Chapter 1: The Awakening Embers

"You should not be up here alone," a deep voice rumbled behind her.

Vesper turned slowly, tucking the Codex beneath the folds of her traveler's cloak. Kieran stood by the arched threshold, his silver-crested rapier clicking lightly against his greaves. His gaze flicked toward her gloved hands, narrowing with quiet suspicion. "Master Orlov has already begun calling attendance in the Colosseum. If you are late for the glyph ceremony, you will forfeit your placement."

"I am not forfeiting anything, Kieran," Vesper answered coolly, stepping past him into the marble corridor. "The stars are shifting today. Can you feel the frequency change?"

Kieran frowned, but did not dispute her words. Everyone in the Academy knew that Vesper possessed an anomaly—a resonance frequency that allowed her to detect harmonic shifts in the celestial currents hours before the observatory brass could align.

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