Chapter 10: The Price of Being Awake
The academy did not sleep that night.
Lanterns burned along every corridor, their light filtered through warded glass that shimmered faintly whenever footsteps passed. Faculty patrols doubled. Students whispered behind closed doors.
And somewhere between the stone walls and the ancient foundations, something is also listening this.
Lucien stood at the infirmary window, watching the courtyard below.
He could see too much now.
Not Only with his eyes—but with something much deeper.
Threads of pale light traced the paths of enchantments woven into the academy's defenses. Some were clean and orderly, others frayed with age. Beneath them all lay something vast and coiled, its presence muted and undeniable.
*There,* the whisper murmured.
Lucien exhaled slowly and looked away.
"You shouldn't be standing," Selene said from behind him.
"I'm not tired," Lucien replied.
"That's what worries me."
He turned. Selene sat on the edge of a nearby chair, arms crossed, studying him like a problem that refused to be solved.
"You haven't slept since you woke up," she said. "Not even for a moment."
Lucien hesitated. "I don't think I can."
That earned him a long, uncomfortable stare.
Before Selene could respond, the infirmary door opened.
Professor Maelin entered, his expression tight. Two royal guards followed, their armor marked with the sigil of Viremont.
"Elowen?" Lucien asked immediately.
Maelin nodded. "She's been summoned."
Selene stood. "By who?"
Maelin's jaw clenched. "The Royal Council."
Lucien felt the whisper stir.
*They will bargain.*
---
The council chamber was colder than Elowen remembered.
Tall marble columns stretched toward a domed ceiling painted with constellations meant to symbolize unity. In practice, they felt more like eyes.
The nobles were already seated when she entered.
At the far end sat the Archbishop of the Church of the Veiled Night, draped in layered black robes trimmed with silver. His face was serene, his eyes empty of warmth.
Elowen took her place without bowing.
"The Church has overstepped," she said immediately.
A murmur rippled through the chamber.
The Archbishop smiled faintly. "Your Highness, we act only to preserve the kingdom."
"You attempted to seize a student under my protection."
"An anomaly," the Archbishop corrected. "A breach in divine order."
Elowen leaned forward. "Lucien Arkwright is under my authority as a royal scholar."
"Temporary authority," the Archbishop replied smoothly. "The Church's mandate predates the Crown."
Silence fell.
One of the nobles cleared his throat. "Perhaps there is a compromise—"
"No," Elowen said.
Her voice did not rise.
"The boy remains at the academy," she continued. "Under royal guard. Any attempt to remove him will be treated as an act against the Crown."
The Archbishop studied her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"As you wish," he said softly.
Elowen's unease deepened.
The Church never yielded so easily.
---
The attack came at dusk.
Lucien felt it before it happened.
A sudden tightening in the air. A distortion in the wards. A pressure like fingers closing around his spine.
He turned just as the academy bells rang.
Explosions echoed from the eastern wing.
Students screamed.
Selene grabbed Lucien's arm. "That wasn't an accident."
"I know," he said.
The whisper surged.
*They have chosen blood.*
Smoke filled the corridors as faculty erected emergency barriers. Somewhere ahead, spells clashed—holy light against arcane force.
Lucien skidded to a halt when he saw the source.
Veiled Night inquisitors.
They moved with shadow, black robes cutting through the chaos as they advanced toward the lower levels.
Toward the seal.
"They're going for it," Selene whispered.
Lucien stepped forward—and stopped.
The world *shifted*.
He saw the inquisitors as more than flesh.
He saw the symbols branded into their souls, glowing like scars. He saw the thin, shimmering threads connecting them back to something vast and distant.
The Church.
And beyond it—
*Focus,* the whisper urged.
Lucien raised his hand.
The air thickened violently, slamming into the lead inquisitor like a wall. The man flew backward, crashing into stone with bone-crushing force.
Selene stared. "Lucien—what did you do?"
Lucien trembled. "I… asked."
The remaining inquisitors recoiled.
One of them hissed, eyes burning with fanatic light. "An abomination!"
Lucien met his gaze.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm a consequence."
A scream echoed from deeper within the academy.
Elowen's voice.
Lucien's heart lurched.as he run towards the sound.
---
Elowen stood alone before the shattered ward chamber, sword drawn, royal guards fallen around her.
An inquisitor advanced slowly, his blade glowing with consecrated light.
"You cannot stop this, Your Highness," he said. "The seal must be claimed."
Elowen's hands shook—but she did not lower her weapon.
"I won't let you take him."
The inquisitor raised his sword.
Then stopped.
Lucien stood between them.
The air warped around him, reality bending like heat over stone.
The inquisitor took an involuntary step back.
"You," he whispered.
Lucien's scar burned.
"No more," Lucien said.
The seal pulsed beneath their feet.
And somewhere deep in the dark, something ancient laughed—
Because the Church had made its move.
And so had he.