear that she smelled "Too good for a place like this."
She didn't know why she felt so dizzy.
She'd never wanted anything before. Never been wanted.
And now everyone was looking.
Touching.
She found a small bench under a tree and collapsed into it with a soft sigh.
Then she heard footsteps.
She looked up to find Aeryn standing over her, arms crossed, jaw tense.
"You shouldn't be alone out here." He said, voice low.
"I'm just resting," she replied. "It's nice."
"It's dangerous," he said. "People talk."
"About me?"
His red eyes met hers. "Yes. Some of them want things they don't deserve."
Noelani tilted her head. "Like... pencils?"
Aeryn let out the smallest snort of a laugh, then looked away. "Exactly."
She smiled, bright and unaware.
He didn't smile back. But his voice softened. "Don't trust then too easily."
"I don't really trust anyone," she said quietly. "Except maybe Rowan. And maybe you. And Lysander. And Caedens a maybe."
Aeryn stepped closer. The shadows around him moved like smoke.
"You shouldn't trust me." He Murmured.
Noelani blinked up at him. "Why not?"
"Because I want things too," he said darkly. "And I don't think I'd stop myself."
She didnt understand what he meant. But her skin shivered.
Not with fear.
With something else.
Layer that evening, as she returned from "Species Theory" the greenhouse hall glowed around her, warm and pulsing with slow magic. Vines crawled the glass like veins, petals sighing open to the dusk.
Noelani stepped lightly.
She liked it here. It was quiet. Gentle. The kind of place that didn't ask anything of her.
Until it did.
A voice, smooth as sunlight through honeyed glass, slipped from the shadows.
"Do you always walk like prey?"
She froze.
A man emerged from behind a flowering pillar, robed in gold and dark crimson. His eyes gleamed like cut amber—too wide, too knowing.
"I—I didn't know anyone else was here," she stammered, voice small.
His smile deepened, unreadable. "No, I imagine you didn't."
She took a step back, but the path behind her curled unnaturally. Like the garden itself had changed its mind.
Something prickled beneath her skin. Not fear. Not quite.
"Your magics waking up," the stranger murmured. "That blood of yours. It's not just siren, is it?"
"I don't know what you mean," she whispered.
"Oh, little songbird. You will."
Before she could speak again, heat bloomed in the air—sudden and scorching.
Lysander landed between them in a blur of red and gold, fire licking up his forearms, his teeth bared.
"You picked the wrong girl," he growled.
The stranger chuckled. "Did I? Or did the right one just wake up?"
He stepped backward into the greenery—and vanished.
The vines fell still.
Noelani's breath shook. "Wh-who was that?"
Lysander didn't answer right away. He looked at her like he wanted to pull her into his arms but didn't dare.
"Someone who shouldn't be watching you. Not this early."
She nodded, too fast. Her voice wobbled. "I—I didn't mean to come here alone. I just thought it was pretty."
"It is," he said softly. "But so are you. That's the problem."
They walked back together in silence. Her hand brushed his once. He didn't move away.
But even as they left the greenhouse behind, she couldn't stop thinking about the man with amber eyes.
Or the way the plants had listened to him.