Chapter 4 — Fire Before Breakfast
Third person pov
The sun rose pale gold over Regulas Tower, spilling through the mountain mist like someone had set the sky on fire. The courtyard glowed faintly with runes, their edges burning with magic that hummed beneath the stone.
Zamira had been awake since dawn. Habit — or maybe paranoia — wouldn't let her sleep past sunrise. She had already trained alone before the others showed up.
Rosalith was the first to arrive, auburn hair blazing in the light. She had that look again — part commander, part comedian.
"Morning, shadow queen," she said with a grin. "Try not to kill anyone today."
"No promises," Zamira muttered.
Rosalith laughed and clapped her hands. "Then meet your team. Regulas Tower's best—or at least the loudest."
Three figures approached across the field.
Nova, pale and white-haired, wore a smile too bright for morning. Her silver eyes sparkled with mischief as she waved. "Hi! I'm Nova. I heal people who get themselves half-killed."
Sirius followed — tall, also white-haired, expression calm and unreadable. "And I beat up the ones Nova finishes off," he said dryly.
Rosalith snorted. "He's joking. Mostly."
Then came Remus, hands in his pockets, frost-blue eyes lazy but sharp. "Don't expect us to go easy on you just because your new ms.emo ," he said with a grin.
"I wasn't planning toand dont call me that snow elf," Zamira replied.
Rosalith rolled her eyes. "Perfect. We're already arguing."
And right on cue, a voice called out, "Hey! Did someone say arguing without me?"
Rami strolled in, flame-colored tunic and black trousers, grin wide enough to make everyone collectively sigh.
Rosalith pointed at him. "Trouble."
Rami threw her a salute. "At your service." Then he looked at Zamira and squinted. "Whoa, hold up—what's going on with your hair? It looks like it's… suffering."
Zamira blinked slowly. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, like… it's rebelling against gravity. Is it shadow magic, or did you lose a fight with wind?"
"Better than looking like you styled yours in a volcano."
Nova choked on a laugh. Sirius smirked behind his hand.
Rami gasped in mock offense. "You wound me!"
"Not yet," Zamira muttered.
"Okay, okay," Rosalith said, clapping. "Before you two turn this courtyard into another crater, let's train."
---
The air filled with the roar of magic.
Flames and shadows collided, sparks flying as Rami and Zamira faced each other across the field.
Rami grinned between strikes. "You sure you're not secretly enjoying this?"
"Only the part where you lose," Zamira shot back.
He laughed — that loud, irritating, impossible-to-ignore sound — right before she swept his legs with a shadow whip.
Rosalith whooped. "That's one point for Zamira!"
"Unfair!" Rami groaned from the ground.
Sirius arched a brow. "Gravity disagrees."
Even Remus cracked a grin. "She's better than you, man."
"Give me a week," Rami said, getting up and dusting off. "Then we'll see who's better."
Zamira crossed her arms. "We already did."
---
By sunset, they'd all collapsed in the grass, sweaty and laughing. Rosalith sprawled on her back, muttering about "future legends" while Nova hummed softly beside her, weaving healing light through her palms.
Rami was still talking — somehow — teasing everyone in rotation. Sirius sat quietly, reading, only looking up to throw the occasional dry comment that made Nova giggle.
And Zamira…
She sat a little apart, watching them. The laughter felt strange — sharp and unfamiliar.
It wasn't home. Not yet.
But for the first time in years, it didn't feel like war either.
---
At dawn the next morning, Zamira woke to knocking.
"Zamira!" Rosalith's voice sang through the door. "Wake up or I'll burn the door down!"
Zamira groaned. "You'd be doing me a favor."
She got up anyway, hair messy, eyes heavy, the memory of yesterday's laughter haunting her like a ghost she didn't know how to chase.
In the hall, everyone was already waiting. Nova beamed, Rami was chewing on bread, Sirius looked half-asleep, and Remus was leaning against the wall like he owned it.
Rami grinned at her. "Morning, sunshine. Your hair's still suffering, I see."
Without breaking stride, she plucked the bread out of his hand and took a bite. "Now it's breakfast."
Remus laughed. "Oh, she's good."
Rami stared at his empty hand looking offended and shocked , then at her. "You just robbed me."
"I call it justice."
Nova giggled. "You two are going to set the tower on fire one day."
Sirius flipped a page in his book. "It's already burning. Just slowly."
Rosalith clapped. "Alright, psychos and lunatics! To class — before I start assigning detention!"
---
Zamira followed them into the morning light.
The courtyard glowed, alive with magic. For the first time, she didn't feel like a prisoner walking into a cage.
She felt… almost human again after all these years.