Chapter 2: The Unwanted Partner

Chapter 2: The Unwanted Partner

The chill of the Grand Hall clung to Seraphina long after she’d left it behind. Seated in the tiered amphitheater of Professor Valerius’s Advanced Auric Studies classroom, she drummed her manicured nails on the polished obsidian desk, the rhythmic tapping the only outward sign of her irritation. The memory of the incident—of the inexplicable stutter in her power—was a splinter in her mind. It was a flaw in the perfect mirror of her dominance, and she despised it. She’d tried to dismiss it, to bury it under the familiar comfort of her own arrogance, but the image of Kaelen Thorne’s defiant grey eyes kept surfacing.

Her sycophants, Gaius and the others, flanked her as always, whispering venomous suggestions for how the Null should be properly punished for his insolence. Seraphina barely heard them. Her gaze swept across the room, past the rows of Aethelgard's elite, and found him.

Kaelen was seated in the highest, most isolated tier, as far from the rest of the student body as possible. He had a datapad and stylus out, his posture focused, as if he were just another student preparing for a lecture. As if he hadn’t just been the subject of a public assault. As if he hadn’t somehow, impossibly, pushed back against the power of a Vaduva. The sheer normalcy of him was infuriating. Her desire was simple: to forget the anomaly he represented and re-establish the order of things.

The heavy doors to the amphitheater boomed shut, and Professor Valerius strode to the central dais. He was a stern, unyielding man with a presence as solid as the stone walls around them. His own Aura was immense but tightly controlled, a placid sea that hinted at unfathomable depths. He was one of the few instructors at Aethelgard who treated Seraphina not as Vaduva royalty, but simply as a student. It was a fact that always put her on edge.

“Welcome,” Valerius began, his voice devoid of warmth. It resonated through the lecture hall, commanding absolute attention. “Today, we begin the most critical component of your education at this academy: the Auric Synergy Trials.”

A murmur of anticipation filled the room. The Trials were legendary—a semester-long series of practical challenges designed to test a student’s control, creativity, and ability to cooperate under extreme pressure. Your partner in the Trials could make or break your final assessment.

“Synergy is not about friendship,” Valerius continued, his sharp eyes sweeping over the students. “It is about balance. About how disparate Auras can complement, amplify, or nullify one another. It is about finding strength in an alliance, no matter how unlikely. The partnerships have been chosen by me, based on my analysis of your potential. My decisions are final.”

He projected a list onto the large screen behind him. Names began to appear in pairs, glowing with faint Auric light. Gaius was paired with a girl known for her defensive light barriers, a classic power-duo. The room buzzed with approval and disappointment as the list grew.

Seraphina’s name appeared, and a hush fell over the hall. Everyone craned their necks, eager to see which powerful scion would be paired with the Queen.

Seraphina Vaduva &

The cursor blinked for a heart-stopping moment. And then, the second name materialized beside hers.

Kaelen Thorne

For a full three seconds, there was absolute silence. The only sound was the faint hum of the projector. It was a silence born of pure, unadulterated shock. Seraphina stared at the screen, certain her eyes were deceiving her. It had to be a mistake. A cruel, elaborate joke. Her name, the name of the Vaduva heir, next to his. The Null. The empty one.

The silence was shattered by a snort of derisive laughter from Gaius. “Professor, with all due respect,” he called out, emboldened by the sheer absurdity of it, “that has to be a clerical error. Thorne doesn’t have an Aura. What synergy can he possibly provide? He’s a liability.”

Professor Valerius’s gaze was glacial. “Your opinion was not requested, Mr. Calvus. Is there a problem, Ms. Vaduva?”

The obstacle was no longer just the memory of Kaelen; it was this public, institutional humiliation. Seraphina rose slowly from her seat, her movements graceful but radiating a palpable fury. The shadows in the room deepened instinctively, twisting at the corners of her desk.

“Professor,” she said, her voice dangerously soft. “I am an Umbra-wielder. My Aura is S-tier. You have paired me with a broken vessel. It is not a partnership; it is an anchor. I refuse.”

Her declaration hung in the air, a direct challenge to his authority. The students watched, breathless. No one spoke to Professor Valerius like that. But no one had ever been insulted like this.

Valerius did not flinch. He simply looked at her, his expression unreadable. “You believe synergy is only found in the clash of power against power? A shortsighted view. Perhaps a master of shadows could learn something from a partner who casts none.”

“This is an insult to my family, to my very bloodline,” she hissed, her control fraying.

“Your bloodline is of no concern to me in this classroom,” he replied flatly. “Your education is. You are the most powerful student in this academy, Ms. Vaduva. But your power is volatile. Unchecked. You see challenges only as things to be destroyed. Kaelen Thorne, on the other hand, is forced to see them as problems to be solved. Perhaps you will learn something from him. Or, more likely, he will simply have to find a way to survive you. Either way, the educational outcome will be… illuminating.”

Throughout the entire exchange, Kaelen had not moved. He hadn't reacted when their names were paired. He hadn't flinched at Gaius’s scorn or Seraphina’s rage. He simply sat there, watching the scene unfold with that same, unnerving calm he’d shown in the Grand Hall. His stillness was a stark contrast to her barely contained tempest of power. It was his lack of reaction that threw her off balance more than anything else. He accepted it. He accepted her. As if being shackled to his personal tormentor was just another Tuesday.

Seraphina’s mind raced. Was this Valerius’s goal? To humiliate her? To teach her some facile lesson about humility? Or did he know something? Did he somehow sense the anomaly, the flicker of backlash she’d felt? The thought was absurd, but it wormed its way into her mind.

“My decision,” Professor Valerius said, his voice a final, tolling bell, “is final. You will work with Mr. Thorne for the duration of the semester. You will be graded as a unit. His failure will be your failure. Now, take your seat.”

The command was absolute. Her power, her name, her fury—it all shattered against the wall of his authority. Defeated, and for the first time in years, utterly powerless to change her circumstances, Seraphina sank back into her chair. Her face was a mask of cold fury, but inside, a storm of emotions raged. Humiliation. Rage. And beneath it all, that same, terrifying flicker of intrigue.

Her eyes locked with Kaelen’s across the amphitheater. His expression hadn't changed, but she saw something in his steady gaze—not pity, not triumph, but a quiet, solemn acknowledgment of the chain that had just been forged between them.

She was bound to the Null. To the one mystery she couldn’t solve and the one person who didn’t seem to fear her. A cruel twist of fate had turned her plaything into her partner. And as the lecture resumed, Seraphina Vaduva knew one thing with chilling certainty: she would either break him completely, or she would be forced to understand him. And she wasn't sure which prospect was more terrifying.