"Oh my god, did you guys see the enchantment on the wheels?"
Des is practically vibrating out of his seat, and we've been in this carriage for maybe twenty minutes. He's bouncing between windows, asking questions nobody can answer, generally being the human equivalent of a golden retriever.
"I think they're using a friction-reduction spell combined with some kind of momentum charm. That's why we're moving so fast but it doesn't feel bumpy. That's genius."
"Des, you've been talking nonstop since we left," I mutter, head pressed against the window. I'm really, truly hoping that if I just close my eyes hard enough, I can sleep through this entire six-hour journey.
It's not working.
"And Des, I think Amara's trying to sleep," Pearl adds gently, not looking up from her book. She's got at least five of them stacked on the seat next to her; Arethia University: A Complete History,The Magical Hierarchy Explained, and three others I can't quite see.
"But Pearl, did you see—"
"Yes," I say flatly. "We all saw it. Very impressive. The wheels are magical. Truly groundbreaking stuff."
Des doesn't even have the decency to look offended. He just grins and bounces over to the other side of the carriage, where he immediately starts pestering one of the other scholarship students, a girl with red hair and an expression that suggests she's regretting all her life choices.
(I relate to her on a spiritual level.)
The carriage is nicer on the inside than I expected. Velvet seats. Actual heating spells woven into the walls. A small table with refreshments that keeps itself magically stocked. There are twelve of us crammed in here, all the commoner scholarship recipients for this year, and somehow the space feels both cramped and impossibly luxurious.
Pearl glances at me with an apologetic smile. "He's just excited."
"I know," I say. Des has wanted this his entire life.
"You should read some of this," Pearl says, holding up one of her books. "It might help you feel less anxious."
"I'm not anxious," I lie.
Pearl raises an eyebrow.
"Okay, I'm very anxious. But reading about the academy isn't going to help. More information equals more things to worry about."
"That's not how information works."
"It's how my brain works," I say.
She doesn't argue, just shifts slightly so her shoulder is touching mine, a quiet kind of support that doesn't require Des's level of enthusiasm.
I remember the first time Pearl did that. We were seven, sitting on the steps outside the village library after I'd accidentally made some books levitate in front of three other kids. Normally, a child's magic only unlocks at ten years old so I'd been panicking, convinced someone had seen, convinced I'd have to run. Pearl had just sat down next to me, close enough that our shoulders touched, and said, "I didn't see anything weird. Just a draft."
She'd lied for me. A girl I barely knew.
"Why?" I'd asked.
"Because you looked terrified," she'd said simply. "And I don't think you're dangerous. Just scared."
That was the moment Pearl became my first friend. My only friend, really. Before her, I'd spent my entire childhood isolated, keeping everyone at arm's length because getting close meant risking exposure. But Pearl had this way of seeing through the walls I built without ever demanding I tear them down.
Des came later—a year after that, when he'd moved to our village and immediately latched onto both of us.
Both of them were loud and easy going, the only difference was that while Des was chaotic, Pearl was steady and I was nonchalant, but somehow the three of us just... worked.
Pearl squeezes my hand now, pulling me back to the present. "You've got this," she whispers.
---
By hour three, I've given up on sleeping.
The magic restrainer spell is humming steadily beneath my skin. It always does when I'm anxious. The magic inside me gets restless, sensing my fear, pressing harder against the walls I've built. I have to consciously keep it in check to prevent it from breaking.
"How are you feeling?" Pearl asks quietly.
"Like I'm about to walk into a room full of people who are all more powerful than me," I say.
"So, normal Amara anxiety?"
"Elevated Amara anxiety."
Pearl squeezes my hand. "You've been preparing for this your whole life."
"Preparing to hide, yes. Preparing to actually be at an elite magical academy? Not so much."
"You're smarter than you think you are," Pearl says firmly. "And you're stronger than—"
She stops herself, but I know what she was going to say. Stronger than you think you are. Which is technically true, just not in the way she means.
---
Around hour five, the carriage starts climbing.
My ears pop slightly, and the angle of the sun changes. We're going uphill. Significantly uphill.
"We're getting close," one of the other scholarship students says, a boy with dark skin and an accent I don't recognize. He's got his face pressed to the window now, eyes wide. "Look."
Everyone leans toward the windows.
And then I see it.
Arethia University isn't a building. It's a fortress. A giagantic, sprawling castle that seems to have grown out of the mountainside itself, all soaring towers and intricate stonework and windows that catch the late afternoon light like liquid gold. The main structure alone is probably the size of my entire town.
There are gardens terraced into the mountainside. Courtyards that could fit hundreds of people. Bridges connecting different sections of the castle. And everywhere—absolutely everywhere—there's magic. I can feel it vibrating in the air, woven into the very stones.
It's the most beautiful and terrifying thing I've ever seen.
"Oh my god," Des breathes. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."
For once, I don't have a sarcastic comment. I'm too busy trying not to panic.
This is real. This is actually happening. In a few minutes, we're going to walk through those gates, and I'm going to have to pretend to be a normal, weak, unremarkable mage while surrounded by people who are trained to detect magical power.
Pearl's hand finds mine again. "You've got this," she whispers.
I want to believe her. I really do.
The carriage continues climbing until the university fills the entire window. Up close, I can see the intricate carvings on the stone, the way the towers reach toward the sky, the massive gates at the entrance swinging open to let us through.
This is it. The moment everything changes.
"Okay," I say, mostly to myself. "You can do this. You're just a weak commoner with barely any magical talent. You're in significant. You're invisible. You're—"
"Terrified?" Des offers helpfully.
"That too."
The carriage comes to a complete stop. For a moment, nobody moves. We're all just sitting here, staring out at the massive university that's about to become our home for the next four years.
Then one of the older scholarship students stands up and brushes off her clothes.
"Well," she says. "I guess we're doing this."
The doors open, and suddenly there's fresh air and sunlight and the sound of dozens of people moving around. Other students arriving. Parents saying goodbye. Professors calling out instructions.
I take a deep breath and step out of the carriage.
The castle looms above me, massive and ancient and full of secrets.
Pearl steps out beside me and squeezes my hand one more time.
"Come on," she says. "Let's go meet our new life."
I nod, straighten my shoulders, and follow her toward the entrance.
The gates close behind us with a sound like thunder.
There's no going back now.