The warmth of lunch barely had time to settle when a new storm rolled in.
The laughter around their table had just begun to settle when a soft voice chimed in behind them.
"Mind if I join?"
Caden turned—then blinked.
Standing there was a girl with raven-black hair that shimmered violet at the edges when it caught the light. Her eyes, pale grey like storm clouds, held an easy confidence as she balanced her tray with one hand and wore a smile that could've toppled kingdoms. She was beautiful—not in the polished, untouchable way nobles were—but in the kind of way that made people instinctively forget what they were saying.
Revan forgot how to breathe.
Lyra's eyebrows shot up.
"Uh—yeah. Sure," Caden said.
Without waiting for another word, the girl slid into the seat beside him—his side—brushing close enough that their elbows nearly touched. Her tray hit the table with a light clink, and she gave him a wink. "You're Caden Starhaven, right? I heard you managed to wrangle a paradox into submission today. Impressive."
"I didn't… wrangle anything," Caden said, leaning ever so slightly away.
"You're modest too," she said, smirking. "Stars and Saints, that's rare these days."
Revan cleared his throat loudly, scooting an inch forward.
The girl glanced at him, then back to Caden. "I'm Selene, by the way. Channeler, but I dabble in spellbinding too. Not that I'm particularly good at it. Yet."
"Well, we all start somewhere," Caden replied evenly, spearing a bite of food.
She leaned in. "So I'm told. But you? Golden rank in two days? Either you're a genius, or you bribed Sand with forbidden knowledge."
Lyra narrowed her eyes. "Bribery doesn't work on Sand. I tried."
Selene laughed, bright and bell-like. "I like her. She's got fire."
Lyra's mouth curled into a thin smile. "And I don't like to share my seat."
"Oh?" Selene said, not moving an inch from Caden's side. "Good thing I wasn't asking."
Meanwhile, Revan sat frozen, poking his magic beast stew without really seeing it. His eyes kept darting between Caden and Selene, his mouth slightly parted. There was a look there—not anger, not exactly—but something close to a friendly pout. He wasn't sure if he wanted to swoon, sigh, or steal Caden's place.
"So, Caden," Selene continued, resting her chin on her palm as she faced him, "are all Starhavens this serious or is it just you?"
Caden barely looked up. "Probably just me."
"You should laugh more," she said. "Might bring balance to the academy. Or, you know… start a few rumors."
Lyra coughed. "If rumors start, I have a list of people I'd prefer they involve."
Revan muttered under his breath, "Same."
Selene, unbothered, picked up her fork and tapped it against Caden's. "Well, consider me officially interested in watching what you do next."
Caden gave a noncommittal shrug and returned to eating like none of this mattered.
But Lyra watched Selene. Revan watched Caden. And Selene? She didn't watch anyone else at all.
Just as Selene twirled her fork for another one of her flirtatious remarks, the floating crystal orb at the center of the cafeteria ceiling pulsed—once, then twice—before glowing a steady, ethereal blue.
The chatter died down immediately.
A smooth, resonant voice echoed across the room, clearly enchanted to carry through every hall and chamber of the academy:
"Attention, students of Lunaris Academy. This is an official announcement from the Headmaster's Council."
Caden leaned back slightly, fork in hand, gaze lifting to the crystal.
"Three days from now, as per the traditions of the Eclipse Cycle, the Moonlit Duel shall return. A competition of steel and sorcery—pairs of students will engage in real-time battle within the Dueling Grounds under the enchanted moonlight."
Gasps echoed through the cafeteria. Even Selene sat up straighter.
"Victory in this event will grant an immediate one-stage rank promotion. Merit points will not be required. The sign-up window closes at sundown tomorrow. All ranks eligible. That is all."
The crystal dimmed, its glow fading like the last shimmer of starlight. For a moment, silence clung to the air—then erupted into chaos.
Students leapt to their feet. Some ran off mid-bite to strategize. Others were already loudly declaring themselves the next champions.
"Whoa…" Revan leaned back, eyes wide. "They're actually doing it. The Moonlit Duel. I thought it was just a legend. That contest hasn't been held in years."
Caden didn't speak.
Because in that moment, something clicked.
He remembered Sand's parting words just yesterday—words casually tossed over his shoulder as he left the training grounds:
"I've got work to do. The kind that doesn't wait."
It hadn't made much sense then. But now? Now it did.
The contest, the timing, the sudden announcement… it was all too convenient. Too deliberate.
Sand arranged this.
He didn't just want Caden to learn.
He wanted him to prove it.
Caden's eyes narrowed slightly. That fox-masked bastard was testing him.
And not just through teaching paradoxes or lectures—but by altering the academy's events.
"Caden?" Lyra nudged him. "You still with us?"
He blinked, dragging himself out of his thoughts.
Revan grinned. "Don't tell me you're already strategizing."
"Maybe," Caden muttered, noncommittally.
Lyra tilted her head. "You going to sign up?"
Caden shrugged. "I might."
"Oh, come on," Revan said. "You're already a Golden Rank after two days. You could actually win this thing."
Selene leaned in, smile playful. "You better join. Watching you fight under moonlight? Now that's a scene worth staying up for."
Lyra gave her a sharp glance, clearly seeing right through the sudden sweet tone. "Smooth."
Revan smirked. "Jealous?"
Lyra flicked a pea at him.
Revan ducked, then looked at Caden with a dramatic pout. "Even she is hitting on you now? Man, leave some attention for the rest of us!"
Caden sighed. "Why is this lunch more exhausting than my lessons?"
"Because," Selene said, nudging his arm with her shoulder, "you're the main character, darling. Get used to it."
Caden rolled his eyes, but his mind remained distant.
So Sand wanted to test him.
Fine.
Let's see how far this little duel goes.
Caden stood up.
The chair scraped backward with a screech that cut through the laughter and idle chatter. The three of them—Selene, Revan, and Lyra—looked up at him. Revan still had a fork in his mouth, halfway to delivering a bite of mashed flan. Selene tilted her head curiously, while Lyra narrowed her eyes.
"Where are you going?" Selene asked, amusement dancing in her tone as if she already knew he wouldn't answer.
Caden didn't. He simply turned and walked off, his cloak fluttering behind him like the tail of a silent resolve.
The dining hall murmurs faded behind him, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the soft creak of age-old stone beneath his boots. He combed the academy halls, cutting across lecture rooms, study alcoves, courtyards drenched in the falling sun. He even peeked into the Contramancer Hall where a few seniors were arguing over some esoteric paradoxes that made no sense to him yet.
But there was no sign of Sand.
None in the training grounds. None in the Tower of Truth. Not even among the watching statues that sometimes felt more alive than the living.
Eventually, with exhaustion digging into his bones like blunt nails, Caden returned to his quarters. He reached for the door—and froze.
It was open. Slightly ajar.
The inside was dark, save for the golden light pooling in through the tall, arched window. The pine tree forest outside stirred gently in the wind, casting elongated shadows into the room.
And there he was.
Sand.
Standing motionless near the window, arms behind his back, eyes locked on the swaying treetops as if watching something—or someone—far beyond.
Caden pushed the door further. It creaked.
"You were waiting here?" he asked.
Sand didn't turn around. "Not long. You took your time."
Caden stepped in slowly, letting the door close behind him with a click. The silence stretched like a blade, sharp and precise.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Caden asked, voice quieter now. "The Moonlit Duel. You made them bring it back."
Sand finally turned his head. Just a little. "You noticed."
Caden nodded. "You said you had work that couldn't wait. That's what you meant."
He remembered the way Sand had left after the second lesson—hurried, distant, with a shadow behind his eyes. And now this contest, announced out of nowhere, a relic of the past resurrected just in time to test a boy who barely understood what he was doing.
Revan's voice echoed in his mind from earlier.
"It hasn't been held in years."
It was all too deliberate.
"But why?" Caden asked, frustration laced in his words. "It's only been two days. I know one paradox. One. I've never even held a sword in my life."
Sand turned around fully now. His expression was unreadable—but his eyes, those eyes were carved from flint.
"Then you'll have to learn," he said simply. "In three days."
Caden's breath hitched. "That's impossible."
"Then make the impossible possible."
"That's not how—!"
"If you lose," Sand said, cutting him off with a tone like crashing thunder, "I will step down."
The words struck harder than a slap.
"I will no longer be your personal tutor. You'll be transferred to standard training, like every other mage here. You'll learn in scheduled lessons. Group sessions. No exceptions. No favors."
Caden felt something clench inside him. He didn't even know why it mattered so much. But it did.
The room suddenly felt colder. The wind outside howled faintly through the crack in the window.
Sand took a step forward, lowering his voice. "If you want to walk the path you were meant to… then we begin tomorrow."
"No," Caden said.
Sand raised a brow.
"We begin tonight."
A flicker of approval lit behind Sand's gaze. It was gone a moment later, replaced by that usual, frustrating calm.
"Then put on your boots and take the sword," he said, already turning toward the door. "We have a mountain to climb."