Maya's POV
My hands were shaking as I reached for the birthday present on my nightstand.
I'd woken up with my heart still racing from that awful nightmare. The dark figures, the golden fire, and that voice claiming to be my father—it all felt so real that I could still smell smoke in the air.
"It was just a dream," I whispered to myself, tearing open the silver wrapping paper. "Just a stupid, scary dream."
Inside the box was a beautiful silver bracelet with a small crystal charm. The letter read: "Happy 17th Birthday, Maya! Today you become a true mage. Love, Zara."
I smiled despite my remaining fear. Zara always knew exactly what to give me. The crystal felt warm against my skin as I put the band on, and for a moment, everything seemed normal again.
But then I remembered what today was.
Assessment Day.
Every seventeen-year-old student at Starfall Academy had to demonstrate their magical skills in front of the entire school. It was meant to be exciting—the day when your adult powers finally showed themselves. Most students were worried, but I wasn't. I was Maya Chen, the star student. I'd been practicing my unique spell for weeks.
What could go wrong?
I got dressed quickly and rushed to the dining hall for breakfast. The moment I walked in, the entire room exploded in cheers.
"Happy birthday, Maya!"
"Good luck today!"
"Show them what real magic looks like!"
Students from every grade level waved at me and shouted support. I felt my confidence returning. These people believed in me. Professor Kane believed in me. I had nothing to worry about.
Zara ran over and gave me a big hug. "Are you ready for this?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"I was born ready," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
But as we walked toward the Assessment Hall, that strange dream kept gnawing at me. The voice that claimed to be my father had sounded so familiar, yet I was sure I'd never heard it before. How could that be? "Maya Chen, please report to the Assessment Circle."
The announcement echoed through the hall, and suddenly hundreds of eyes were on me. Students, teachers, and even some parents who had come to watch filled the seats around the large circular stage where I would perform my magic.
I walked to the center of the circle, my heart racing. Professor Kane gave me a positive nod from the judges' table, but I noticed he looked pale and worried. Why did he seem so nervous? "Maya Chen," the Head Judge announced, "please demonstrate your most advanced magical ability."
This was my time. I closed my eyes and focused on my unique spell—the one that had made Professor Kane so proud yesterday. I would build a shield of pure light energy that could protect an entire group of people. It was advanced magic that most adult magicians couldn't do.
I raised my hands and reached for my power, the way I'd done thousands of times before.
Nothing happened.
That's weird, I thought. Maybe I'm just nervous.
I tried again, focusing harder. I could feel my magic somewhere deep inside me, but it was like trying to grab water with my bare hands. Every time I reached for it, it slipped away.
The crowd began to mumble. I heard someone say, "What's taking so long?"
Panic started to rise in my chest. I tried a third time, putting every ounce of focus I had into the spell.
A tiny, flashing light appeared in my palm. It was so weak that people in the back rows probably couldn't even see it. The light wavered for a moment, then died totally.
The hall fell silent.
I stared at my empty hands in horror. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of mistake.
"Try a simpler spell," the Head Judge said softly, but I could hear the confusion in her voice.
I nodded and tried a basic light orb—something first-year students learned in their first week. It was the easiest spell in the world.
Nothing.
Not even a spark.
The silence in the hall was deafening. I could feel hundreds of eyes looking at me, but I couldn't bring myself to look up. My face burned with shame and confusion.
"Maya," Professor Kane's voice cut through the quiet, "perhaps you're feeling ill. Would you like to postpone your Assessment?"
"No!" I said quickly, too quickly. "I'm fine. I just... I need a minute."
But I wasn't great. Something was badly wrong. Yesterday I had broken a crystal ball with too much power. Today I couldn't even light a lamp.
I tried spell after spell—healing magic, moving magic, even simple color changes. Nothing worked. My magic was totally gone, like someone had reached inside me and stolen it away.
The whispers from the crowd got louder. I caught fragments of talks that made my stomach twist: "She must have been faking it all along."
"I always knew there was something weird about her."
"How embarrassing."
Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of everyone. I looked desperately toward Zara in the crowd. Her face was white with shock, and she looked as confused as I felt.
Then I saw something that made my blood turn to ice.
In the far corner of the hall, partly hidden behind a pillar, stood a figure in a dark cloak. They were too far away for me to see their face, but I could feel them watching me. And somehow, impossibly, I recognized their stance, their presence.
It was the same person from my nightmare.
As our eyes met across the busy hall, the figure raised one hand. In their hand, a ball of golden fire appeared—the same golden fire I'd seen in my dream.
Then they pressed a finger to where their mouth would be, telling me to stay quiet.
And in that moment, I understood with horrible certainty that my nightmare hadn't been a dream at all.
It had been a warning.
"Assessment failed," the Head Judge stated, her voice echoing through the stunned silence. "Maya Chen, please report to the Headmaster's office immediately."
As I walked toward the exit on shaking legs, trying to ignore the shocked whispers following me, I got one more glimpse of the cloaked figure.
They were gone.
But pinned to the post where they had been standing was a single note with my name on it.
And I had a terrible feeling that when I read it, my entire world would come crashing down.