Aarin had a strange dream.
He was floating in the sky, surrounded by stars. Each star whispered his name.
"Aarin..."
"Aarin Vale..."
The voice felt cold and ancient. Not like someone calling him—but something remembering him.
Then the sky cracked, and he fell.
He woke with a jolt, heart pounding, sweat on his neck. Morning sunlight spilled through the window.
Finn was already gone.
Aarin sat up and touched the rune on his back. It was still warm.
He didn't know what the dream meant.
But it felt real.
Later that day, while walking through the east courtyard, Lyra caught up to him. She looked serious.
"Someone left this for me," she said, holding out a letter.
The paper was old, yellow, sealed with a strange red wax symbol—a symbol neither of them had ever seen before.
She broke the seal.
The letter had no name. No greeting. Just five words:
"They know what you are."
Aarin frowned. "What does that mean?"
Lyra shook her head. "No idea. But I don't like it."
"Someone's watching you."
"Or both of us," she said, eyes scanning the shadows.
They folded the letter and hid it between the pages of her old book.
Meanwhile, the headmaster's office was busy with quiet arguments and worried faces.
Professor Wynter stood before Headmistress Calia, a sharp-eyed woman in a long silver coat.
"The boy," Wynter said, "used magic that hasn't been seen in centuries."
Calia nodded slowly. "And the girl?"
"She has bloodline markings. Same as the records show from the Order."
Calia turned to the large window behind her. "Keep them close. But don't scare them. Not yet."
"They're already digging."
"Then let them," she said. "Let's see what they find."
In class, Aarin felt the eyes of every professor on him. Not for the first time, he wondered if Crescent Academy had more secrets than books.
And that was saying something.
After class, he met Lyra in the Clocktower garden—a quiet place filled with blue flowers and floating lights.
Lyra looked around, then whispered, "I found something."
She pulled out an old page torn from a book. On it was a diagram—a human body marked with glowing runes.
One of the runes matched the symbol Aarin had seen in his dream.
"It's called the Blood Rune," she said. "It's extremely rare. It doesn't just respond to magic—it remembers it. Like it's alive."
"Are you saying...?"
"You might have one."
Aarin leaned back on the bench. "Great. So now I'm being hunted by ancient smoke monsters and I have a living rune tattoo."
Lyra smirked. "Could be worse."
"Really? How?"
"You could've failed your last potion test. Like Finn."
"Fair point."
But she was worried. He could see it.
So was he.
That night, they snuck into the old astronomy tower. It was unused, dusty, but high and quiet. The stars above shone bright, as if watching them.
Aarin spread the map again. It had changed.
Now, instead of the tower in the woods, it showed something new—a symbol near the river cliffs, outside the academy walls.
"Another hidden place," Lyra said. "It's like the map is leading us."
"Or setting a trap," Aarin muttered.
She looked at him. "Are you scared?"
"Yes."
"Good. That means we're not stupid."
He smiled. "I'm glad we're doing this together."
She didn't reply right away.
Then she said softly, "Me too."
They sat in silence for a while, the wind moving gently through the open windows.
Then Lyra spoke again.
"My mother used to talk about the stars like they were people."
"People?"
"She said they watched over us. That they kept secrets."
"Do you believe that?"
"I think the stars don't care," she said. "But I care. And that's enough."
Aarin looked at her. "Lyra... if things go wrong—"
"They will," she said.
"If we're in danger—"
"We are."
He laughed. "Can I finish a sentence?"
She smiled. "Sorry. Go ahead."
"I'll protect you. No matter what."
She didn't say anything. But her hand found his in the dark.
And held it.
The next day, just before sunset, Aarin found something under his bed. A note.
No seal. No name.
"Come to the river cliffs at midnight. Alone. Or she will suffer."
His blood went cold.
He looked out the window, toward the cliffs beyond the academy wall.
And then he made a decision.