Chapter 1
“Adalind… You must wake up, My Lady, please.”
The voice slipped into my room, tearing through the misty dream buried deep within my mind. I tried to open my eyes, but all I felt was the familiar dull ache pulsing at my temples. It was as if my powers could sense this day approaching, stirring impatiently beneath my skin.
“Adalind! Your father has already started welcoming the guests!”
When my maid Mary’s anxious face entered my blurry field of vision, I pushed myself upright in bed. The enormous stone fireplace in my chamber cast flickering shadows across the walls, and the clock above it struck eight.
Today was not an ordinary birthday.
Today was the day I would be presented to society—or more precisely, to the High Council of Magic—as the daughter of two of the most powerful sorcerers in the Realm.
And tonight, I would have to prove to every noble mage in attendance that I could control my magic.
I stepped out of bed and looked toward the midnight-blue gown hanging in the corner of the room, shimmering as though it carried light within its fabric. Excitement swelled inside me, tiny sparks dancing at my fingertips before I inhaled deeply.
I had to stay calm.
Because if I made a mistake tonight, I would not only disgrace my family’s name—
I might very well destroy my own future.
The presentation had to go perfectly.
While I drifted through my thoughts, Mary began muttering under her breath.
“Do you want your mother to scold me, Lady Adalind?” she said sharply, dropping ribbons onto the vanity table. “The mages have already started arriving, and you’re still not getting ready.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’ve been preparing for this day since I was a child. But I’m still not sure I can actually do it. And besides, why are they arriving this early? There are still hours left.”
As if this were their presentation ceremony instead of mine.
“If I hear that sentence one more time,” Mary warned, “I will personally carry you downstairs.”
If anyone else had said that, I would have laughed.
But this was Mary—and she was fully capable of doing exactly what she threatened.
She had taken care of me since childhood. When my magic spiraled out of control, when nightmares kept me awake through the night, she was always the one sitting beside me.
That was why she never behaved like the other servants.
She didn’t simply bow her head and stay silent.
“Come now,” she said more gently, smoothing the sleeve of my gown. “Every mage in the Realm will see you tonight.”
I sighed.
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to go.”
The moment I stepped outside this room, every movement, every glance, every word would matter.
Because the magical world expected those destined to lead it to be powerful. Noble. Perfect.
And I could not afford to fail before I had even proven my magic.
I gave myself one last look in the mirror. The midnight-blue gown fit perfectly.
Mary moved behind me and began fixing my hair. Once she finished, there was nothing left to delay.
“There,” she said proudly. “You look exactly like a High Sorcerer’s daughter.”
“Was that a compliment,” I murmured, “or a threat?”
Mary didn’t answer.
She simply opened the door and bowed slightly.
“They’re waiting for you downstairs, My Lady.”
The moment I stepped into the corridor, my nerves tightened again.
Everywhere I looked, the manor reminded me of tonight’s ceremony. The halls had been lavishly decorated for the guests, servants rushed from room to room, and somewhere in the distance, the sound of string instruments echoed through the air.
When I reached the top of the staircase, I could finally see the grand ballroom below.
The violins played by magic alone.
And everyone down there seemed far too entertained.
The most powerful High Sorcerers in the Realm had already arrived.
I tried to calm myself by remembering that my mother and father were two of the most powerful among them.
I wasn’t sure it helped.
At one table sat my father, Lucien, beside High Sorcerer Cedric Ravenmere and his wife. Cedric’s wife had not been born into one of the ruling magical bloodlines, but she still belonged to a respected noble family.
My mother, Davina, stood nearby speaking with another High Sorcerer, Evelyne Stormwyn. I couldn’t see Evelyne’s husband, though I was certain he was somewhere in the ballroom. Like Cedric, she had chosen a noble mage outside the ancient ruling families.
And finally, I spotted Nicholas Vale.
He stood near the edge of the room, speaking with several mages. Dressed in dark colors as always, he carried the kind of presence that made even powerful people uneasy.
As if sensing my gaze, he looked up toward the staircase.
And smiled.
I smiled back automatically.
Nicholas was my father’s closest friend, though the relationship between us had always felt more like uncle and niece.
No matter how much I wanted to remain hidden upstairs forever, I couldn’t stay there.
The moment I began descending the staircase, I felt eyes turning toward me.
Whispers followed almost immediately.
Wonderful.
They had already started talking about me before I’d even reached the ballroom floor.
Keeping my expression calm, I continued downward while every aristocratic posture lesson Mary had drilled into my head replayed itself in my mind.
Shoulders straight.
Chin up.
Do not let them see you panic.
As though any of that were remotely easy.
My mother noticed me first.
She stopped speaking with Evelyne Stormwyn and turned toward me, her gaze moving carefully over my appearance.
By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I felt a little relief.
At the very least, I had survived the “falling dramatically down the staircase” possibility.
Then a voice sounded beside me.
“Well… look at you. You’ve actually grown up.”
I smiled.
“Nicholas.”
He stepped through the crowd toward me.
When he reached me, he took my hand and bowed theatrically.
“Lady Adalind,” he said. “Do you intend to terrify half the ballroom tonight?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
“Good. The other half is already afraid of you.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Nicholas had always been one of the few people capable of making me laugh.
“You look nervous,” he said more quietly this time.
“Because I am nervous.”
“That’s normal.”
“And if it isn’t?”
One brow lifted slightly.
“Adalind, half the people in this room fainted during their first presentation ceremony. The other half lost control of their magic.”
“Was it really that bad?”
“One person set the ballroom curtains on fire.”
Seeing my expression, he smirked.
“Don’t worry. At worst, I think you’ll accidentally throw a few people into walls.”
“Nicholas.”
“I’m joking.”
He paused.
“I think.”
I rolled my eyes, but some of the tension in my chest finally loosened.
After glancing around the room, Nicholas motioned toward the side corridor.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“To the terrace. Unless you want to stand here while elderly nobles debate who they should marry you off to.”
I stared at him.
“They’re actually discussing that already?”
“As always.”
With a sigh, I followed him through the long corridor beside the ballroom. The moment we stepped onto the open terrace, the suffocating weight of the crowd finally eased.
Evening had begun to settle over the manor.
The sky faded from gold to deep violet while enchanted lanterns flickered to life across the gardens below, their reflections shimmering in the fountains like liquid starlight.
I leaned against the marble railing.
“This is a good place to escape.”
Nicholas stepped beside me.
“I spend half of every ceremony out here.”
“Does my father know?”
“Probably.”
Silence settled between us.
As I watched the mages wandering through the gardens below, unease stirred inside me again.
“Nicholas…”
“Hm?”
“What if I fail?”
This time, he didn’t answer immediately.
When he turned toward me again, some of the usual amusement had faded from his expression.
“You are Lucien and Davina’s daughter,” he said calmly. “But more importantly… you are yourself.”
I frowned slightly.
“That wasn’t very reassuring.”
“Because I’m terrible at inspirational speeches.”
He smiled faintly.
“But I do know one thing. Everyone in that ballroom expects something from you tonight.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“No,” he said, looking directly at me. “The problem is that none of them know what you truly are.”
I smiled softly at him.
Then Nicholas slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box.
He weighed it in his palm for a moment, as though making one final decision.
“I’ve kept this for a very long time,” he said quietly. “There were originally two.”
When he opened the box, the bracelet inside was neither dazzlingly extravagant nor simple enough to be ordinary.
It was made of dark silver, thin and elegant. Rather than reflecting light, the metal seemed to absorb it. At the center rested a small teardrop-shaped stone, nearly colorless—except whenever light touched it, a faint blue glow moved beneath its surface.
Nicholas turned the bracelet slowly in his hand.
“It doesn’t draw attention,” he said. “But when magic touches it… it reacts.”
I frowned slightly.
“What kind of reaction?”
“The two people wearing them…” He paused briefly. “Even if they are worlds apart, if they sense the same magical frequency, the stone glows faintly. Only they can notice it.”
“There were two,” Nicholas continued, his voice quieter now. “A long time ago, I gave the other one to someone else I loved. So I wanted you to have this one.”
For a moment, he simply looked at me.
“This isn’t just jewelry. It was crafted with an ancient binding spell. Nothing dramatic… no one else will notice. Only the wearers understand.”
I took the bracelet from his hand.
The moment the cold metal touched my skin, a strange shiver passed through me.
“Why would you give me something this important?” I asked.
“Because if there’s a second person I’ve ever cared enough about to give this bracelet to,” he said softly, “it’s you.”
Then he smiled.
“And I thought it would make a decent birthday gift.”
When he smiled, I found myself smiling too.
I fastened the bracelet around my wrist. It fit perfectly.
“Who has the other one?” I asked without thinking.
This time, Nicholas looked away toward the gardens below.
“You’ll learn someday,” he said quietly. “Though I doubt the bracelet will ever react the way I described.”
I blinked.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think the other bracelet can sense magic anymore.”
A strange chill moved through me.
“So… they aren’t from this world?”
Nicholas only nodded once.
Then he turned back toward me.
“We should return before the noble disasters downstairs grow impatient.”
I rolled my eyes again, though this time the nervousness inside me felt different somehow.
And as Nicholas and I stepped back into the ballroom, the stone on my wrist glimmered faintly for a single second.
Or perhaps I only imagined it.
Nicholas continued walking ahead, but I remained frozen in place for several seconds.
“Because I don’t think the other bracelet can sense magic anymore.”
The sentence echoed endlessly in my mind.
If it couldn’t sense magic…
And if they weren’t from this world…
Then they weren’t a mage.
They were one of the humans.
We had all grown up hearing the stories.
Long ago, humans and mages had lived together in the same world. By “long ago,” I mean only eight or nine months before I was born.
Over time, humans began to fear and resent magic. They envied the power mages possessed. Eventually, they created weapons meant to defeat us and waited for our weakest moments to slaughter us.
Many mages died.
The High Sorcerers finally decided that remaining in the human world had become too dangerous. To protect what remained of our kind, they created an entirely new realm.
A flawed realm.
This one.
And though it was filled with imperfections, the High Sorcerers had done everything they could to make it beautiful.
My fingers brushed unconsciously against the stone on my wrist.
Now it looked completely ordinary.
I wasn’t even certain it had truly glowed earlier.
Most of what I knew about Nicholas Vale came from stories whispered by other mages.
No one ever spoke about him personally.
Despite being one of the High Sorcerers, Nicholas had never married.
He had never taken an heir.
So perhaps…
Perhaps he truly had loved that human.
Could a High Sorcerer really have fallen in love with one?
I had heard relationships between mages and humans were forbidden.
At that moment, laughter from the ballroom spilled onto the terrace.
Nicholas stood at the doorway, watching me.
“If you don’t come inside within the next few minutes,” he said, “your mother is going to accuse me of kidnapping you.”
A laugh escaped me.
“Maybe you did kidnap me.”
“Trust me,” he replied while opening the door, “if I were reckless enough to kidnap you, the Council would have exiled me years ago.”
I took a slow breath and followed him back into the ballroom.
But this time, alongside the nervousness inside me—
There was something else.
Curiosity.
