Starborn Shadows

Chapter Five

The walk to West Dormitory somehow felt longer than it looked on the map.

By the second staircase, Leo had already decided the academy was personally attacking him.

“Why,” he said dramatically, gripping the railing, “does every important building here involve this many stairs?”

“You’ve climbed two flights,” Jax replied calmly.

“And I’ve suffered through both.”

Kaia laughed beside Isla as they continued upward with the flow of students. The dormitory itself felt different from the orientation hall warmer somehow. Tall windows stretched along the corridors, letting late afternoon light spill across polished wooden floors, and soft golden lanterns glowed against the walls even though the sun had not fully set yet.

Students moved through the halls carrying bags and folded schedules, voices overlapping softly around them.

Some already looked comfortable.

Others looked completely lost.

Isla felt somewhere in between.

A few older students passed them on the staircase. One girl glanced toward Isla briefly before continuing down the stairs with her friends.

Kaia noticed immediately.

“We’re pretending the sphere thing didn’t happen,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” Isla answered at once.

“Good. Healthy coping mechanism.”

“Denial is technically a coping mechanism,” Leo added.

“That explains your entire personality,” Jax muttered.

Leo looked genuinely pleased by that.

When they reached the fourth floor, the hallway became quieter. Small golden lights glowed softly beside each neatly numbered door.

Kaia stopped beside Isla’s room. “Okay. Important question.”

“What?”

“If your room is haunted, do you tell us immediately or wait until breakfast?”

“That depends on whether the ghost is entertaining.”

Leo nodded approvingly. “Reasonable answer.”

Lena smiled softly. “We should meet later though. Since breakfast is gone already.”

“Lunch,” Kaia decided immediately. “Then we explore.”

“You say that like we’ve known each other longer than six hours,” Isla said.

“We’ve been through emotional hardship together,” Leo replied seriously. “That creates bonds.”

“We stood in a line,” Jax corrected.

“And yet the connection remains undeniable.”

Kaia pointed down the hallway dramatically. “Food court. One hour.”

“You’re very organized for someone constantly panicking,” Isla said.

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I accepted it emotionally.”

Isla shook her head slightly before unlocking the door.

The room surprised her.

It was larger than she expected, with dark wooden floors, tall shelves built into the walls, and a large window overlooking part of the academy grounds below. Late sunlight spilled softly across the neatly made bed near the far wall, catching against silver details worked subtly into the furniture.

It didn’t feel cold.

Just quiet.

Her bag rested beside the bed a moment later as Isla crossed toward the wardrobe near the desk.

When she opened it, she paused.

Several academy uniforms hung neatly inside fitted dark blazers embroidered with thin silver threading along the cuffs, white shirts, pleated skirts, tailored trousers, even polished boots lined carefully beneath them.

Beside them sat folded casual clothes in softer fabrics clearly meant for everyday campus wear.

Everything looked new.

And somehow perfectly her size.

Velmorne had prepared for all of them long before they arrived.

The thought should not have felt strange.

Still, seeing it made everything feel a little more real.

This wasn’t temporary.

She was actually staying here.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

Isla opened the door to find a girl standing outside holding folded papers.

Dark curls framed her face loosely, and her academy blazer already looked slightly wrinkled compared to everyone else’s perfectly neat uniforms.

“You dropped this downstairs,” the girl said, holding the papers out.

Isla glanced down.

Her timetable.

“I didn’t realize.”

“Obviously.”

The girl’s tone wasn’t rude. Just direct.

Isla took the papers carefully. “Thanks.”

The girl hesitated briefly before adding, “I’m Nora.”

“Isla.”

“I know.”

Of course she did.

Nora leaned lightly against the doorway. “People are talking already.”

“About the sphere?”

“About you.”

At least she was honest.

“They’ll probably get bored eventually,” Isla said.

Nora looked unconvinced. “Maybe.”

Then her eyes shifted briefly toward the timetable in Isla’s hand.

A faint frown crossed her face.

“That’s strange.”

Isla glanced down. “What is?”

“Your schedule.”

Before Isla could ask more, Nora stepped back slightly. “Anyway, the food court’s easier to reach from the south courtyard. Don’t follow Leo if he offers directions.”

“You know Leo?”

“Everyone knows Leo. Usually against their will.”

That almost made Isla smile.

Nora noticed.

“You should do that more often,” she said casually before walking away down the hallway.

Isla stared after her for a second before unfolding the timetable fully.

Then paused.

Elemental Foundations.

Arcane Theory.

Primal Combat Training.

Advanced Energy Control.

Introduction to Affinity Studies.

Every category was listed.

Not one pathway.

All of them.

At the very bottom of the page, beneath her dorm assignment, one line sat alone.

Classification Status: Pending Review.

Isla frowned slightly.

That definitely didn’t seem normal.

***

The food court was beautiful.

That was the first thing Isla noticed when she finally found it.

Large glass windows overlooked one of the inner courtyards while multiple levels curved around the open space below. Warm hanging lights reflected softly against polished floors, and the entire hall buzzed with conversation loud enough to feel alive without becoming overwhelming.

Students filled long tables across the room while staff moved calmly between food stations along the walls.

It felt less like a cafeteria and more like an expensive dining hall.

And there was far too much food.

Long counters stretched along both sides of the hall offering different meals, drinks, desserts, and things Isla couldn’t even immediately recognize. Some stations carried simple warm meals fresh bread, roasted vegetables, rice dishes, soups while others displayed pastries, fruit, and elaborate desserts arranged too perfectly to feel real.

Another section farther down looked almost entirely dedicated to drinks.

Then she noticed Kaia and others and walked up to them

Kaia stared openly. “Okay. This is insane.”

Leo looked emotional already. “I think this school loves me.”

“It feeds you,” Jax corrected.

“Exactly.”

Students moved between stations carrying trays while soft music drifted faintly through the hall from somewhere Isla couldn’t place.

“This feels illegal for a school,” Kaia murmured.

Lena nodded slowly. “I expected cafeteria food.”

“This is luxury,” Leo said reverently.

By the time Isla reached the table near the windows, Leo was balancing three drinks in one hand like he’d accomplished something impressive.

“I got distracted,” he announced proudly.

“No,” Jax said flatly. “You distracted yourself.”

“Important difference.”

Lena smiled as Isla sat beside them. “Did you settle in okay?”

“Mostly.”

Kaia leaned forward immediately. “Good. Now we discuss something important.”

“Food?” Leo guessed hopefully.

“The weird sphere incident.”

Leo pointed dramatically at her. “I knew we weren’t emotionally stable enough to ignore it.”

“I tried,” Kaia admitted. “For at least twenty minutes.”

Students filled the tables around them now, conversations overlapping softly throughout the hall. Every now and then, Isla noticed someone glance toward their table before whispering quietly to someone beside them.

Subtle.

Still noticeable.

“So,” Leo said, dropping into the seat across from her, “how exactly did you manage to terrify multiple professors within your first hour here?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You aggressively attacked the sphere emotionally.”

“That’s not how spheres work.”

“Are you sure?”

Kaia laughed softly before pulling her folded schedule free. “Okay wait, let’s compare classes.”

Lena immediately groaned. “Please tell me at least one of you understands these building names.”

“I got lost reading the map,” Leo admitted.

“That’s concerning.”

“It’s a very detailed map.”

One by one, schedules appeared across the table.

“Primal Foundations,” Kaia read aloud. “Combat Theory. Physical Channeling.”

Leo pointed at his own proudly. “See? Same. Clearly the superior category.”

“Didn’t the professor specifically say not to think like that?” Lena asked.

“Yes,” Leo replied. “But I ignored it emotionally.”

Jax sighed softly. “Mine’s mostly Arcane coursework.”

“Same,” Lena said.

Kaia turned toward Isla. “What about yours?”

Isla handed the paper across casually.

The silence lasted three seconds.

Then

“Wait,” Kaia said, blinking down at the page. “You have Elemental Foundations and Arcane Theory?”

Leo leaned forward immediately. “Hold on. Why do you also have Primal Combat?”

Lena frowned. “That’s… every category.”

Jax took the paper silently, scanning it once before looking back up at Isla.

“That’s not normal.”

“I assumed that already.”

Kaia pointed lower on the page. “What does pending review mean?”

“I was hoping one of you knew.”

Nobody answered.

For the first time since sitting down, Leo looked genuinely serious.

“That sphere thing really messed something up,” he muttered.

Around them, the noise of the food hall continued normally laughter, conversations, trays shifting softly against tables.

But Isla suddenly felt disconnected from all of it.

Like everyone else had stepped properly into Velmorne while she was still standing somewhere outside the system trying to figure out where she belonged.

Or if she belonged at all.