Beneath Dark Skies

Codex

"Welcome, brave initiates, to the sacred Trial of the Choosing. This codex contains the words and oaths that bind you to our ancient traditions and guide you on your path. Recite these words with honor and conviction, for they mark the beginning of your journey.

Codex Arcanum Scientia, year unknown"

The air in the hall was thick with something no one wanted to say out loud. Expectation. Judgment. Fear.

The silence wasn't just quiet, it pressed down on my shoulders like it had an opinion. Somewhere across the stone floor, someone's footsteps echoed too loud, like they were walking to their own execution. Honestly? Same.

Each name called out was a strike of lightning, the sound jolting through me like it was my own. The floor beneath me felt alive, almost like it was bracing for what was coming.

Or maybe that was just good old me losing my mind for the second time today.

My heart had already lost all sense of rhythm. Too fast. Too slow. Then back to pounding like it wanted to claw its way out of my chest.

A girl ahead of me short, curvy, and radiating the kind of effortless confidence I could never quite master, stepped into the circle. No hesitation. No second-guessing.

I envied that.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of him.

Kai.

He always stood too still. like the air hadn't agreed to let him in yet. And sometimes, those greenish veins on his jaw flickered like they were thinking about decaying. He glitched too. just barely, but enough. Like something out of sync with itself.

He murmured something to the guy next to him, who snickered under his breath. I didn't catch the words, but I didn't need to. I knew they were about me.

It wasn't hard to quess, the way he was staring at me, like he couldn't decide if this counted as polite stalking or something worse.

Our families' feud lasted generations, and even though we'd never outrightly tried to kill each other, I knew it was inevitable, like tripping in slow motion and seeing the floor rush up to meet your face. You don't want it, you can't stop it, but it's happening anyway.

My father destroyed Kai's father's life like it was paperwork. He didn't just ruin him, Kai's family was surprise, surprise, also included. Literally wiped off the record. No trial. No explanation. Just... gone. Like a glitch in the system no one wanted to patch.

Rumors spread wide and fast about what Kai's father had done: "humane" experiments, digging into the weirdness surrounding Alisante Winters's death, and the things that came after.

But of course my family had buried everything so deep you'd need a cursed shovel and a death wish to find it again. And honestly? I didn't know what the truth was,half the time I wasn't even sure I wanted to. But whatever it was, it lit the match that torched everything after.

And now? Well... I have to deal with Kai or whatever's left of him anyway. Thanks, Dad. You really knew how to motivate people into becoming dangerous psychos. And then you made it so I can't even hate them. Because of course they have a tragic backstory. 

That said, I hated Kai. Mostly because I didn't know any better. And because that was expected of me. Again...thanks, Dad.

Growing up, I knew my father was distant. Cold. I'd seen how he treated others. people who weren't family, people who didn't matter. But it was worse when he was like that with me. His love was transactional, not affectionate. His cold gaze, always judging, always evaluating me for the Winters name I bore. never for who I was.

Warmth? Never heard of it. All I got was duty, branded onto me like a sigil I didn't ask for.

Stand tall, Skyleen. You are a Winters. That name means something. It commands respect. You represent the family now. No one else will protect it for you...

It was always like that. Duty, not love. Expectations, not care.

I didn't know who I was beyond that name. I hated it.

I hated how I could never live up to the impossible standards he set. I hated that every mistake felt like a failure not just to me, but to the entire Winters legacy.

But more than anything, I hated the choices my father had made. The ones that crushed not only his own family but also Kai's.

What did I even owe my father, anyway? He'd been a harsh and distant figure, leaving me to pick up the pieces of a legacy that had been shaped in shadows. But the worst part was that no matter how much I resented it, I was bound to it.

Kai didn't see that. To him, we were just enemies,two sides of the same poisoned coin, flipping through generations, never landing clean. He blamed me for the sins of my father. For the life I didn't choose, for the expectations I didn't want.

But none of that mattered right now. I would step forward, even if I hated what this all represented. Even if I hated what my father had done. It was my turn. My name. My fate.

I rolled my shoulders back, chin up. Confidence? Never met her. But faking it? I had a PhD in that.

Step forward. Breathe. Pretend this isn't terrifying.

I lifted my gaze toward the magnificent altar where the Master of Ceremonies stood. He was young or at least, he looked that way. But his eyes... those weren't the eyes of someone fresh to the world.

Then I noticed it.

The Soul Web on his hand caught the light, thin metallic threads, all shimmer and flex, like something barely pretending to be part of him. Rare. Dangerous. The kind of thing people kill for, or die wearing.

And yeah, I bet it looked great in portraits.

Immortality, perfect skin, centuries of not having to deal with split ends. Who wouldn't want that? Everyone, apparently. But all I could think was...how bored must you get, watching everything you ever cared about shrivel while you stay perfect?

Sounded less like a gift and more like a designer prison with good lighting.

A bead of sweat traced down my spine, and I snapped back to reality.

The floating orbs above cast an eerie glow, illuminating the embroidery on my ceremonial black dress. White thread, shimmering like frost, made me feel like I was wearing something carved from ice. And yet, I was burning up inside it.

With every step toward the altar, my heart pounded louder. Faster.

Run. Leave. Escape.

Not an option.

The Master's sharp gaze flicked over me, an eyebrow lifting as he took me in. There was something amused about the way he studied me, like he already knew exactly how this was going to go.

"Nervous, are we?" His voice was calm. Too calm.

I forced a laugh, but my cheeks betrayed me with a traitorous flush. "Just a bit," I admitted, praying my voice wouldn't crack. "But I'm ready."

His expression softened slightly. Pity? Approval? I couldn't tell.

"Good." He nodded. "Bravery is the first step."

Great. Only a thousand more humiliations to go.

I exhaled one last time and let my fingers brush against the cool fabric of my dress.

"I, Skyleen Winters, offer my mind and soul for questioning and accept judgment from you and others, as my fate is decided by the blood of my kin."

My voice did not shake.

The Master's gaze flickered. Approval.

He dipped his chin slightly. "Very well, Skyleen. Let us begin."

Awesome. Time to get emotionally dissected in front of an audience. Love that for me.