"Defense protocols active. Hostile entities approaching."
The sentinel's mechanical voice echoed through the Labyrinth Wing as we filed past iron gates. Morning mist clung to stone corridors carved with tracking runes that pulsed like heartbeats. Magical sentinels patrolled designated paths, their metal feet ringing against worn stone.
Elya stayed close, gripping her light staff with white knuckles. Around us, Section D students clustered together while Section A spread out confidently. We were expected to fail. They were expected to excel.
"One hour survival test," Professor Hendricks announced. "Demonstrate tactical coordination. Graded on form, not results."
The labyrinth stretched into darkness ahead. Glowing moss provided minimal light, casting everything in sickly green.
Our footsteps echoed in wrong directions. The sounds were off, designed to confuse and disorient.
"Stay with the group," Elya whispered.
But I'd already heard something else. Faint sound of chains rattling. Coming from deeper in the complex, away from the official test routes.
"This way," I said.
"That's not part of the exercise."
"Trust me."
She hesitated, then followed. We slipped away from the main group while they engaged practice dummies. Down a side passage hidden behind false stone paneling.
The sound grew louder. Chains and movement indicating something was alive in the darkness.
The passage opened into a circular chamber I'd never seen on academy maps. Restraining materials lined the walls. Magical circles carved into the floor, their runes dark with old blood while scorch marks covered every surface.
In the center, chained to a pillar, was a girl.
Half-demon, by the look of her. Pale skin marked with silver scales along her arms. Dark hair. Eyes that held too much intelligence for someone kept like an animal.
She wore the broken remains of an imperial collar. The seals were cracked but still active, suppressing her natural abilities. Bruises covered her body in patterns that spoke of brutality.
She was being used as a moving target. A living training dummy for "reaction drills."
The academy's hidden cruelty exposed in one horrifying tableau.
"Gods," Elya breathed. "How long has she been here?"
The girl's eyes fixed on us. No fear, despite everything. Just desperate hope mixed with resignation. She'd seen people before the watched them walk away.
Rage built in my chest.
"The tracking wards," Ayrith whispered. "Disable them first."
I approached the surveillance equipment hidden in the chamber's corners. Touch-triggered runes that monitored everything.
Basic dispelling dissolved the magical circuits. The room went dark except for moss-light from the corridors.
The girl didn't flinch as I approached. Recognized kindness in strangers, maybe or was too broken to care anymore.
She was mute but pointed at her throat and shook her head. But her gestures spoke volumes. Desperation. Gratitude. The thin hope that maybe this time would be different.
I knelt beside her chains. Imperial control magic bound her to the pillar. Standard restraint spells designed to break will and suppress power.
"Can you free her?" Elya asked.
"Yes. But it's going to cost."
The Codex provided the technique. Forbidden soulbinding ritual that severed external control by creating new connections. I'd link her essence to mine, break the Empire's claim through competing loyalty.
The process would drain both of us. And create a permanent bond that couldn't be undone.
Worth it.
I placed my hands on her collar. The metal was warm from her body heat and inscribed with runes that hurt to look at directly.
"This might hurt," I warned.
She nodded. Braced herself.
The ritual began with whispered words in the old tongue. Power flowed from my core into the collar's matrix, rewriting its fundamental structure. Imperial control codes dissolved. New patterns emerged, linking her to me instead of distant masters.
The girl convulsed as the magical feedback hit. Her back arched. Silent scream contorted her features.
Then the chains snapped.
She collapsed into my arms, exhausted but free. Tears streamed down her face. The first sounds she'd made in years were soft sobs of relief.
"What's your name?" I asked.
She touched her throat again. Shook her head.
"Then we'll find you one."
Through our new bond, I caught glimpses of her past. Torture. Experimentation. Years of being treated like a weapon instead of a person. The Empire's researchers had tried to break her spirit, mold her into the perfect tool.
They'd failed. She was still herself underneath the damage.
"We need to move," Elya said. "They'll notice we're missing."
Right. The exam was still in progress. Our absence would be noticed soon.
I layered concealment magic over the girl's demonic features. Illusion that made her look like another academy student. Then I opened a small cut on my arm, bloodying my clothes.
"Training accident," I explained. "Had to help an injured classmate."
Elya supported the deception. We returned to the main group carefully, claiming we'd gotten separated during combat. The girl stayed hidden in shadows, following at a distance.
Professor Hendricks barely glanced at my bloody sleeve. "Medical wing. Get that looked at."
Perfect cover story.
That evening, I carried the girl to my hidden sanctuary. The abandoned shrine beneath the academy became her refuge. Broken relics and old records provided furniture. Most importantly, it was safe from surveillance.
She explored the chamber with curious eyes. Touched books, examined magical artifacts, tested the strength of my protective wards. Her movements were fluid, predatory. Like a blade that had learned to walk.
When I studied spellbooks, she mimicked my gestures. When I practiced casting, she watched intently. When I left the chamber, she guarded my belongings with fierce loyalty.
Communication came through gesture and expression. She couldn't speak, but her intelligence was obvious. Years of abuse hadn't broken her mind, just taught her to hide it.
Through our bond, I sensed fragments of memory. Laboratory rooms. Researchers in white robes. Experiments that pushed her body and mind to breaking points. They'd tried to create the perfect weapon. A silent killer with demon reflexes and human cunning.
The Empire's disposal methods were usually permanent. She'd been scheduled for termination when the academy requisitioned her for training purposes. Better to get some use from a failed experiment.
The shared pain created understanding between us. Two people discarded by those they'd served. Two weapons that had refused to break.
"Nox," I said suddenly. The name felt right. "Like the darkness that hides us."
She smiled for the first time since I'd found her. Pointed at herself and mouthed the word.
Nox.
But our sanctuary wasn't as safe as I'd hoped.
Through the stone walls, I felt familiar presence. Mechanical attention that pulsed like a heartbeat. An eye rune hovered outside the chamber, its lens focused on magical signatures that leaked through my wards.
Nox sensed it too. She pointed silently toward the wall, her expression suddenly tense.
I followed her gaze upward. Through cracks in the stone, red light pulsed with steady rhythm.
"We're not alone anymore."