There are very few things I fear in life.One of them is Rielle before her morning tea.The second is my mother’s Disappointed Face.

  But a new fear recently climbed the dder to number three:A Letter from the Student Council.

  The Letter (a.k.a. My Doom in Paper Form)It arrived during breakfast. Delivered by a senior wearing formal robes and the kind of expression reserved for delivering subpoenas or demonic contracts.

  I opened it. Slowly. As if the ink might bleed curses.

  Lucien Wyrhart,You are hereby summoned to the Student Council Chambers at midday for a conversation.

  President Sylvaria E. Wellstion

  P.S. Bring your squad.

  “Bring your squad?” I muttered.

  Rielle leaned over my shoulder. “Did you break something?”

  “No, but I think I exist too close to her comfort zone.”

  Gram peeked over with a muffin in hand. “Maybe she wants us to do a party trick. I have glowing smoke bombs!”

  Eli cracked her knuckles. “Maybe we’re getting expelled for illegal sparring volume.”

  The Student Council Tower – Where Light Dies QuietlyThe tower was made of silver marble and political dread.Everything echoed. The walls had enchantments to muffle gossip and amplify footsteps. It was basically anxiety with architecture.

  We entered the main chamber.

  Princess Sylvaria stood behind a crescent desk, robed in red and gold, with a mana-quill in her hand and a gaze sharp enough to shave metal.

  Three other Council members sat with her—uppercssmen, powerful. One of them had glowing runes on his fingertips. Another one was sipping tea so elegantly I hated him instinctively.

  Sylvaria gestured to the seats before them.

  I didn’t sit. Not until Rielle dropped into hers and kicked my shin under the table.

  We sat.

  She looked at me first.Then to the others.Then back at me.

  “Squad 7,” she said, tone professional, calm. “You’ve caused enough disruption to force the faculty to start drinking during council meetings.”

  “You’re welcome,” Gram said brightly.

  Eli saluted. “Ma’am.”

  Sylvaria's eye twitched. Just once. Then she continued.

  The Mission Briefing: Real Work for the Real Menace Team“We’re assigning your squad to a mission directly approved by the Council,” she said. “A Tier 2 Tactical Deployment.”

  “Tier 2?” I blinked. “We’re... barely certified for Tier 3.”

  “And yet,” she said dryly, “your file contains more field victories than any other first-year squad. This will be a test. And a gauge.”

  Of what? Our survivability? Sanity?

  She continued.

  Mission Name: Howler Nest SuppressionLocation: Brimcw RavineTarget: Alpha-css Howler Beast + BroodThreat Type: Coordinated Ambush PredatorsReward: High Credit, Personal RecommendationsRisk: Moderate-HighField Evaluation: ActiveObjective: Clear nest, identify alpha, destroy core, survive.

  “Survive?” I muttered.

  “Optional,” the tea-drinking council member added, sipping elegantly.

  Sylvaria passed us a crystal scroll. “Report in two days. Depart now. You’ll be portal-jumped to the outer rim of the ravine.”

  Then she fixed me with a stare.

  “Impress me, Wyrhart.”

  I nearly combusted from the inside out.

  The Brimcw Ravine – This Isn’t a Field Trip AnymoreThe pce was ugly.

  Steep cliffs. Mist-choked caverns. Echoes of things screaming underground. There was a constant, low-pitched howl that buzzed in your teeth.

  The beasts—Howlers—were the size of bears, with segmented, bone-pted limbs and teeth that looked more ceremonial than functional. But they were smart. Too smart.

  We were briefed that they coordinated attacks using sonic pulses. Hit-and-run. Distract, disarm, then devour.

  This wasn’t a game.

  We Fought Like A Real Squad – Which Was TerrifyingRielle took front line, tanking hits and dishing out punishment.Eli circled the battlefield, cutting legs and throats before the beasts could blink.Gram threw smoke, shock powder, and something that made one Howler bite its own tail.I stood midline—firing wind cutters and fire bursts in yered patterns, drawing beasts into kill zones.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  Not until the alpha showed up.

  Twice the size. Shimmering blue eyes. The howl alone shook our bones.

  It charged—smming into Rielle, sending her crashing into a rock wall.

  Eli dove forward, bdes ready—but the beast was already shifting, predicting.

  I burned everything I had into a full-force Pyrran Vire Nova—a spiral burst of fire that should’ve torn through it—

  But it only staggered.

  Too fast. Too armored.

  “Lucien!” Gram screamed. “Now or never!”

  The Summon Joins the FightI grabbed my pendant.

  “Arise, Serpent of Fme—Cindercoil!”

  The fire serpent shot out of my cloak like a bzing ribbon—smming into the beast’s face, winding around its throat, and spitting hellfire into its eyes.

  It thrashed, howled, reared back.

  “NOW!” I roared.

  Rielle charged—covered in bruises and dirt, bde glowing—

  Eli followed in a blur—

  I yered wind pressure under their feet—unching them high—

  Two bdes. One head. A crack of bone and fme.

  The alpha fell.

  Everything went still.

  We stood among the corpses. Breathing. Bloodied. Half-deaf. Alive.

  Barely.

  Back at the Academy – Praise, Paperwork, and ParanoiaTwo days ter, we stood before the Council again.

  Sylvaria reviewed the report. Slowly.

  She looked up. “Minimal injuries. Zero casualties. Nest cleared. Core recovered.”

  I nodded. Silent.

  Then she said, “You work well under pressure. But you still hold back.”

  “I prefer not dying,” I said.

  “Unwise,” she murmured. “You’re too useful to py modest.”

  She stood. “Congratutions, Squad 7. You’ve been upgraded to Tier 2 Active Duty. You will be prioritized for missions... and watched closely.”

  Meaning: we were now Academy Assets.

  Meaning: we were now exposed.

  As we walked out, Rielle elbowed me.

  “Hey, we did good.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Too good.”

  I stared at the scroll in my hand.

  And wondered what the next mission would cost us.

  Because I had a feeling—

  This was only the beginning.