Maya's POV
The crystal ball burst into a thousand sparkling pieces.
I jumped back as the glittering pieces scattered across Professor Kane's desk, my heart hammering in my chest. The entire Advanced Magic class stared at me in stunned silence.
"I'm so sorry!" I gasped, reaching toward the broken pieces. "I didn't mean to—"
"Maya Chen!" Professor Kane's words boomed across the classroom, and I froze. Here it comes, I thought. The lecture about being more careful with expensive magical things. The disappointed look that would make my stomach twist with shame.
But instead, Professor Kane started laughing.
"Incredible!" he said, slapping his hands together. "In thirty years of teaching, I've never seen a student put so much power into a simple seeing spell that it shattered the crystal itself!"
Wait, what?
The other students began chatting excitedly. I caught snippets of their conversations: "Did you see that light?" "Her magic is so strong!" "No wonder she's number one in our class!"
My best friend Zara bounced in her seat, grinning at me with pure joy. "Maya, that was amazing! Show us how you did it!"
I felt my face turn red. "I... I don't really know. I just focused on wanting to see far away, and then..."
"And then you channeled more magical energy than most adult mages can handle," Professor Kane said, walking over to study the crystal fragments. Each piece still glowed with a soft, golden light. "Look at this, class. See how the crystal is still working even though it's broken? That's the mark of truly great magic."
My heart swelled with happiness. This was why I loved Starfall Academy so much. Here, being different wasn't something to hide—it was something to enjoy. Here, I wasn't just Maya the poor girl who didn't know her real parents. I was Maya the star student, Maya the strong mage, Maya the girl everyone looked up to.
"Maya," Professor Kane added, "I want you to stay after class. There's something important I need to share with you."
More whispers spread through the classroom. Getting asked to stay after Professor Kane's class was either very good news or very bad news. Since I'd just broken his crystal ball, I was hoping for good news.
The rest of the lesson passed in a blur. I tried to focus on Professor Kane's lecture about advanced scrying methods, but my mind kept wandering. What could he want to talk to me about? Maybe he wanted to recommend me for the Advanced Placement class. Maybe he had heard about my application to join the Junior Mage Council.
When the bell rang, the other students filed out, patting me on the back and praising me on my "awesome crystal explosion." Zara gave me a quick hug.
"Meet me at dinner?" she whispered. "I want to hear everything Professor Kane tells you!"
I nodded, watching her leave with the others. Soon, it was just me and Professor Kane in the empty classroom.
"Sit down, Maya," he said gently, pointing to the chair across from his desk.
I sat, trying to read his face. Professor Kane had always been kind to me, but right now he looked... worried? Scared? I couldn't tell.
"Maya," he began slowly, "your magical skills have been growing at an extraordinary rate this year. Far beyond what we would normally expect from someone your age."
I felt a flutter of nervousness in my stomach. "Is that... bad?"
"Not bad," he said quickly. "But unusual. And sometimes, odd magic can attract... attention."
"What kind of attention?"
Professor Kane was quiet for a long moment, looking at the broken crystal pieces on his desk. When he looked up at me again, his eyes were serious.
"There are people in the magical world who watch for young mages with exceptional power," he said carefully. "They have their own ideas about how such power should be used."
A chill ran down my spine. "Are you trying to scare me?"
"I'm trying to prepare you," he said. "Maya, tomorrow is your seventeenth birthday. In our world, that's when a mage's true power shows itself. For most students, it's a small increase in their skills. But for you..."
He trailed off, shaking his head.
"For me, what?" I pressed.
"Just promise me something," Professor Kane said, leaning forward fiercely. "Whatever happens tomorrow during your Assessment, remember that your worth isn't decided by your magical power. You're a good person, Maya. A kind person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
His words sent ice through my blood. Professor Kane was scaring me, and I didn't understand why.
"Professor Kane, you're really freaking me out. What aren't you telling me?"
But he just stood up and started gathering the crystal pieces. "Go to dinner, Maya. Enjoy your evening with your friends. Tomorrow..." He stopped, looking at me with an expression I'd never seen before—like he was looking at me for the last time. "Tomorrow everything changes."
I left his classroom with my head spinning and my heart racing. What had he meant by that? Why did he look so sad?
I tried to push away my worry as I walked to the dining hall. This was my last perfect day at Starfall Academy, I told myself. Tomorrow I would turn seventeen, pass my Assessment with flying colors, and show to everyone that I really was as powerful as they thought.
I had no idea how wrong I was.
That night, I lay in my bed looking at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Professor Kane's words kept ringing in my head. Finally, tiredness took over and I drifted off.
But my thoughts were not peaceful.
I stood in a place I'd never seen before—a dark room filled with shadowy people in long robes. They stood in a circle around me, muttering words I couldn't understand. In the middle of the circle, golden fire blazed higher and higher, and somehow I knew that the fire was connected to me.
"The time has come," one of the figures said in a voice like ice. "She's almost ready."
"Are you certain she'll choose correctly?" another asked.
"If she doesn't," the first figure answered, "we'll make the choice for her."
I tried to speak, tried to ask what they meant, but no sound came from my mouth. The golden fire grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding.
And then I heard a voice that made my blood freeze.
"Hello, Maya."
I knew that voice. I knew it as well as my own.
It was my father.