Chapter 4: Shadows of Umbra

I'd like to say my first night at CAM went smoothly, but that would be a lie. The Umbra dormitory was exactly what you'd expect from a house named after shadows—all dark stone and gothic architecture, with windows that seemed to drink in light rather than let it through. Go figure.

My room assignment led me to the third floor of the girls' wing, where I managed to walk into the wrong room twice before finding mine. The first time, I interrupted what looked like a séance (apparently that's normal here), and the second time I walked in on a girl literally floating above her bed while reading.

"Sorry!" I'd squeaked both times, feeling like a complete idiot.

When I finally found my actual room—313, because the universe has a sense of humor—I was ready to crawl under a rock and die of embarrassment. Instead, I walked in to find my roommate had already claimed her territory.

"Oh! You must be Lyra," she said, looking up from what appeared to be a floating chemistry set. Dark skin, lots of curly hair pulled into a messy bun, and the kind of smile that made you instantly feel less awkward. "I'm Maya Chen."

I nearly dropped my bag. "Chen? Are you related to—"

"Sarah Chen? Yeah, she's my cousin." Maya's grin widened. "She wrote to me about you. Don't worry, only good things."

Great. Sarah had a cousin at CAM. A cousin who might notice similarities between my abilities and the weird things that sometimes happened around Sarah back at St. Agnes's. My stomach did a little flip.

"That's... cool," I managed, setting my bag on the unclaimed bed. The room was bigger than I'd expected, with two carved wooden beds, matching desks, and a shared bathroom. Dark purple curtains framed tall windows that offered a view of the star-mapping tower.

Maya went back to her chemistry set, which I now realized wasn't chemistry at all—it was some kind of potion station. "I'm trying to figure out how to bottle moonlight," she explained without looking up. "My specialty is luminescence manipulation. What's yours?"

"Oh, um, general magic," I said quickly. Too quickly? "Nothing special."

"Gray aura, right? Don't sell yourself short. Some of the most powerful mages in history were generalists. They're usually the ones who figure out how to combine different types of magic in new ways."

A bang from her potion station made us both jump. Purple smoke curled up from a now-cracked vial.

"Oops." Maya waved her hand, and the smoke gathered into a neat ball before disappearing. "Note to self: moonlight doesn't play nice with crushed starshell."

I perked up despite myself. "Starshell? Like from the Celestial Sea?"

"You know about the Celestial Sea?" Maya's eyes lit up.

"Just what I've read," I said, trying to sound casual while unpacking. I carefully placed my mother's journal in the desk drawer, along with Mrs. Blackwood's still-sealed envelope. "It's supposed to be where fallen stars go, right?"

"That's the simplified version. It's actually—"

A bell tolled somewhere in the castle, cutting her off.

"Crap, that's the welcome feast bell! We need to change into our uniforms."

I looked at my empty hands. "I still need to get mine from the school store."

"Here." Maya rummaged through her wardrobe and pulled out a spare uniform. "We look about the same size. You can borrow mine until you get yours tomorrow."

The uniform was simple but elegant—a charcoal gray blazer with the Umbra crest (a crescent moon behind a veil), a black skirt, and a dark purple tie. I changed quickly in the bathroom, trying not to notice how the pendant seemed to shine brighter against the dark fabric.

When I came out, Maya was waiting by the door, her own uniform somehow already accessorized with various crystals and charms. "Ready to face the chaos?"

The feast hall was enormous—four long tables under a ceiling that reflected the sky above, just like I'd read about. We found seats at the Umbra table, and I tried not to stare as floating candles arranged themselves overhead.

That's when I saw him again. The white-haired boy from earlier was sitting at the high table with the professors, still in that strange uniform. Up close, I could see that his eyes weren't just shifting colors—they held actual constellations.

"Who is that?" I whispered to Maya.

"Who? Oh, him?" She followed my gaze. "That's Caspian Blackwood. He's some kind of prodigy researcher in the Celestial Studies department. Started working here last year, even though he's only a few years older than us. Why?"

Blackwood. Like Mrs. Blackwood? Before I could ask, the Headmaster stood up, and the hall fell silent.

"Welcome, students old and new," he began, his voice resonating with power. "I am Headmaster Thane, and—"

The rest of his speech faded into background noise as I noticed something strange. Every time he gestured, trails of starlight followed his hands—actual starlight, not magical light. I glanced around, but no one else seemed to see it.

Movement caught my eye. Caspian Blackwood was staring at me again, head tilted slightly as if waiting for my reaction. When our eyes met this time, a voice echoed in my head:

"You can see it too, can't you, Star-touched?"

I nearly fell off the bench.

"Are you okay?" Maya whispered, steadying me.

"Fine," I lied. "Just tired."

Food appeared on the tables—amazing food, better than anything I'd ever seen. But I could barely eat. My mind was racing. Caspian Blackwood could communicate telepathically. He could see starlight like I could. And he knew what I was.

As if reading my thoughts (and maybe he was), Caspian stood up and walked toward the Umbra table. My heart stopped as he approached, but he passed right by me, dropping a small piece of paper as he went.

With shaking hands, I unfolded it under the table:

"Midnight. Star-mapping tower. Come alone, or I'll tell everyone what you are."

The pendant burned against my chest, and overhead, through the enchanted ceiling, I saw a shooting star change course.

"Hey," Maya said through a mouthful of pudding, "want to explore the grounds after dinner? Sarah mentioned you're good at finding secret passages."

I forced a smile. "Actually, I'm pretty tired. Rain check?"

The rest of dinner passed in a blur. Back in our room, I waited until Maya's breathing turned slow and steady before slipping out of bed. The pendant seemed to pulse with each step as I made my way through the dark halls.

This was stupid. This was beyond stupid. But what choice did I have?

The star-mapping tower door was unlocked, because of course it was. As I climbed the spiral staircase, the stairs began to glow faintly under my feet.

Caspian was waiting at the top, standing by a massive telescope. Starlight danced around him like a corona.

"Finally," he said, turning to face me. "Let's talk about that crown you're destined to wear, shall we?"

The door slammed shut behind me.