The Aftermath

The library was a wreck.

Books lay strewn across the floor. Candles flickered weakly, barely holding onto their flames. The once-grand hall of knowledge now felt… violated.

But Priyam barely noticed.

He was still staring at his hand.

The power had vanished as quickly as it came, but the feeling remained. Like a phantom limb. Like an echo of something vast, something limitless.

He clenched his fist.

What was that?

His mark—it had responded to the shadow. It had repelled it. And the entity… it had recognized him.

"The Sovereign’s Will still lingers?"

What did that mean?

Before he could dwell on it further, a sharp voice cut through the silence.

"Start talking."

Louisa.

She stood across from him, arms crossed, her violet eyes burning with barely contained rage.

"What the hell was that, Priyam?" she demanded.

Priyam met her gaze evenly. "I was about to ask the same thing."

Louisa’s hands tightened into fists. "Don't play games with me! That… that thing—it wasn’t magic. It wasn’t a summoned creature. It wasn’t anything we’ve been taught about! And then you—" She pointed at his arm. "You used something! Something that no commoner should ever have!"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Priyam tilted his head. "So? Does it bother you that I’m more than just your familiar?"

Louisa’s jaw clenched. "You shouldn’t be more. That’s the problem!"

The words hung between them.

Even she seemed startled by them.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"I see," Priyam murmured. "You’re afraid."

Louisa’s eyes widened. "I—What?"

"You’re afraid of what I might be," Priyam said, taking a step toward her. "Because if I’m something beyond magic, beyond the noble bloodlines—then what does that say about your world?"

Louisa sucked in a breath.

He wasn’t wrong.

This world had an order, a hierarchy. Nobles held power, commoners obeyed. That was how things had always been.

But Priyam?

He was breaking that order just by existing.

Louisa wanted to deny it—to tell him he was wrong.

But the truth?

The truth was that deep down, in a place she wouldn’t admit even to herself—

She was afraid.

---

The Opportunist

A slow clap echoed through the ruined library.

Isabelle.

She leaned casually against a bookshelf, smirking. "Well, well. That was quite the exchange. The tension in here is delicious."

Louisa shot her a glare. "Shut up, Isabelle."

"Oh, don’t be like that." Isabelle’s emerald eyes gleamed. "I’m just enjoying the fact that I’m witnessing something truly… historic."

She turned to Priyam. "I don’t think you realize just how special you are, Priyam. That thing recognized you. It knew your power. And if you were paying attention, you’d have noticed something else."

Priyam raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

Isabelle’s smirk widened.

"It was afraid of you."

Louisa’s breath hitched.

Priyam’s eyes darkened.

Afraid?

That shadow—the thing that spoke of the Sovereign—it had shrunk back the moment his power activated.

It had called him unworthy…

And yet, when his mark flared, it fled.

Priyam rolled his shoulders. "Then maybe I should find out why."

Isabelle laughed. "Now that is the attitude I like."

Louisa scowled. "Enough."

She turned to Priyam, her voice hard. "This isn’t a game. Do you have any idea what happens if word of this gets out? If the nobles hear that a commoner—a so-called familiar—has an unknown power?"

Priyam’s smirk returned. "Let me guess. They’ll either try to control me… or kill me."

Louisa didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

Isabelle sighed dramatically. "Such a tragic fate. If only he had, say, a powerful noble house willing to protect him."

Priyam chuckled. "You’re shameless."

"And you’re interesting," Isabelle shot back.

Louisa rubbed her temples, exasperated. "You’re both insufferable."

Then, she took a breath and faced Priyam again.

"Listen to me. This power of yours? It’s dangerous. Not just to you, but to everyone. If the academy finds out, if the nobles find out…"

She hesitated.

"You might not get a chance to figure out what you are. Because they’ll erase you first."

The weight of her words settled in the air.

Priyam studied her for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

"Noted."

Louisa exhaled. "Good."

She turned on her heel. "Come on. We need to clean up this mess before someone—"

The door slammed open.

Three figures stepped inside, torches in hand.

Priyam recognized them instantly.

Roderic von Hohenstein.

And two academy enforcers.

Roderic’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Too late for that, I’m afraid."

His eyes locked onto Priyam.

"We have some questions for you."

---

End of Chapter 10