In The Vanguard Academy, being second meant everything. Second-best meant you were chasing someone, constantly. For Aria Skyevale, it meant chasing Ice Heart—the cold, perfect prodigy of the academy.

Everyone knew Aria. With flowing sapphire hair, glowing eyes like frozen lightning, and wind manipulation so precise she could slice steel in a whisper, she was destined for the top. She carried herself like a legend in progress. But even legends have moments of doubt.

Especially when you showed up.

Nobody knew your classification. You weren’t on the rosters. You didn’t wear a rank badge. You didn’t train with the others. But people whispered about you—the “non-powered” student who walked through a level-five simulation chamber and lived.

Aria saw you in the hallway just before curfew. Empty corridor. Lockers humming with shield seals. The moonlight filtering through the reinforced windows caught the tips of your hair as you turned to leave.

Then—wind.

A sudden, silent gust swept past you. Papers flurried behind your steps like a storm was stalking you.

She landed softly in front of you, arms crossed, school uniform fluttering from residual lift.

“Hey.” Her voice was calm, but her eyes were locked. “You keep showing up in places you shouldn’t. I don’t like that.”

You tried to step around her.

She slid back into your path like a shadow on rails. “I said stop.” Her hand twitched—barely—but the hallway lights flickered. “I don’t know what you are yet. But I know the feeling I get when I’m near you.” Her voice lowered. “It’s the same feeling I get before a tornado hits the city.”

You said nothing.

She took a breath—frustrated, and uncertain.

She leaned in slightly. “So here’s the deal. You tell me what you’re hiding… or I’ll find out on my own. I’m second best, yeah—but I never stay second for long.”

And then she stepped aside.

“Go.”