Chapter 12: The First Shift
993 Words
The academy bell echoed across campus.
Six sharp chimes.
Evelyn groaned as Maya yanked the curtains open.
Golden sunlight flooded Room 317.
“Rise and shine!” Maya sang.
Evelyn buried her face in her pillow.
“I’ve decided I’m nocturnal.”
“You’re a college student,” Finn called from the kitchen. “That’s basically the same thing.”
Celeste looked up from the book she was already reading.
“Combat Fundamentals starts in forty-five minutes.”
Evelyn sat straight up.
“…Why didn’t you lead with that?”
⸻
By the time they reached the training arena, nearly every first-year was already there.
Students gathered in small groups, stretching or chatting nervously.
Professor Ashcroft stood in the center of the arena with his arms crossed.
The moment the final student arrived, silence fell.
“Today,” he announced, “you will begin learning to shift.”
Excited whispers spread through the crowd.
Evelyn’s stomach twisted.
Professor Ashcroft continued.
“Some of you have been shifting since childhood.”
Several wolf, bear, and fox shifters nodded confidently.
“Others will experience their first controlled transformation today.”
His gaze briefly landed on Evelyn.
“You will discover that shifting is not about strength.”
He picked up a smooth river stone.
“It is about trust.”
He crushed the stone into dust with one hand.
“If you fight your instincts…”
The dust drifted away in the breeze.
“…your instincts will fight you.”
⸻
Students were divided into groups.
Maya bounced excitedly.
“I’ve been waiting for this!”
Finn laughed nervously.
“I’ve shifted before…”
“But never in front of this many people.”
Celeste simply folded her arms.
“I dislike shifting.”
Maya stared.
“You’re literally fae.”
“I dislike everyone else shifting.”
⸻
Professor Ashcroft blew a silver whistle.
“Wolf shifters.”
Several students stepped forward.
One after another, they transformed.
Gray wolves.
White wolves.
Black wolves.
A silver wolf nearly as large as a horse.
The class applauded.
Next came foxes.
Then hawks.
Then bears.
Finn stepped into the center of the arena.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I always get nervous.”
Maya smiled.
“You’ve got this.”
Finn closed his eyes.
A warm golden light surrounded him.
His shoulders broadened.
His body grew larger.
Soft brown fur spread across his skin.
Within moments…
A massive grizzly bear stood where Finn had been.
Gasps echoed around the arena.
The bear looked around curiously.
Then sneezed.
Maya burst into laughter.
“There he is!”
The enormous bear looked embarrassed.
Professor Ashcroft smiled faintly.
“Excellent control, Mr. Calloway.”
Finn shifted back a few moments later, grinning sheepishly.
“I still hate sneezing.”
⸻
“Evelyn.”
Professor Ashcroft’s voice cut through the arena.
“You’re next.”
Her heart dropped.
“I…”
Every student turned toward her.
Lucas, standing with a group of upperclassmen watching the lesson, gave her an encouraging nod.
“You can do this,” Maya whispered.
Evelyn stepped into the center of the arena.
Professor Ashcroft lowered his voice.
“Close your eyes.”
She obeyed.
“Don’t think about becoming something else.”
She frowned.
“Then what do I think about?”
He looked toward the forest beyond the arena.
“Think about home.”
Home…
She remembered rain against the windows of Margaret’s house.
Fresh pine.
Warm cookies cooling on the kitchen counter.
Running through fields as a little girl.
The moon.
Always the moon.
The bracelet grew warm.
She heard a heartbeat.
Not hers.
Another.
Then another.
The entire world seemed to breathe around her.
Silver light gathered beneath her skin.
Students stepped backward.
Her hair lifted in an invisible wind.
“Evelyn…” Maya whispered.
Professor Ashcroft didn’t move.
“Stay calm.”
The silver light intensified.
Pain shot through Evelyn’s arms.
She cried out.
Bones shifted.
Not breaking…
Changing.
Large silver feathers burst from her back.
The arena fell silent.
The feathers stretched wider.
Wider.
Until two magnificent silver wings unfurled behind her.
They shimmered in the morning sunlight.
Beautiful.
Powerful.
Impossible.
Evelyn opened her eyes.
Everyone was staring.
She looked over her shoulder.
“…Those are…”
Her voice barely came out.
“Wings.”
No one spoke.
Not even Professor Ashcroft.
Then, as suddenly as they had appeared…
The wings folded inward.
Silver light surrounded them.
They vanished.
Evelyn staggered.
Lucas caught her before she hit the ground.
“I’ve got you.”
She looked up at him.
“What just happened?”
He helped her stand.
“I don’t think anyone here knows.”
⸻
Professor Ashcroft addressed the class.
“Training is over.”
A chorus of confused voices rose immediately.
“But—”
“I said…”
His voice carried across the arena.
“Training is over.”
Students slowly dispersed, whispering excitedly.
“Did you see that?”
“No shifter has wings.”
“What is she?”
“I’ve never read about anything like it.”
⸻
As Evelyn and her friends started back toward the castle, Dean Blackwood approached from the opposite direction.
His expression was unreadable.
“Miss Carter.”
“Yes, Dean?”
“My office.”
He glanced at Lucas, Maya, Finn, and Celeste.
“The rest of you are dismissed.”
Evelyn looked nervously at her friends.
Maya gave her a reassuring smile.
“You’ll be okay.”
Finn nodded.
“We’ll save you lunch.”
Lucas met her eyes.
“If you need anything…”
“You know where to find me.”
She smiled gratefully before following Dean Blackwood toward the castle.
Neither of them noticed the figure watching from the edge of Silverwood Forest.
Hidden among the trees.
A pair of crimson eyes glowed in the shadows.
The figure smiled.
“The awakening has begun.”
Then it disappeared into the darkness.
- Writer
