Hays

k, cream-colored envelope sealed with the unmist

ignified patience. I untied the

was written in shim

ss Holl

been selected for admission to Wanling Magic School, the

as been confirmed by our scouts, and you

e threshold of the Veiled Crossing. The bearer of this missive is authorized to

te your arrival at

in m

Reginald

g Magi

t seemed to see straight through me-hopped from the sill onto my shou

I didn't recognize from my previous life-a secret passage used only for mortal-born arrivals.

d once, and t

ped th

alm, with its grey cities and mundane skies, falling away like a discard

ol materializ

g open, and an older student wearing the bronze shield crest of Aegis House poked his head inside.

ver my racing heart. The owl gave my ear one final, encouraging nip before launc

an unsorted novice, stepped past the threshold, and

seats, their gazes a suffocating mixture of awe, envy, and curiosity. Floating above the cent

end of the hall, immediately locking onto the ma

ir Ste

redatory appraisal-the look of an artisan inspecting a f

d sharp that I almost took a step back. I dug my fingernails

nothing. He thinks you ar

casting my eyes down with the rehearsed timidity of a bew

ightly, clearly satisfied wit

rifted to the secondary magical projection ho

ng remedial placement. Among them was a frail, plain-face

sion was locked entirely onto Beverly's image. The feverish, obsessive devotion burning in

urrogate white lotus, and I was already earmark

ery stood before me, holding aloft the ancient, ta

admaster said gently. "Let th

ath, stepping up onto the

you will burn in the