"Power is nothing without control, and control is the hardest lesson of all."
The words of the guardian echoed in my mind as I stepped into the old stone hall deep within the castle’s lower levels. The air smelled of dust and magic, the kind of heady combination that made my skin prickle. This place wasn’t meant for royalty or courtly discussions. It was meant for work—hard, gruelling, soul-breaking work. And I was ready for it.
Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
A small group of mentors waited for me near the far wall, their expressions ranging from curiosity to scepticism. They were a varied bunch—an older woman with hair like spun silver and eyes that seemed to see through my soul; a wiry man with dark skin and a scar that ran across his jaw; and a middle-aged scholar wh
