With that, the headmaster's slender fingers reached beneath the desk, gave a gentle pinch, and pulled out a tiny green snake. It was Skylar's spy.
The Sterling family possessed a unique ability—they could share sight and hearing with the venomous creatures they bonded with. She had been using this snake to monitor everything happening in the room. Skylar stepped out awkwardly from the corner of the hallway, Leo trailing behind her. She knew perfectly well that in front of the most powerful man in the Sanctum, tricks like this were utterly meaningless.
"I've looked into what happened," Cassian said, releasing the small snake and gesturing for them to sit. "They provoked you first, that much is clear. But losing control of your power—that's something you bear some responsibility for. Still, Caleb only has minor injuries. Nothing serious."
Seeing the relief wash over their faces, Cassian smiled knowingly. "Ethan, you haven't reported to House Adamant yet today, have you?"
"Headmaster, let him join House Zephyr! He'd love it there!" Leo blurted out eagerly.
Cassian ignored him. His gaze remained fixed on Ethan. "What do you think?"
Ethan was quiet for a moment. Brad's arrogant face flashed through his mind. "I don't really understand the Sanctum's rules yet," he said slowly, "but I don't want to be around those guys."
"Everything happens for a reason." Cassian pressed his seal onto the document on his desk. "Very well, then. Welcome to House Zephyr."
"Leo, isn't there an empty bunk in your dorm? Help Ethan move in tonight."
"Yes!" Leo jumped up on the spot, throwing his arm around Ethan's shoulders with a thud. "Let's go, man! We're roommates now!"
Ethan looked at Leo's beaming face, then glanced at Skylar, who stood quietly nearby. She wasn't saying much, but her eyes had softened. The chill that PTSD had left in his chest finally began to lift, just a little.
They stepped out of the building. The cold wind outside carried a sharp chill that cleared the last of the fog from Ethan's mind. He watched Skylar walking beside him, head bowed as she played with the little snake hiding in her sleeve. Leo, meanwhile, was still rubbing his sore shoulder. A bitter smile tugged at Ethan's lips.
"Aren't you… afraid of me?"
He stopped walking and stared down at his right hand. Faint red lines still lingered on his skin. "That power I just used—it even felt strange to me. After everything that happened, the whole school will probably think I'm some kind of monster tomorrow. Or a lunatic."
Leo looked at him like he'd just said the funniest thing in the world. He slapped Ethan on the back so hard it nearly sent him stumbling. "Monster? Dude, that was awesome! You should've seen Brad's face—it was white as a ghost. In the Sanctum, the only crime is being mediocre. Being strong is never a bad thing."
Skylar stopped too. Her cool, clear eyes met Ethan's gaze directly. "I spend my days around venomous creatures," she said quietly, her voice steady. "People call me 'snake girl' and look at me like I'm something to fear. If I pushed you away for what just happened, I'd be the biggest hypocrite alive."
She turned, her silver ponytail cutting an arc through the sunlight. "Don't go back to the classroom. Come with me. I know a good place to clear your head."
"Wait, we're skipping class? What about lunch? My stomach's already staging a protest!" Leo groaned, clutching his empty belly with a pitiful look.
"Relax," Skylar said with a mysterious smile. "I promise you'll eat something you'll never forget."
She led them off the main path, toward the hills behind the academy, and onto a narrow trail hidden beneath thick ferns.The path wound deep into the shade, trees casting dappled shadows all around. When they reached the end, a small figure dropped down from a branch above.
"No permit, no entry. Skylar, it's dangerous back there." Luca stepped out of the shadows, his youthful face set in a serious expression.
Skylar seemed to have expected this. Without hurrying, she pulled out a dark-glowing token from her pocket—a special pass Nyx had given her for mission purposes. She bent down and gently patted Luca's head. The boy inspected the token carefully, then shot a worried glance at Ethan and Leo. After a moment, he stepped aside and let them pass.
Skylar had always liked Luca. Unlike most people, she never treated him like a puppet. To her, the way he looked and even the feel of his small hands—none of it seemed artificial.
"Where exactly are we going? I've been at the academy this long and never even heard of this place." Leo shrank his neck, glancing around with uneasy curiosity.
"We've only been here a little longer than Ethan," Skylar replied flatly. "The grounds are huge. There are plenty of places you haven't seen." Leo's family home in the Sanctum was far from the academy; this was his first time in this part of the grounds. "Ahead is the Gloomwood," Skylar continued. "It stretches across several mountains. This is the edge of the forbidden zone—students aren't usually allowed in. The forest is full of all kinds of magical creatures. If you don't know the way, it's dangerous."
The three of them stepped into the woods. The deeper they went, the heavier and thicker the air became. Skylar pulled a small bone flute from the folds of her tunic and brought it to her lips.
The sound wasn't piercing. Instead, it was low and rhythmic—like the growl of some distant beast.
Shhh… shhh…
At first, it was just the rustle of distant leaves. Then the noise grew heavier, more urgent, joined by the sharp crack of branches snapping under something massive. The ground began to tremble.
"What is that…" Ethan took a cautious step back, instinctively readying himself.
Suddenly, a vast silhouette lunged out of the shadows!
It was a serpent, black as ink, with two pairs of enormous, dragon-like wings sprouting from its back. Its golden vertical pupils blazed in the darkness like twin lanterns, fixed on the two strangers before it.
"Holy—!" Leo yelped, nearly jumping onto Ethan's back as they both scrambled backward.
But Skylar walked forward without a trace of fear. She raised her hand and pressed her slender fingers against the serpent's cold, hard scales. The fearsome beast lowered its proud head like a tamed Labrador, docile and familiar, even nudging gently against her palm.
"Don't be scared," Skylar said, glancing back at them. Sunlight fell across her face, lending her a wild, untamed beauty. "He's an old friend. His name is Typhon. Climb on. We're flying over."
The serpent sank low, its massive body flattening into a gentle slope.
Ethan stepped onto its thick scales. As the creature spread its wings and launched skyward, he looked down at the Abyss Lake below, shimmering like a sapphire, and the little town in the distance. For a moment, the weight in his chest felt lighter, scattered by the wind rushing past.
"Hold on!" Skylar shouted over the wind. "The town we're going to has the best barbecue in the entire Sanctum!"
Typhon was no ordinary creature. This massive beast, weighing over two hundred kilograms, was now skimming across the lake's surface at a terrifying forty kilometers per hour. Its scales shimmered with an obsidian-like deep purple, catching the afternoon sunlight and reflecting a cold, dangerous metallic gleam.
For the three teenagers, this was less like a boat ride and more like a high-stakes gamble with death.
"Hold tight! Typhon doesn't like slowpokes!" Skylar yelled, her long legs clamping down against the serpent's body, both hands gripping two specially marked reverse scales with practiced ease.
The wind slammed against Ethan's chest like a battering ram. He had lost count of how many times he'd flipped through superhero comics in that old Brooklyn bookstore, dreaming of soaring over Manhattan on the back of a dragon. But reality was far crueler than any comic—the sheer force of the wind crushed his lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe.
"Oh god! We're going to fall! We are definitely going to fall!" Leo's wail was shredded into silence the moment it left his lips. He clung to a scale like a terrified koala, his toes scrambling desperately for any kind of purchase on the serpent's slick, wet hide.
Just as they passed the dark, solitary tower at the center of the lake—the Hollow Spire—everything changed.
A sudden wave of cold shot up Ethan's spine and detonated in his skull. For a moment, he heard something—a version of himself screaming in the darkness, a raw, primal sound of pure agony. The sensation of his soul being torn apart made his mind go completely blank. His body tilted sideways, and for one terrifying second, he nearly plunged into the churning water below.
"Hey! Focus!" Leo's hand shot out and shoved him hard, pushing him back down against the serpent's spine just in time.
At the same moment, the glassy surface of Abyss Lake rippled violently. Deep beneath the sapphire-blue water, a shadow stirred—massive, terrifying, something that shouldn't exist. It moved in eerie synchrony with Typhon's flight, tracking them from below.
"There's something under the lake!" Ethan shouted, his voice cracking.
"That's just the Lake Warden! Ignore it!" Skylar called back without turning her head, her voice eerily calm against the roaring wind. "As long as we keep this height, it won't surface."
Ethan forced himself to look away, pressing his body flat against the serpent's scales. The fear was still there, gnawing at the edges of his mind. But underneath it, something else was growing—a wild, reckless exhilaration. This feeling of dancing on the edge of death, of living so close to the line that the line barely mattered anymore… it was something he had never experienced in his dull, ordinary life back in Brooklyn.
Fifteen minutes later, Typhon began to slow, gliding down toward a pebbled beach at the edge of the lake. Its massive body sank halfway into the water, and with a flick of its enormous tail, it sent a wave several meters high crashing onto the shore like a sudden rainstorm. The three of them jumped off. Skylar ran her hand gently along the serpent's head, murmuring in a low voice—some kind of ancient song, a language that sounded more like a lullaby. Her tone was so soft, so different from her usual sharpness.
"He's going back," Skylar said, watching as Typhon slipped back beneath the surface. The beast surged forward in a burst of speed, then launched itself skyward, its massive form vanishing into the clouds.