Sleep-deprived and exhausted, I felt my body strain under the weight of my own existence. Mana ran rampant within me, wild and unyielding. I could sense it pulsing through my body free from my influence. Any attempt to tame it was like grasping at smoke.

My mind was in no better shape. Thoughts buzzed incessantly—a cacophony of fragmented images, sensations, and half-formed ideas that refused to quiet. Incoherent scenes flashed in and out of focus, leaving me restless as the sun rose. I had yet to make sense of the noise. It was maddening.

Somewhere within the chaos, a face appeared. One I thought I had long forgotten, cast out from my mind, yet for a moment it captured my whole attention.

“Astralus.”

Her voice broke through the haze, pulling me back to reality. I turned toward her, ears twitching as I caught the sound of her approach. I hadn’t seen her since last night, my worries bubbled as she neared. But then, she stopped short. Close enough that I could see the concern in her mismatched eyes, but not close enough to touch.

Her hesitation unsettled me.

I stepped forward instinctively, lowering my head to nudge her arm with my muzzle. The act was small, but it was all I had to offer—a silent question, a quiet plea. She blinked, as though pulled from some distant thought, and smiled faintly in return. But her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“So this is your bond, Your Highness?”

The voice that cut through the moment was unfamiliar. It was sharp, tinged with amusement, and it set my nerves on edge. I turned sharply, muscles coiling as I faced the source of the interruption.

A young man stood a few paces behind Elara. He looked utterly out of place, with almond skin and dark, unruly curls that framed his sharp features. His loose, long-sleeved white shirt billowed slightly in the breeze, and the relaxed way he carried himself irked me. There was no respect, no acknowledgment of the gravity of the situation—just an air of casual indifference, as though he owned the space around him.

“Yes,” Elara said cautiously. Her voice carried a faint edge I wasn’t accustomed to hearing. “He is.”

The young man stepped closer, studying me with an audacious curiosity that made my skin prickle as his gaze swept over me.

“I apologize for—” Elara began, but the man cut her off.

“For taking a sacred scroll?” he said, raising a single brow. His tone was light, but there was no mistaking the sharpness beneath his words. “I suppose it can be considered a gift, since I left it there for you to take. But still…” His lips curled into a slow, wolfish smile. “I expected you to use it… on something with a little more potential.”

My ears flattened instinctively, and I let out a sharp snort. This boy had a face that begged to be kicked in. He didn’t seem remotely fazed by the glare I leveled at him, meeting my aggression with nothing but a grin.

Elara’s patience frayed, her tone sharpening. “Cassian, you—”

“He’s broken,” Cassian interrupted casually, tilting his head as his sharp golden eyes lingered on me. There was no malice in his voice, more of a statement than an offence. “But those are the best projects to work on.”

He clapped his hands together suddenly, startling both me and Elara. “Alright, princess,” he said brightly. “Since you insist, I’ll help you fix him up.”

I pinned my ears back further, nostrils flaring as I took a step toward him. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the building stress, but his calm, arrogant demeanor grated against me. Before I could act, though, Elara’s hand rose, halting me in place.

“Cassian,” she said firmly, her voice cutting through the tension. “I need you to take this seriously.”

Cassian raised both hands in mock surrender, though the grin on his face never faltered. “Have hope, princess,” he said smoothly. “I can guarantee his recovery.”

There was something about him—something I couldn’t place. The way his mana pulsed in the air around him was strange and unsettling, like a melody played just slightly out of tune. My instincts screamed not to trust him, and yet Elara seemed resigned. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before she exhaled deeply.

“Go on,” she said, her tone softer now. But I caught the hesitation in her eyes—the way they flickered toward me before falling back to the ground.

Cassian’s grin softened slightly as he stepped forward, his expression unreadable. “This is one of my family’s specialties,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Taking something ordinary and making it grandiose.”

He reached out toward me. Before he could touch me, Elara’s hand shot out, gripping his wrist tightly. There was no hesitation in her movement, only instinct. For a moment, they stood locked in silent confrontation. Finally, slowly, Elara released him, her hand trembling faintly as it fell back to her side.

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Cassian didn’t hesitate this time. He reached out, his mana wrapping around me like a vice. I froze instantly, every muscle in my body locking in place as though caught in a snare. The sensation was suffocating, invasive, and utterly foreign. Slowly, his mana seeped into me, intertwining with the chaotic flow already tearing through my veins. It burned.

“I hope,” Cassian began lightly, “you’ll consider helping my cause. Even if only in the smallest way.”

“There is no bribing within Aurelia’s court,” Elara said sharply, her voice cutting through the haze of my rising frustration.

Cassian shrugged. “I guess it wouldn’t be the first time I worked for free.”

I turned toward Elara, searching for some kind of reassurance, but her gaze was distant. Her thoughts seemed far away, her expression heavy with something I couldn’t name. My chest tightened. I opened my mouth to call out to her, but all that escaped was a low nicker.

Her lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to speak, but no words came. She turned abruptly, her skirts brushing against the grass as she walked away. My legs moved instinctively, carrying me after her, but the mana around me tightened, locking me in place.

I was powerless. Again.

A wave of irritation surged through me as fantasies of piercing Cassian with my horn filled my mind. Once Elara was out of sight, the pressure around me eased, and I lunged toward him without hesitation.

Cassian didn’t flinch. His expression was amused, almost smug, as my horn stopped short, colliding with the invisible barrier of his mana.

“Good,” he said, his tone calm and maddeningly assured. “Use whatever energy you can. You’ll need it.”

His eyes glinted, the golden hue deepening as the air around us shifted. His body began to distort, the change grotesque and unnatural. Fur sprouted along his skin, black and glossy, and his frame contorted as he fell to all fours. The transformation was swift, and when it was done, a black-coated unicorn stood before me, golden eyes gleaming with an unsettling intensity.

The fight began before I had a chance to think.

Cassian charged at me, his movements unnervingly fluid for a beast. I barely managed to sidestep, his horn grazing past my face, the sharp edge slicing a thin line along my cheek. The sting of it jolted me, but the sheer force of his momentum left me unsteady. I stumbled, my hooves digging into the earth as I regained my balance.

He pivoted sharply, already coming at me again. This time, I lowered my head and braced myself, aiming to meet his horn with mine. The collision rattled through my skull. My jaw clenched as we pushed against one another, but his strength was undeniable. He shifted his weight suddenly, slipping under me and slamming his horn into my shoulder.

Pain erupted, sharp and immediate. My legs faltered as I felt the warm trickle of blood seep down my coat. I retaliated instinctively, whipping around and slamming the side of my body into his. The force sent him skidding, but he recovered far too quickly for my liking.

The realization hit me like a second wound—this was my first real fight as a unicorn. My body, still unfamiliar and awkward, was no match for his precision. Every movement felt clumsy in comparison, my instincts fighting against the limitations of this form. He moved with purpose, as though he had spent years perfecting the art of battle. I was nothing more than a fledgling, thrashing uselessly against an opponent far beyond my skill.

Cassian came at me again, his horn glinting in the faint sunlight. I tried to anticipate his movements, leveling my own horn in response. Our weapons clashed again and again, sparks of mana flaring with each collision. The energy in the air was suffocating as it pressed down on me. My breaths came in short, ragged bursts as fatigue began to set in.

I managed to land a blow, slamming my horn into his side and forcing him back a step. But before I could capitalize on the moment, he reared up, his hooves lashing out and connecting with my flank. The impact sent me sprawling, the world tilting as I hit the ground hard.

He didn’t relent. His horn grazed my neck as I squirmed to avoid the finishing blow, the sharp tip digging just deep enough to send another wave of pain coursing through me. My vision blurred as I struggled to rise, my legs trembling beneath me. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, but I refused to stay down.

I would not yield.

Cassian moved in for the final strike, his horn aimed directly at my head. I lowered mine in response, bracing myself for the collision. When it came, the force was enough to send shockwaves through my entire being. Our horns locked, and he began to push me back. My legs buckled beneath the pressure, and for a moment, I thought it was over.

Then, I felt it. The sharp, burning pain as his horn pierced through my cheek.

I gasped, the world spinning around me. But just as quickly as the pain came, it was gone.

I blinked, and suddenly, I was no longer engaged in battle. Cassian, now back in his human form, stood inches away from me, watching intently. His expression was unreadable, his gaze sharp as though he were looking straight through me.

“Well,” he said, breaking the silence with a tone that was both casual and pointed, “that was... something.”

I didn’t respond. My chest heaved as I struggled to process what had just happened. Sweat clung to my coat, and my legs trembled beneath me. The fight felt fresh in my mind, the phantom pain of my cheek still lingering.

Cassian’s golden eyes glinted as he stepped closer, a grin slowly curling across his lips. “You’ve got potential, Astralus. More than I thought,” he said, his voice quieter now, but no less piercing. “But you’ve got a long way to go.”

He tilted his head, studying me for a moment longer before stepping back. “Remember,” he said, his voice steady and deliberate, “it’s only you against you in there.”

Before I could respond—before I could even begin to understand the weight of his words—the world shifted beneath my hooves. The solid ground crumbled, dissolving as I felt myself sinking into an unfamiliar void.

Salt flooded my senses, stinging my nostrils and burning my throat as I gasped for breath. My hooves kicked instinctively, searching for something solid, but there was nothing. The air around me had been replaced by water, cold and unyielding. I was sinking, the weight of it pressing down on me as my lungs burned for air.

I thrashed desperately, following the trail of bubbles escaping my lips. My vision blurred, and panic clawed at the edges of my mind. Just as my strength began to wane, I broke through the surface.

I inhaled deeply, coughing as the salt clung to my throat. The air burned in my lungs, but it was a welcome reprieve. As I treaded water, my gaze darted around wildly. There was nothing—no land, no horizon, no sound save for the faint lapping of waves against my body.

I was alone, adrift in an endless ocean.