The next morning dawned crisp and bright, sunlight glinting off fresh frost that coated the academy grounds.
Kai woke early, habits from two lifetimes died hard, and spent an hour in quiet meditation, cycling mana through his newly enhanced pathways.
The ring on his finger hummed faintly, feeding him a steady trickle of power.
Last night still lingered: the scent of jasmine and smoke on his skin, the memory of Elara's nails scoring his back, the way her composure had shattered under him.
She would be an asset now, willing or not. Forbidden knowledge, private tutoring, and a body he intended to claim again soon.
But today's target was different.
Lilia Silverthorn.
The ice princess of House Silverthorn. Heir to one of the kingdom's most powerful duchies. Platinum-blonde hair, pale blue eyes like glacier melt, skin flawless and cold as porcelain.
In his first life, she had been utterly unattainable, distant, disdainful, surrounded by sycophants and bodyguards.
She graduated top of her class, became the kingdom's youngest archmage, and died heroically in the Demon War at age twenty-eight.
Kai had admired her from afar then. Now he would have her completely.
He knew her weakness.
Not a dark secret like Elara's, but something simpler: pride.
And he knew exactly how to crack it.
Advanced Elemental Theory was one of the few classes first-years could petition into if they proved exceptional talent. After yesterday's tournament, Kai's petition had been approved without question.
The lecture hall was a tiered amphitheater of dark wood and glowing crystal sconces. About thirty students filled the seats, mostly third- and fourth-years, with a handful of precocious second-years.
And there, front row center, sat Lilia.
She wore the standard uniform, but on her it looked regal: skirt pressed perfectly, vest tailored to accentuate a slim waist and subtle curves, silver house crest gleaming on her collar.
Her posture was impeccable, quill poised over parchment as Professor Aldric droned about mana resonance in ice matrices.
Kai entered quietly and took a seat three rows behind her, directly in her line of sight if she turned.
She didn't. Not yet.
The lecture passed. Kai already knew the material backward, had lived through its practical applications in war. When Aldric posed a complex question about stabilizing a tier-4 frost lattice under combat stress, no one raised a hand.
Kai did.
Aldric's bushy eyebrows rose. "Mr… Kai, correct? The tournament victor. Very well. Enlighten us."
Kai stood, voice calm and clear. He explained the solution in precise detail, adding a rotating secondary lattice to bleed off excess vibrational energy, a technique he'd developed in his thirties that wouldn't be "discovered" for another decade.
The room went silent.
Even Aldric blinked. "That is… theoretically sound. Impressive."
Lilia's head turned then. Slowly. Her pale eyes met his across the rows, cool, assessing. A faint crease appeared between her brows.
Perfect.
After class, students filed out. Lilia lingered, gathering her notes with deliberate grace.
Kai waited until the hall emptied, then approached.
"Lady Silverthorn," he said, inclining his head just enough to acknowledge her status without subservience.
She looked up, expression frosty. Up close, she was even more striking, high cheekbones, lips a natural pale rose, scent of crisp winter air and something faintly floral.
"You are the commoner who won the tournament," she stated, voice cool and clipped. "And apparently you have some grasp of advanced theory. Curious."
"I've had good motivation to study," Kai replied, stepping closer. Close enough that she had to tilt her head slightly to maintain eye contact.
Her chin lifted. "State your business. I have another lecture."
"I want to duel you."
The words hung in the air.
Lilia's eyes narrowed. "A duel? With a first-year? Don't be absurd."
"Not official," Kai clarified, voice low. "Private. Tonight. The old training yard behind the greenhouse, the one no one uses after dusk. Just you and me. No spectators. No records."
She stared at him, suspicion warring with aristocratic pride.
"And why would I waste my time?"
"Because if you don't," Kai said softly, "everyone will wonder why the renowned Lilia Silverthorn refused a challenge from a mere commoner. Your reputation for untouchability might suffer."
It was a calculated jab. House Silverthorn prized perfection above all. Any hint of cowardice or weakness was intolerable.
Lilia's jaw tightened. "You think you can beat me?"
"I think I can surprise you."
A long pause.
Then: "Midnight. Come alone. If you're late, I leave."
She swept past him, platinum hair brushing his shoulder like silk, leaving a chill in her wake.
Kai smiled.
The old training yard was abandoned for good reason: cracked stone circles, overgrown ivy, wards long faded. Moonlight silvered everything tonight, turning frost on the ground into glittering dust.
Kai arrived ten minutes early, wearing simple training robes. He stretched, cycling mana, feeling the ring's boost.
Right on the stroke of midnight, she appeared.
Lilia stepped from the shadows in fitted black training gear that hugged her lithe body, long legs, subtle curves, hair tied back in a severe ponytail. In her hand, a slender ice-blue staff pulsed with power.
"You came," she said, voice carrying across the yard. "I admit I half-expected you to lose your nerve."
"I don't scare easily," Kai replied, walking to the center circle. "Rules?"
"First to yield or be incapacitated. No lethal spells. No permanent harm." Her tone was clipped, but her eyes gleamed, anticipation, challenge.
"Agreed."
They faced off ten paces apart.
Lilia moved first, staff twirling, a wave of razor-sharp ice shards erupting toward him like a storm.
Kai didn't dodge. He raised one hand, mana flaring.
The shards halted mid-air, suspended in a perfect sphere of compressed wind, then shattered into harmless snow that drifted down like feathers.
Lilia's eyes widened a fraction.
Kai smiled.
He knew her style intimately, had studied recordings of her duels in his first life, analyzed every habit.
She favored overwhelming offense with layered ice constructs, sacrificing defense for control of the battlefield.
He wouldn't let her set the pace.
Gale Step.
He blurred forward, faster than she expected, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Lilia reacted instantly, staff slamming down, a dome of glacial ice rising around her.
Kai punched straight through it.
Not with brute force, but with a rotating drill of wind mana that exploited the exact resonance weakness he'd mentioned in class.
The dome exploded outward in a shower of glittering fragments.
Lilia leaped back, staff spinning to summon a massive ice spear, but Kai was already inside her guard.
His palm pressed lightly to her sternum.
A single pulse of mana disrupted her core flow.
Lilia gasped, eyes wide, body freezing in place as her channels locked.
The duel was over in under thirty seconds.
Moonlight bathed them both. Frosty breath mingled in the cold air.
Lilia stared up at him, chest rising and falling rapidly, cheeks flushed from exertion, and something else.
"You…" she whispered, voice trembling with shock and fury. "How?"
Kai didn't release the disruption yet. He stepped closer, until her back met the cracked stone wall behind her.
"Because I know you better than you think," he murmured.
His free hand lifted, brushing a stray strand of platinum hair from her face. Her skin was cool, like porcelain left in moonlight.
Lilia tried to summon indignation, but the disruption made her body pliant, mana sluggish
"What do you want?" she demanded, though her voice cracked slightly.
Kai leaned in, lips near her ear.
"what do you think? Princess"