The Advanced Magical Theory classroom went quiet when she walked in. Lydia Ashworth moved quietly across stone floors. Her steps made no sound. She took her usual spot in the front row - third-ranked in the entire Academy. Above even most nobles.
Ethan had never seen her before.
That should have been impossible. In his old life, he'd memorized every face in the top twenty. Their strengths, weaknesses, futures. But Lydia was empty space where memory should be.
She looked ordinary enough at first. Average height, brown hair in a simple braid. Clothes that marked minor nobility - good fabric but nothing flashy, probably the daughter of a lord somewhere. The kind of student who should disappear into the background.
Then you saw her eyes.
Sharp, bright amber eyes calculating and observing all the faces around her.
Professor Thorne began his lecture on void magic theory. Dangerous ground. The kind of knowledge that made people vanish in the night.
"Who can tell me," Thorne asked, "why void manipulation is forbidden?"
Hands shot up. Eager faces ready with safe answers.
"Miss Hayes," Thorne said, ignoring them all. "Your thoughts?"
Lydia's voice carried clear through the chamber. "Because most people confuse void magic with necromancy. They fear what they don't understand."
Whispers rippled through the room. Shocked faces. That wasn't the approved answer.
"Elaborate," Thorne said. His smile was sharp.
"Void magic isn't about death. It's about absence. The space between things. Most theory focuses on adding energy to reality. Void magic subtracts it." She paused. "Done right, it's no more dangerous than fire magic. Done wrong..."
"Yes?"
"imagine fire burns your hand. Void magic erases the either the fire if done properly or the whole hand if otherwise, completely."
Dead silence filled the room.
Even Thorne looked impressed.
"Fascinating perspective," he said. "Have you encountered such applications before?"
"Only in theory, Professor."
Something in her tone said otherwise.
After class, Ethan stayed behind. Most students left quickly - void magic made them nervous. Lydia gathered her notes carefully.
"Ethan Cole," she said without looking up.
He froze. "Do we know each other?"
"Not exactly." She turned, studying his face like it held secrets. "But you're interesting. Thirtieth in rank, yet your magical signature is... unusual."
"My what?"
"The way magic flows around you. Most people leave barely a trace. You're different." Her head tilted.
Ice ran through his veins. "I don't know what you mean."
"Of course not." Lydia smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "Tell me about your friend. Maya Thornfield."
"What about her?"
"Her signature is stranger than yours. Shadow magic, obviously. But there's something else underneath. Something that shouldn't exist in someone so young."
She stepped closer to him.
"How do you know about magical signatures?" he asked.
"I read extensively." The same excuse he'd given Maya. "Ancient texts. The kind most people ignore."
"Why study that?"
"Because knowledge is power. Power is survival."
The classroom had emptied. Lydia reached into her bag. Pulled out a leather journal, old and worn.
"Have you heard of magical anomalies?" she asked.
Ethan's heart stopped beating. "No."
"Fascinating subject. Theoretical, naturally. Magic affecting time itself. Most scholars call it impossible." She flipped through pages covered in dense notes. "But there are records. Scattered references. People who appear where they shouldn't. Who know impossible things."
Her eyes locked on his. "People whose presence changes events around them."
"Sounds like fantasy stories."
"Does it?" She closed the journal with a soft snap. "I've been tracking interesting patterns since the day of exams"
She moved toward the door. Paused.
"If someone studied such anomalies," she said, "they'd want to be careful who they trust. Temporal magic leaves traces. Some people know how to read them."
Then she was gone. Footsteps fading away.
Ethan stood alone, hands shaking.
She knows. Somehow, she knows.
**********
Evening meal felt like walking past a predator's nest. Ethan sat in his usual Silver section spot, but his eyes kept drifting to the Gold section where Lydia ate. She never looked his way, yet he felt her attention pressing down like a weight.
"You look like you need a break," Chayton said, dropping his tray across from him.
"Long day."
"Advanced Theory again?"
"Something like that."
Chayton followed his gaze. "Ah. Lydia Hayes. She has that effect."
"You know her?"
"Know of her. Third in the Academy on pure scholarship. No family name, no connections. Just walked into entrance exams and scored higher than half the noble kids."
"Where's she from?"
"That's the mystery." Chayton lowered his voice. "Perfect documentation, but when people tried verifying her background, it was like she didn't exist before this year."
Ice spread down Ethan's spine. "What do you mean?"
"No birth records. No family. No hometown anybody can find. Like she appeared from nothing."
Magical anomalies.
"Probably clerical errors," Ethan said weakly.
"Maybe. But older students say she knows things. Academy history. Magical theory that isn't taught anymore. Like she's been here years instead of months."
Across the hall, Lydia stood and walked toward the exit. For one heartbeat, her eyes met his. She smiled. Then she was gone.
"I need air," Ethan said.
He found her in the Academy gardens. Moonlight painted everything silver, giving light to familiar paths. Lydia sat on a stone bench under an old oak, journal open in her lap.
"You followed me," she said without looking up.
"You wanted me to."
"Did I?" She closed the journal. "What gave you that idea?"
"The way you looked at me. In the dining hall."
"I look at many people and they don't follow me into dark gardens."
Ethan moved closer. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Understanding." She patted the bench. "Sit. We should talk."
Every instinct screamed danger. But he'd faced demons, possession, death. One mysterious girl couldn't be worse.
Could it? But he sat still.
"Your friend Maya," Lydia said. "She's in trouble."
"What kind?"
"The kind that makes people disappear. Shadow magic is watched here. Monitored. Her recent... episodes... have drawn attention."
Ethan's hands clenched. "From who?"
"Professor Thorne, mainly. He's interested in students with unusual potential." She turned to face him. "Especially ones useful for his research."
"What research?"
"The kind needing live subjects."
The words she said scared him. Ethan felt familiar burning in his chest - his old life knowledge trying to surface, demanding to be used.
"How do you know this?" he asked.
"I watch. Listen. Read between lines." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know what happened to the last student who caught his attention."
"What happened?"
"She disappeared. Officially transferred to another academy. Unofficially..." She shrugged. "Nobody's seen her since."
Ice filled his blood. In his old life, students had vanished occasionally. Explained as dropouts or transfers. He'd never questioned it.
How many did I fail to save because I didn't see what was right there?
"Why tell me this?" he asked.
"Because you care about her. Because you're different from the others." Lydia studied his face in moonlight. "Because I think we have more in common than you realize."
"Such as?"
"We both know things we shouldn't. We both came to this Academy carrying secrets." She leaned closer. "We both understand time is running out."
The way she said 'time' made his skin crawl.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course not." She stood, gathering her journal. "But if you change your mind, find me in the North Tower after midnight."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because Maya isn't the only one in danger. This Academy is full of people needing protection." She paused at the garden's edge. "Sometimes it takes someone who's already died once to save the living."
She melted into shadows before he could respond.
Ethan sat alone, heart hammering against his ribs. Around him, the Academy slept. Peaceful. Quiet.
But underneath that peace, something moved in darkness. Something that had noticed him. Studied him. Maybe understood what he really was.
Night air carried scents of flowers from the garden. But underneath, a sharp scent lingered. Like the air before a storm.
She knows about magic anomalies. Knows students are disappearing and knows I've died before.
Ethan stood slowly. His legs felt unsteady. Too many secrets. Too many people asking dangerous questions.
Back in the dormitory, Kaleb was asleep. Ethan envied him more than he could say.
He lay on his narrow bed, staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow would bring new challenges. More chances to slip up. More opportunities for people like Lydia to notice things they shouldn't.
But tonight, one thought consumed him.
If Lydia knew about temporal anomalies, what else did she know? How much had she figured out? Most importantly - was she here to help him or stop him?
The questions chased him into restless sleep. Dreams filled with lightning and shadows and voices whispering secrets he couldn't quite hear.
Outside his window, Academy bells chimed midnight. Somewhere in the North Tower, a room that officially didn't exist waited for visitors who might never come.
Time moved forward. As it always did.
But for the first time since his return, Ethan wondered if he was the only one trying to change its course.
The thought should have comforted him.
Instead, it filled him with terror.
In the distance, thunder rolled across the Academy grounds.
Ethan closed his eyes and tried to push away the fear. But it clung to him like shadows, whispering that his greatest enemy might not be demons or corruption.
It might be the girl who knew too much about time itself and tomorrow, he would have to decide whether to trust her with secrets that could destroy everything.