Aurora’s P.O.V

The next few weeks blurred into a haze of sleepless nights, endless spell drills, and textbooks so dense with ancient language that I swear they were written to drive us mad. My fingers were stained with ink and herbs, my hair constantly smelled like sage and burnt chamomile, and my head throbbed with the weight of enchantments and formulas I could barely keep straight. I don’t even remember finishing the last exam—just that when I finally stumbled out of the ...