Page 164 of Court of Aether and Shadows

I took a deep breath, gathering my strange new power around me like armor.

"I sense three signatures entering the classroom," Nyx called out as we raced through the chaos-filled corridors, her galaxy eyes seeing beyond normal vision. "Maybe four. Energy patterns are too chaotic to get a clear read."

"Academy handbook, section three, paragraph two," Solaris recited, his sun-bright energy creating a path through the darkness. "All professors must observe a five-minute grace period for student arrival."

"Great," Cypress panted, his elemental tattoos pulsing with effort. "Because we've got exactly three minutes before even that deadline expires."

My attention split between maintaining the protective shadow bubble around Liam – who was radiating frustration so strongly I could practically taste it – and navigating theincreasingly congested hallways. Corrupted shadows writhed along the walls like living things, while panicked students created magical bottlenecks with their uncontrolled power releases.

The strain of holding Liam's shield was beginning to take its toll. Each pulse of magic sent waves of exhaustion through me, but I couldn't risk releasing him. Not when I could still see the corruption targeting court-specific magic. His wolf form would be like a beacon to these things.

"I know you hate this," I muttered, knowing he could hear me through the barrier. "But please trust me."

His only response was a low growl that made his shadows dance agitatedly against my protective magic.

A soft sound drew my attention downward, and my heart leaped at the sight of familiar ruby eyes. The white fox sat primly in the midst of chaos, its pristine fur somehow untouched by the darkness swirling around us.

"You!" I couldn't help the joy in my voice as I scooped up my mysterious guardian. "Where have you been? No, wait, never mind that – we need to get to class but everything's blocked and?—"

The fox's eyes shifted from deep red to that haunting cyan teal I remembered from my first transition between realms. Its form began to change, body elongating and shifting until a pure white snake coiled around my wrist.

"Oh!" I gasped as its scales touched my skin. Where we made contact, magic surged through me like liquid starlight. An intricate pattern began to form on my flesh – a skull, but not like any I'd seen before. This one was a masterpiece of magical artistry, decorated with flowers that seemed to grow and move across my skin. A crown perched atop the skull's brow, its points sharp enough to draw blood yet beautiful enough to make my breath catch.

The design radiated power – not just shadow or starlight, but something older. Something that felt like it had waited centuries to mark me as its own.

The snake hissed, its body beginning to glow with increasing intensity. The light built until it was almost blinding, then suddenly?—

Everything stopped.

The chaos in the hallway froze mid-motion, corrupted shadows hanging suspended like dark sculptures. Students stood like statues, their faces caught in various expressions of panic and confusion. Even the very air seemed to have paused, creating an eerie stillness that felt both wrong and incredibly right.

Only my wolves and I remained mobile, our powers creating ripples in the frozen time around us.

"What did you do?" Nyx breathed, her galaxy eyes wide with wonder.

"I think," I said slowly, watching the snake's scales shimmer with satisfaction, "it just gave us a shortcut."

The new mark on my wrist pulsed with ancient power, sending waves of energy through me that felt like possibility itself. A clear path had opened before us, reality bending aside to create a direct route to our classroom.

"Well," Cypress said after a moment, his elemental tattoos shifting rapidly as they tried to analyze what was happening, "I guess we're not going to be late after all."

"Assuming time is actually passing while everything's frozen," Solaris added, his sun-bright energy crackling with curiosity.

The snake flicked its tongue at them, somehow managing to look smug.

"We should move," I said, feeling the power maintaining this pause in reality ripple slightly. "I don't think this is permanent."

"What about the corruption?" Nyx asked, gesturing to the frozen tendrils of darkness. "We can't just leave it?—"

"One problem at a time," I cut her off, already moving forward. "First class, then we deal with whatever's trying to tear holes between realms."

The snake tightened slightly around my wrist in what felt like approval.

As we moved through the frozen chaos, following the path that had opened for us, I could feel Liam's energy shift from frustration to something more contemplative. His shadows reached for mine through the barrier, not fighting now but... questioning.

I knew we'd have to talk about this – about trust and protection and the balance between them. But for now, we had a class to get to.

And somehow, I had a feeling Lord Helios was going to have quite a few questions about our dramatic entrance.

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