Paige leaned back against the seat, fidgeting with her sleeves. She could feel the warmth of her sister, Melody, who was asleep and leaning against her.

Paige smiled softly before she felt a small tap on her shoulder, and she looked at her brother, Phillip.

"You okay?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "You look nervous."

"I am nervous," she replied. "We're going to the Primordial Starlight Academy. The most mysterious, prestigious, and exciting school in the whole world."

A chuckle sounded next to them, and they looked at their brother, Marcus, as he walked over to them.

"Definitely mysterious, sure," he said, sitting down next to Phillip. "Don't know about exciting."

Phillip gave him a look. "If Mom and Dad say it's exciting, it's exciting."

Paige started fiddling with her necklace as she looked out the window again. The four siblings were currently on the train that would take them to the Academy.

"The Primordial Starlight Academy?" Paige said nervously as she, her brothers, and sister sat on the couch.

"Yes," Dad nodded, "I'm sure you've heard about it. It's a really special school for a lot of talented kids."

"Like us?" Melody asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yes. The school welcomes a lot of students who have magic," Mom answered.

Marcus and Phillip exchanged a look.

"You think we have magic?" Paige asked, fiddling with her bracelet as she stared at their parents.

A reassuring smile appeared on Dad's face before he walked over and sat between Paige, Melody, Marcus, and Phillip.

"Yes," he started, "and when we were your age, we went to this school that helped us with our powers. The teachers are... strict, but they are very protective of their students. And they'll always let the parents write and even visit on special occasions."

Mom sat next to them, a gentle smile on her face. "Just know that we will always love you—no matter where you go."

Paige smiled a little before they hugged their parents.

"Paigey," Marcus said, gently shaking her shoulder. Paige mumbled softly as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"We're here," he said with a soft smile, but Paige could tell that he was nervous.

They all were. The train whistle sounded as they grabbed their bags and stepped out of the train.

Melody looked around, keeping a tight grip on Paige's hand. There were a lot of other teens walking through the large silver gates. They were all nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, and thirteen. That was the shocking part about coming to this school. Why were only the teenagers applying here?

Paige swallowed before she looked at Marcus and Phillip, "...shall we go?"

Phillip smiled nervously in response before they started to walk through the crowd of teenagers.

Melody kept close to Paige, gripping her shirt in a vice-grip. Paige looked at her and rubbed her back.

"It's okay," she assured the thirteen-year-old, smiling softly.

They waded through the crowd before they somehow made it to the front.

They walked into a large assembly room. The walls were white, and there were tapestries decorated with everything cosmic. The seats were big and cushioned, and every student was able to sit down.

Paige looked around before she spotted Callista, Jason, Sierra, Draven, Bonnie, Josiah, Justin, Christian, Zora, Shannon, Romina, Jairo, and Luna. They were sitting with their siblings.

Paige smiled, relief rippling through her chest. So their friends would be attending the academy too. They sat down in the chairs.

Phillip gently nudged Paige and gestured toward her friends. "See anyone you know?"

"Oh, come on, I should be asking you that," Paige replied, her tone playful.

He smirked and leaned forward slightly. "I can see Millicent, Cressida, Faye, Levi, Begonia, and Harper."

"I see Iago and Hadley," Marcus chuckled.

"And I see Hazel and Alma," Melody piped up, smiling.

All of their friends were here.

Thank goodness, Paige thought with a smile.

There was a bell ringing, and everyone looked over at a silver-haired woman who walked up onto the stage, holding a microphone.

She stepped onto the center of the stage and smiled, her lavender eyes glowing.

"Welcome, everyone," she greeted. "Today, you all are attending the Primordial Starlight Academy, where you will be integrated into becoming known as a Transcendant. A human who has magic powers tied to the Universe herself. By being enrolled in the academy, your Thread will be part of Her Starlight."

Melody tilted her head before she raised her hand.

"Yes, little one?" The woman said.

"How will we discover our magical abilities?" Melody asked. "I mean... what does being here entail?"

Paige gave her a surprised glance, though she was asking the right questions. Being enrolled in the academy wasn't going to be easy. There would be a lot of tension, and no doubt fights would immediately begin to follow.

"Being in the Primordial Starlight Academy entails success," a silver-haired man spoke up as he walked up beside the woman. "It entails that you become powerful with the right teachings. Regardless of whether or not you are Dual-Blooded, and whether or not you've yet to awaken your magic."

He looked at Paige, and she felt a sense of unease wash over her.

Paige and Marcus were Dual-Blooded—which was because their father, Marcus Kendrick the First, was Irilian, and their mom was Evaran. According to her, they were the first to be born Dual-Blooded. A rarity among every human being.

"Regardless of who your parents are, you are always welcome in the Academy," the silver-haired woman chimed in, giving the man a pointed side glance before clearing her throat. "Primordia does not make mistakes. We've already gotten your names written down; and we know what your blood is. You will all have your separate dorm rooms, so your belongings have already been taken care of. There is also the matter of curfew; classes will begin after you all have been situated."

She clapped her hands. "So, you all shall go to your dorm rooms and make sure to wear the school uniform."

"Wonder what it looks like," one kid whispered to another.

With that, the silver-haired woman rang the bell again, and everyone started to walk out of the dormitory, all chattering excitedly.

Paige frowned nervously and looked at her brothers and sister. Melody looked back at Paige, her expression mirroring hers. They were going to be separated from each other. Paige felt her pulse skyrocket at the thought of being away from them.

A hand placed itself on Paige's shoulder, and she jumped, startled, before she turned to see Callista, Jason, and Sierra standing behind her.

"Heh... hey, Paige," Jason greeted with a smile.

Paige let out a heavy sigh, her hand over her heart. "H-hey."

Sierra gave Paige a playful look. "You still startle easily."

Paige lightly glared at her in response.

"You guys know where we can head to the dorm rooms?" Phillip asked.

"Well, according to Otto Adams, the dorms are in numerological order," Callista chimed in.

"Nineteen, eighteen, and seventeen-year-olds are placed at the top; sixteen, fifteen, and fourteen-year-olds are in the middle, and thirteen-year-olds are at the bottom. Does Melody have any—"

"Mel!" Hazel called out, running over to them with Alma, Kit, and Nash following.

Melody smiled in relief and happiness, but she paused and looked at Paige. The nineteen-year-old girl smiled reassuringly before she gently rubbed her shoulder.

"If anyone starts messing with you, you come to us," Paige said. "I'll beat them up... or ask Phillip to do it."

"Hey!" Phillip exclaimed, and they all laughed.

Melody took Hazel's hand, and Paige watched as the five teens ran off.

"This academy is like an apartment building, but call it a castle," Sierra chuckled as they began to make their way upstairs.

"What do you think the classes are like?" Paige asked.

"I think they're the same as any other class in a regular school," Sierra shrugged. "There's science, math, history, language arts, music, gym, vocational, and practical arts."

"Gym makes sense. I guess they'll be teaching us how to spar there," Marcus hummed.

Paige looked at him, her eyebrows narrowing back. "...sparring? Why would we be doing that?"

Jason regarded her with a soft look. "Because if almost everyone here has an animal form, then that's probably one of the reasons."

Phillip and Marcus exchanged glances. Paige swallowed as they stopped at one of the doors. Paige looked at the door that had a golden plaque with her first and last name on it.

She took a deep breath before letting it out. Marcus placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"We'll see you during class," he said.

Paige smiled a little before she nodded. Jason and Callista smiled at her before they left to go to their rooms. Paige looked back at the plaque. She pushed open the door and stepped into the room. She blinked in surprise at the sight of her room. It was almost an exact replica of her bedroom back at home.

The wallpaper was white with dark blue floral markings. Glowing decorations of stars, moons, and suns hung from the ceiling.

A desk was on the other side of the room, next to a closet and a bathroom.

There were stuffed animals strewn around the room—on the floor, the windowsill, and the desk.

Paige walked over to the closet before she opened it and blinked in surprise.

She saw a lot of her clothes, alongside two of the school uniforms; one was for daily activities, the other was most likely for sparring in the gym.
She took out the daily uniform before she laid it on the bed.

It was a dark blue long-sleeved robe with a large waistcloth on top of a golden skirt with silver embroidery shaped like the sun and moon surrounded by threads. The boots were dark black.

Odd choice for a school outfit, but I'm not going to judge, she thought before she took off her current clothes and began to put her school outfit on.

After a while, the bell started to ring, and Paige walked out of her dorm room before she looked around. She could hear the chatter of other students. She closed the door behind her and hurried down the hallway.

Paige walked over to Otto. He looked over at her and waved.

She smiled, "Do you know what the schedule is?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, Language Arts is first," he hummed as the two hurried to their first class.

"Come along, students!" A silver-haired man called out as students filed into the classroom. Paige looked around curiously. She noticed that there were fifteen students in the classroom, some she recognized, some she didn't. She walked over to the desk by the window and sat down.

Once everyone had taken their seat, the teacher walked over to the desk.

"Hello and welcome, students," he chuckled. "I am your teacher, Lord Tryfon, and I will be teaching you more than just English. I will be teaching you a whole different language that will define all that you are and all that you will become. But first, let's do roll call. Aether Boyle?"

"Here."

"Rhodes Andersen."

"Here!"

"Kaitlin Swan."

"Here."

Paige looked toward Kaitlin, who was lowering her hand. The girls' eyes met, and Paige gave her a small wave.

Kaitlin returned the smile and nodded in greeting as Lord Tryfon continued roll call.

Paige looked out the window for a moment. Something told her that being in the academy wouldn't be so bad.