We both started our assignments. The Fenix was a Sunheart tradition, a symbol of rebirth, discipline through fire. First-years shaped it every spring to prove mastery over emotion; lose control, and the flames would consume your creation.
I summoned the flame between my palms, steadying my breath until the heat took shape. The air rippled, golden light twisting into wings, feathers, and a slender neck. My Fenix rose, shimmering in light gold, every plume catching the sunlight like molten glass. It came easily, too easily.
Beside me, Jan was trying to command his flames into forms, and I could tell he was having a hard time but was slowly making something out of it.
“I told you this was not for me,” Jan smirked. “So what are you and your roommate and… your other friends doing this weekend?”
“I am sure my roommate Soehl will go to Wolventon if the twins and Shakari win the challenge in the Hall of Mirrors this week,” I responded, adding more details to my Fenix. “As for me, I will probably not go anywhere since I am not close to winning any challenge.”
“I would—” he began, but Thalen’s cut sharply over him, silencing him mid-sentence. “Focus on the assignment, miner. Not on flirting with the heir of Solenhart.”
Jan turned, a smirk tugging at his lips. “If you think this is how I flirt, you’re very wrong.” His tone was teasing, careless, the kind that only made things worse.
Flames flared along Thalen’s arms, white, and searing. I froze, the forming wings of my Fenix dissolved into smoke. “Thalen…” I warned, but it was already too late. Shakari, Rowan, Tran, and Soehl turned toward us, sensing the shift in the air.
“You really think Thea Solenhart would waste her time with a lowborn commoner like you, Jan Radke?” Thalen’s words dripped with cruelty.
Jan’s expression darkened, but before he could respond, Thalen’s magic erupted— controlled and precise. White-gold fire coiled from his hands like living ropes, wrapping around Jan’s wrists. The light flared, binding tight.
Jan shouted, jerking back. His boots scraped against the marble floor as he tried to wrench free. The flames only tightened, coiling around his wrists like molten chains. The light hissed where it met his skin, the scent of scorched fabric filling the air. Thalen didn’t flinch. His expression was carved from stone. His control was terrifyingly precise, too precise. The fire obeyed him like a living thing, beautiful and merciless.
Around us, the class fell utterly silent. Spells hung unfinished in midair, dissolving into sparks as every student froze. No one moved. No one breathed. The only sound was the crackle of Thalen’s fire and Jan’s ragged breaths. The air itself shimmered with heat and unease.
“Thalen, stop!” I shouted, my voice trembling with fury and fear as golden fire burst to life in my palms, bright and wild with anger. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs, a sick twist of panic and protectiveness rising in me.
For a moment, he held my gaze, defiance and something darker flickering behind his eyes. Then, slowly, the flames unraveled into smoke, vanishing between us.
I shot Thalen a look that could have turned stone to ash while Soehl hurried to Jan’s side, her palms glowing with soft gold. The light rippled over his burned skin, smoothing it in seconds until not even a scar remained.
Jan flexed his wrists, testing them, then lifted his gaze with a crooked grin. “Jealous type, huh?” he said, his tone edged with mockery. “Don’t worry—I’m not interested in the Princess. Not that you deserve any explanation.”
I seized Thalen by the arm and dragged him toward the edge of the arena, the echo of our footsteps swallowed by the professors’ voices as they hurried to calm the class and redirect everyone back to their work. Heat still clung to the air. His, mine, and the tension between us.
“What is wrong with you?” I demanded, spinning to face him. “It’s like you’re two different people. The good and kind Sunheart and then… this, the general’s son.”
His jaw tightened. “He can’t just invite you out like that,” he muttered.
“He wasn’t,” I shot back, my voice trembling but steadying with every word. “But that’s not the point. We may be betrothed, but that doesn’t mean you own me.” My hands shook, fire flickering faintly at my fingertips. “That display was pathetic, Thalen. Whatever you thought you were fixing between us, you just buried it. You’re not better than anyone else here, no matter how noble your bloodline.”
He didn’t reply. I turned and walked back, leaving the silence to settle behind. When I returned, Jan stood back while everyone else resumed creating their Fenix.
“Better than ever,” he said with a smirk. “Your pretty friend healed me. I… was never flirting with you, Princess.”
“I know, you like my roommate.”
He just smiled, unbothered, almost proud to have been caught in the truth. We turned back to our task, the flicker of our Fenix taking shape once more between us.
My father would have liked Jan.
He’d been the kind of Sunheart who never let titles build walls. Though an Emberkeep general, he dined with warriors, fought beside the Dragontail legions, and drank from the same flasks they carried into battle. He used to say that a leader who knew their soldiers by name ruled with more strength than any crown ever could.
And I wanted to be like him, not the kind of queen who hid behind marble walls, but one who stood beside those who kept the island alive. The ones who burned not for glory, but for survival.
Chapter 14: Training
By the end of the week, Rowan, Tran, and Shakari had claimed me as their side project. We trained when the terrace was empty. The mats radiated heat; the air hung thick with stone dust and sweat. Below us, the mess hall clattered with plates and laughter. Up here, there was only the slap of boots, quickened breaths, and the sharp ring of steel.
It was already Saturday, the end of a brutal training week and they still weren’t letting me leave. My body ached in places I hadn’t known could ache.