"Number 250. Amara Cole."
Every head turned toward me.
What made me think being the last person meant everyone would be too tired to watch?
I stood, ignoring the weight of hundreds of eyes tracking my every move. Pearl gave me an encouraging nod, while Des looked like he might pass out on my behalf.
The walk to the platform felt longer than it should have. Whispers followed me as I moved.
"Last one…"
"I wonder what she'll get…"
I resisted the urge to sigh. Why couldn't people just mind their business?
I climbed the steps and stopped in front of the crystal. Up close, it was even more intricate than I'd thought. I could see veins of magic threading through the transparent surface, beaming gently with stored energy.
I reached out.
I just needed to release a tiny bit of magic. I'd practiced this exact scenario dozens of times back in my dorm, making sure I could control the flow perfectly.
My palms pressed against the crystal's smooth surface.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the crystal started glowing. It was soft at first, then it got brighter, then brighter...
The light intensified rapidly, way faster than it had for anyone else. The silver veins inside the crystal lit up all at once, blazing white-hot.
Professor Thorne's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
The crystal cracked.
The sound rang through the hall. A fracture line split down the center of the crystal. Then another crack.
And another.
"Remove your hands!" Professor Thorne shouted.
I yanked my hands back just as the crystal shattered.
Shards exploded utward in a burst of light and sound as sparks snapped through the air, scattering in every direction. The crystal's base began to smoke, thick gray clouds rising from the enchantments that were clearly overloaded.
Professors rushed forward, wands raised, casting containment spells to keep the sparks from hitting the students.
The backup system, which was a smaller crystal embedded in the platform came to life, struggling to compensate for the destroyed primary device.
A number appeared in the air, glitching and unstable.
1★ — 109 units
It got super quiet in the hall that you could probably hear a pin drop.
I stared at the number, keeping my expression confused.
Inside, I was celebrating.
I was scared for a minute that the system would deem me unrecordable.
Turns out that the backup system couldn't read me properly because my power had been too much for the primary device, and now the secondary one was just guessing based on residual magical traces.
Which, thanks to my restrainer spell…
Registered as almost nothing.
Perfect.
Professor Thorne stared at the smoking remains of the crystal, her expression caught between shock and professional concern.
"What—how did—" She turned to the other professors. "Has this ever happened before?"
"Not in my twenty years here," one of them said, waving his wand to clear the smoke.
"The device was rated for up to 10-star measurements," another added, looking baffled. "It shouldn't have broken unless..."
"Unless the subject's magical output exceeded its capacity," Professor Thorne finished.
Her gaze shifted to me but her expression was unreadable.
"But the backup system registered her as 1-star."
"Could be equipment malfunction," the first professor said firmly. "Has to be. The primary device was probably defective."
Professor Thorne didn't look convinced but she nodded slowly. "We'll need to investigate this."
She turned to the hall, her voice magically amplified.
"We will take a thirty-minute break while we assess the equipment and prepare for the second portion of testing. First-years, you are dismissed to the courtyard. Do not leave the premises."
The hall erupted into noise the moment she finished speaking.
I walked off the platform, keeping my face neutral despite the chaos around me. Students were already talking, voices overlapping in a wave of speculation and gossip.
"Did you see that?"
"The crystal just exploded..."
"She broke the tester!"
"Must've been a malfunction, right? There's no way..."
"She got 1-star though. That's basically nothing."
"Poor girl. Imagine breaking the device *and* scoring that low."
I caught Serena Carver's voice above the others. It was loud, mocking and oh so delighted at my low score.
"Well, that was embarrassing. I suppose we know where she'll rank now." She was laughing openly, surrounded by her snobby noble friends who were all smirking in my direction.
I didn't react. Just kept walking.
Pearl and Des found me near the courtyard entrance. Pearl looked concerned, her notebook forgotten. "Are you okay? That was... what even happened?"
"Equipment malfunction," I said simply.
Des hesitated. "But you got 1-star… That's—I mean… that's really low. Are you…?"
"I'm fine," And I was. Better than fine, actually.
Across the courtyard, I spotted Malachi Della. He was standing with a group of other high-ranking students, but his attention was on me. His expression was... concerned? Worried? Hard to tell from this distance, but he definitely wasn't laughing.
Kai Arden, on the other hand, looked disappointed. He was shaking his head, talking to another 3-star student, probably saying something about how he'd tried to warn me and I hadn't listened.
Let them think what they wanted.
The truth was, I'd just pulled off exactly what I needed to. The device breaking would be written off as a malfunction. My 1-star ranking would make me invisible and unremarkable. No one would expect anything from me too.
And when the combat assessment came around, when I actually had to demonstrate my abilities?
Well.
That would be easy as pie.
I found a quiet spot near the courtyard fountain and sat down, ignoring the whispers and stares. Pearl and Des hovered nearby, clearly wanting to comfort me but not sure how.
"I'm fine," I said again. "Really. They'll all find something else to talk about very soon"
Pearl frowned. "You don't look upset."
"Should I be?"
"Your ranking—"
"Is temporary," I said. "The written exam and combat assessment are still coming. Plenty of time to improve."
That seemed to satisfy them, though Pearl still looked suspicious. She knew me well enough to sense when I wasn't telling the whole truth.
But she didn't push.
"Hey… how are your hands?"
I looked up and there he was. The last person I would've guessed.
Malachi Della.
Standing right in front of me with that unfairly handsome face and a smile that could probably make half the girls in this school lose their minds. Pearl and Des had gone completely silent beside me, clearly too stunned to say anything.
"Fine," I said flatly.
Getting attention from the most popular guy in school, the kingdom's future king, no less, was exactly the kind of thing that could ruin my carefully planned ordinary life.
And that was something I couldn't afford.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his brows pulling together slightly. "It looked like the crystal may have bur—"
"I said I'm fine," I cut in, sharper this time. If I sounded rude enough, maybe he'd just leave.
For a brief second, his expression changed, like he wasn't used to being interrupted… or dismissed.
But just as quickly, that smile returned.
And instead of leaving, he crouched down in front of me.
Before I could react, he gently took my hands in his. A strange tingling feeling of surprise rose in my ches, followed by something warmer and unfamiliar.
"See," he murmured, his voice low and velvety, smooth as warm honey, "burn marks."
I blinked, startled, finally looking down. I hadn't even realized I was hurt, not with everything that had just happened.
His fingers brushed lightly against my palms before he covered them fully with his hands. Then he leaned in slightly and whispered under his breath. I recognized what he was saying was a healing spell.
A soft glow bloomed between our hands. It was pretty, warm and almost… intimate, before fading away.
When he pulled back, I stared at my palms.
The burns were completely gone
I looked at him again and he was smiling; like it was nothing.
"Look at that," he said softly. "All better."
And just like that, he stood up and walked away, leaving me sitting there… trying very hard to ignore the lingering warmth in my chest.