Thalia's POV
Most people can't wait to turn eighteen.
I've been counting down to mine with dread coiled in the back of my mind like a sleep creature. Because tonight--at the stroke of midnight--the envelope from Eclipse Dominion will appear. And the moment i open it, I'll be teleported straight into the academy.
No chance to grab my bag. No teary goodbye. No turning back.
If you open the envelope, you go. If you don't, you stay home and live a normal life.
My brother chose normal.
I choose... I don't know what i choose. But I'm opening that envelope. I sit up in bed, sunlight spilling through the curtains. My pulse is already racing, like my body knows what day it is.
A quiet knock taps at my door.
"Come in," I say, though my voice cracks.
The door swings open and Mira barrels inside, launching herself at me.
"Thaliaaaa!" she shrieks, cling to my neck. "Happy almost-birthday-but-not-quite!"
I wheeze. "Good morning to you too."
"I was going to jump on you if you didn't get up," she says proudly.
"You say that every year."
"And I always mean it." She pulls back, studying me with big storm-grey eyes. "You look... scared."
I force a smile. "Excited. Nervous. Hungry."
Before she can say something emotional enough to break me, a voice booms from downstairs:
"BREAKFAST IN THIRTY SECONDS OR I'M EATING ALL THE PANCAKES!"
Mira gasps. "DARIUS IS COOKING!"
"He always cooks," I say, but she's already dragging me to the kitchen.
The kitchen is chaos.
Darius,my wear-bear dad, is flipping pancakes the size of plates. His dark hair is tied up, his massive arms moving with surprising grace.
Orion,my Stormborne father, leans over the counter, stealing bacon while sparks of static cling to his hands. "I'm supervising," he says when Darius growls at him.
"You're stealing," Darius corrects.
Eldric ,my Elven father, stands by the stove with serene disapproval. ",please refrian. Today should be dignified."
"Dignity is overrated," shoots back.
In the corner, Marcellus,my shadow-walker dad, leans against the wall with darkness curling lazily around his feet.
My mum turns, smiling warmly when she spots me. She looks human, but magic hums beneath her skin--gentle, steady, familiar. "Morning, sweetheart."
Aiden, my older brother, lifts his mug. "You look like you didn't sleep."
"Thanks," i deadpan.
He winks. "It's you last day. Gotta keep you humble."
Darius spots me and grins wide. "THERE SHE IS! The birthday girl!"
"Birthday girl at midnight," I correct automatically.
"Details," he waves off.
He plants a tower of pancakes before me. "Eat."
Eldric sighs. "Darius, she doesn't need twenty pancakes."
"She might," Darius argues. "Eclipse Dominion is terrifying."
"It is not terrifying," Eldric snaps.
Orion snorts. "You didn't go."
"I wasn't eligible," Eldric says stiffly.
"That's what you tell people," Orion mutters, earning a glare.
Aiden raises his mug again. "To Thalia. May Eclipse Dominion not kill her."
Mum swats him. "Aiden!"
"What? I'm being realistic."
"You're being dramatic," she scolds.
"I'm a bartender. I see things."
I cut into my pancakes. "Thank you all for the vote of confidence."
Marcellus taps the table, shadows swirling around his fingers. "If anyone tried to harm you, simply let me know. I'll correct it."
"Marcellus," Mum warns.
"It's a reasonable offer."
"This family is insane," I mutter.
Orion ruffles my hair, static snapping at my scalp. "We love you."
"Ow--love me gentler."
My birthday tradition is chaos and noise and magic. Darius cooks enough for three armies. Eldric enchants flowers to float after me. Orion conjured tiny thunderclouds "for ambiance." Marcellus lets shadows spell HAPPY BIRTHDAY THALIA on the wall in creepy glowing letters. Aiden gifts me a stun baton "for classmates who deserve it." Mira gives me a braclet she wove herself. She beams when i put it on.
We watch movies. Play games. Eat too much. The house is loud in the best way. But as the sun sets, the noise dims. No one says it out loud, but we're all thinking it.
Midnight is coming.
Everyone retreats to their rooms--not because they want to sleep, but because they don't want me to see them cry. Especially Darius. He cries as animated movies.
I'm alone in my room, sitting on my bed with my knees pulled to my chest. The soft glow of my desk lamp throws shadows across my walls.
My stomach twists.
What if Eclipse Dominion doesn't like me? What if i fail the trials?What if i'm nothing special at all?
I grip the bracelet Mira made. The thread is uneven. The beads are mismatched.
Perfect.
The clock ticks loudly in the silence.
11:59:38
11:59:39
11:59:40
The air shifts.
Magic presses against my skin like warm static. The shadows ripple. The light trembles. The air hums.
Then a spark forms above my desk. White. Bright. Quiet.
It flares, expands, and solidifies into a glowing envelope that drifts downward as though held by invisible hands. My name glows across the front:
Thalia Arclen
My breath catches.
"This is happening," I whisper.