CHAPTER 1
To Awaken, you have to burn.That's the last thing you hear before you're lost to a void as vast as death.
And to be honest, Leo didn't remember burning — didn't remember screaming, feeling pain, or anything truly remarkable. Only that, somehow, she could breathe again.Which wasn't the case for the other 25 candidates this year.
It might sound insensitive to think of it so lightly, but everything is a matter of choice. Either way, it couldn't be avoided.
She downed the rest of the drink in her mug, the liquid burning its way down her throat and making her eyes water like a rookie unaccustomed to cherry ale.The scent of roasted meat tugged at her senses more than once, but Leo refused to give in to temptation.
When a candidate fails their final trial — the Awakening — tradition dictates that those who survive honor their fallen with strong drink and a good hunt.
And, as with previous years, Leo had not been granted permission to leave the city walls — by direct order of Archduke Monteiro.Carmelius probably despised her — or something close to it — keeping her from even joining a simple hunt.Being treated like a child during a moment like this was humiliating.
All because of the curse.
At this rate, she'd probably be stuck in Montreal until fifty — assuming she lived that long.
The Great Hall's mess area was vast, its high ceiling supported by dark oak beams, lit by torches along the stone walls, their flickering light casting twisted shadows across rustic wooden tables and cold marble floors.
The air still clung to the scent of smoke and fresh meat, mixed with sweat and beer.
The surviving candidates entered in small, dragging groups — footsteps echoing across the room.Bandages wrapped cuts and bruises; in their eyes, the weight of trauma, as if they were still trapped in the moment they nearly died.
Exhaustion and grief hung thick in the air, like smoke caught in the beams.
Leo sat silently, but she didn't go unnoticed.
As the groups approached the tables, whispered voices rose — sharp as poorly hidden blades:
— She shouldn't even be here.— Didn't even leave the walls and already thinks she belongs among us.— What'd she do in the Awakening? Breathe?
The words weren't spoken directly to her, but close enough that there was no mistaking who they were about.
Leo glanced sideways, watching the moving mouths and skewed glares — all poorly veiled, as if they were any good at hiding it.Annoyance flared, but she kept her expression steady.It wasn't her fault she didn't bleed like they did.She didn't write the rules.
But there she was — paying the price for a privilege she never asked for.
And one thing was certain:She couldn't be weak.She couldn't be useless.
Not many make it through. Despite the sweat, the devotion, the foolish belief… fate is neither kind nor fair.If she was still here, it was because she surpassed all of them — curse and all.
I'm alive. They're not.I'm drinking ale. They're not.
Across the hall, her new "companions" — the so-called Heralds — cast judgmental looks her way, as if they had the authority — or skill — to decide who deserved to survive and who didn't.
Pathetic.
Not that Leo wished them harm. Nothing so petty.She just couldn't stand them — especially Giovani's group, who didn't even bother hiding their distaste.
One of them paused mid-drink just to throw her a look.
As if her merit wasn't real.As if she didn't belong.
Leo didn't lower her head. She simply raised an eyebrow in silent defiance.
And to her, they didn't belong either.
There were far better people who should've been here.But unfortunately, it wasn't up to them. Just the gods — or whatever bastard was up there enjoying this mess.
And the stares continued. One, two, all of them.Ridiculous. So predictable it almost made her cringe.
So much unwanted attention…
Leo scoffed.
Apparently, she was already a local celebrity — known and gossiped about — before officially becoming a Silver Herald.
In her darkest thoughts, she imagined tearing out an eye from each of them, just to earn a moment of peace. Maybe then they'd learn to use their mouths wisely. Or better — keep them shut.
But the weight of it all was heavier than she'd expected.
She took a deep breath and held her tongue.
Leo might be a brilliant swordswoman, deadly in close combat — everyone knew that.But even now, on the brink of earning the title of Silver Herald... could she trust herself in the Forest of the Condemned?
Last time, she had proven herself to be little more than dead weight.A mistake that had cost someone their life.
— The Archduke's little favorite... that's what she is.— While we bleed, she watches from the balcony.
Leo almost laughed. Dry and bitter.
But truth be told, a small part of those comments were right.
She was still in a cage — shielded from the Hexareggs and the Blezens, like some rare animal kept safe… or under surveillance.
Like a princess locked in a tower.
Maybe they'd spare the effort of hating her if they knew she hated it too.
She turned her face away.
Irony or not, it wouldn't take her anywhere.
What mattered was now.
Amid the silence, the voices of old friends echoed like a sedative through her thoughts — not that she understood a word they said.
Because people she trained with had died today.They died believing they'd still be alive.