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  Dawn of a New Astral Age

  bound together

  dimension fracture

  rebirth disconnect

  celestial paradigm

  dawn integration

  Binary System

  Binary System: Deneb

  Falling Colors

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  Short Works

  The Dusty Man ~ K.J. Russell

  “Tears”

  Tides of Possibility ~ Edited by K.J. Russell

  “Imaginary Numbers”

  Tides of Impossibility ~ Edited by K.J. Russell & C. Stuart Hardwick

  “Wind and Ash”

  Midnight’s Blossom

  The Queen of Ruin, Book One

  Midnight’s Blossom

  The Queen of Ruin, Book One

  Copyright © 2018 by Corinn A. Heathers

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the copyright holder, with the exception of short excerpts for review purposes.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and situations are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: Arising Dreams

  Chapter 2: The Crow and the Maiden

  Part I – Flowers

  Chapter 3: Two Shining Stars

  Chapter 4: Rogue Hearts

  Chapter 5: Azure Currents

  Chapter 6: Entwined

  Chapter 7: Union of Spirit

  Chapter 8: Invitation to Darkness

  Part II – Antilight

  Chapter 9: Falling Petals

  Chapter 10: Unity of Purpose

  Chapter 11: Eternal Shadow

  Chapter 12: The Mist

  Chapter 13: Black Luminescence

  Chapter 14: Forward Into Night

  Part III – New Growth

  Chapter 15: Across the Blue

  Chapter 16: Acceptance

  Chapter 17: Binding Force

  Chapter 18: Girl of the Void

  Chapter 19: Seeking Shadows

  Chapter 20: Learning the Lies

  Part IV – Malice

  Chapter 21: Sense of Pain

  Chapter 22: Fair Winds, Fair Waters

  Chapter 23: Soft Engagement

  Chapter 24: Echoes of the Soul

  Chapter 25: Ebb and Flow

  Part V – Depths

  Chapter 26: Gray Radiance

  Chapter 27: Glimpse of the End

  Chapter 28: Accelerated Decay

  Chapter 29: Reaching Into Light

  Chapter 30: The Viridian Sea

  Chapter 31: Execution

  Chapter 32: Turn of the Wheel

  Chapter 33: Measure of Control

  Chapter 34: Divine Providence

  Epilogue

  Chapter 35: Homecoming

  Chapter 36: Blue Awakening

  Chapter 37: Unity of Soul and Mind

  About the Author

  Prologue

  -

  Chapter 1

  Arising Dreams

  “I'm going to miss you,” she said, her voice choking up just slightly.

  “Mother, please.” I suppressed an exasperated sigh and tried not to roll my eyes. “It's not like I'm going away forever. I'll see you again during the break between terms.”

  “That's half a year from now,” Mother complained.

  “So?”

  My mother scowled at me. “You've never been away from me this long before. I'm allowed to miss my little red lily when I won't see her for months.”

  “Mother. I'm not a child any longer.”

  “You are.”

  “Oh, come on.” This time I did roll my eyes. “Mama, I'm almost twenty!”

  A smug half-smile creased her face. “So?”

  I met my mother's challenging stare with one of my own. I really hated it when she turned my own words against me, which she was extremely good at. Her eyes were narrowed still, but I could tell she was struggling with this far more than I was.

  Even her magic seemed to be picking up on her anxious mood. Cerulean waters glimmered and pulsed within the small crystalline shard that sat proudly in the center of her forehead. My mother's connection to our family’s magic had always been strong, and in the traditional Solarian style, she chose to part her hair so that the light of her magic was visible to all.

  I took after her in a lot of ways. Our eyes were the same cool blue, and our hair was just on the curly side of wavy, though she wore hers long. Unlike my mother's rich mahogany-brown, my hair was a striking deep red in color. I'd always cut it short and left it somewhat messy, with clusters of curls dropping across my forehead. I had a habit of brushing the ringlets out of my eyes, but I didn't care. It was better than drawing even more attention to myself.

  My mother's shoulders squared and she leaned close to scoop me up in a tight embrace. She was much taller than me. I stood up on tiptoes, straining to return the hug without being lifted off the ground. I failed, and my feet left the hard stone path. I felt my cheeks grow hot.

  “Mama!”

  “What? Am I embarrassing you?” She laughed at my discomfiture and freed one arm, still easily holding me up with the other. “There's nobody else around, so you can relax.”

  “It's going to be hard enough without you calling attention to it,” I countered.

  “Oh, come on, it's not that obvious—”

  “Yes, it is.” I wriggled my way out of her grasp and felt the soles of my boots touch the ground again. I gave her a look that told her in no uncertain terms that I did not want to discuss this, especially not here. “Are you going to stay for the orientation, too, or are you finished trying to make the color of my cheeks rival my hair?”

  Her expression became more serious. “I'm sorry, little red lily. It's just… hard. I know this is best, but I can't help feeling… afraid.”

  “I know.”

  “I'm aware it'll be even harder for you,” she continued, doing her best to keep her voice even as she spoke. “If something happens? Well, we’ll figure things out. I'll make sure you don't lack for instruction, even if it isn't at the Academy.”

  “You promised a lot of money so I could—”

  My mother shrugged as if it didn't matter, even though it did. “Don't you go worrying about that, my dear. Your future is what matters to me, not the weight of coin in my coffers.”

  I straightened my shoulders and drew myself up to my full height—which wasn't much. Mother still towered over me by more than twenty centimeters. I tried to meet her gaze squarely, but felt all kinds of unpleasant squirmy emotions building up inside and ended up looking away.

  “It's okay to be nervous.”

  “Y-yeah,” I mumbled. “I'll be fine, I think.”

  My mother placed a hand on my shoulder. “I know. I know you'll do well.”

  “I'll do my best, Mama.” I smiled at her. “Go on. I have to head to the main auditorium for orientation or I'll be late. We'll see each other again before you know it.”

  Predictably, I was lifted off the ground again in another hug. This time, however, I didn't bother to protest.

  *

  I made my way into the auditorium with about ten minutes to spare; even so, the enormous gathering space was already filled to bursting with new students for the first term of the year. For once, my slight stature was proving to be a blessing. I was able to slip between my peers without much trouble or even notice.

  I admit, I did feel intimidated. Every other person in the auditorium was much closer to my mother's height than mine, with
many of the students even taller than she. The glimmer of dozens upon dozens of manashards, a riot of color signifying the Five Aspects, bothered me even more than the fact that I was the smallest person in the room.

  When they looked down and noticed me, people would stare. I tried to ignore it, but I knew I was visually distinctive. Amidst a sea of brown, white, blonde and black hair, my vivid red curls stood out like a fiery beacon. The color of my hair was far less damning than my suspicious lack of height, however.

  I chose not to acknowledge the looks I received.

  The lectern at the front of the auditorium was no longer empty. An old woman stood behind the podium, knitting her fingers together. She had no notes or papers before her. The manashard in her forehead was a brilliant star of the purest emerald-green. That light faded to something more akin to the soft glow of my mother's manashard after a moment, and I realized the woman had cast some sort of spell—

  “I bid you welcome to the Imperial Academy of Magic, young lords and ladies.”

  Apparently it was some sort of wind magic that amplified the sound of her voice while also quieting the murmuring of the assembled students. I heard her clearly, while the low din of conversation around me seemed to cease entirely all at once.

  The headmistress continued to speak, but I was only half paying attention. Probably less than that. With the magically enforced silence cutting off their own chatter, several of the nearby students chose to focus on something much more interesting than a long-winded speech about the well-known history of the Empire's oldest arcane college.

  That something was me, of course. Unfortunately.

  My peers couldn't say anything out loud, but their expressions spoke volumes. They knew, of course. There was no possible way I could hide it. I was too short, too small. My facial features were subtly divergent from the Solarians all around me. Worst of all, I didn't have a manashard, and hiding my forehead behind messy curls wouldn't stop people from realizing that.

  I made a point to look away, to feign an empty expression of absolute disinterest, but I don't think it worked. There wasn't much else I could do about it, though, and so I tuned back into the orientation speech as well as I could. At least the boring history lesson was over and the headmistress had yielded the podium to one of the senior instructors.

  Over the course of the next hour, my mind was filled with information concerning what would be expected of me as a student mage at the Academy. I made sure to focus all of my attention on this part of the orientation. After all, it was all but a certainty that I'd be scrutinized much more harshly than my peers.

  When the orientation period ended, the magical silence collapsed. I darted between bodies, slipping quickly and carefully toward the exit. I didn't need to check the charts posted at the front of the room; Mother ensured I knew in advance where I had to go and when. Classes would start immediately after dorm assignments, and I had to get to my room. I wanted to be there before my assigned roommates showed up.

  It was raining outside the auditorium. I dashed across the slick stone path, my boots clacking against the wet slate with each step. I'd only gotten a little damp before reaching the awning that covered the main thoroughfare through the campus that would take me to the dorms.

  There weren't many other students on the path yet, and I adopted a brisk pace that didn't give anyone much time to stare at me. The girls' dorms were close by, nearer to the auditorium than the boys' dorms. I stopped at the double doors leading into the lobby and pushed them open.

  The dorm mistress stared at me as I walked up to the front desk.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I'm here for my room assignment,” I said, even though it was obvious that I was a student. I was already dressed in the Solaris uniform. “My name is Lily Alcyone. I was placed in B-14.”

  The woman's eyes widened at the mention of my family name.

  “You're of House Alcyone?”

  I expected that, too.

  “Yes. Lady Juno Alcyone is my mother.”

  The look I got was nothing I didn't expect. It was the same look I'd seen countless times before on a daily basis, only rather more severe now that the mistress knew who my mother was. I let my brows angle down into a deep scowl.

  “Just give me my key and I'll be on my way.”

  “Fine.” The dorm mistress's clipped tone suggested that she didn't want to argue. A moment later, the mistress turned around and handed me a metal key. “The door should open with this. If you have trouble getting in, please notify your floor's resident adviser in B-1. She'll be able to dismiss the wards for you.”

  Inwardly I was fuming, but I didn't bother to respond. The fact that she gave me a physical key instead of an enchanted passward was an unsubtle insult, but I chose not to dwell upon it. It didn't matter; the key would still open the door and let me into my room. I didn't have time to bicker with this woman. My first class would be starting within the hour, and I wanted to get in and out before my roommates arrived.

  With the key in hand I took up a rapid pace down the hallway leading to the stairs that would take me to the second floor, where the “B” rooms were located. Room fourteen was on the right side down the initial corridor, so it didn't take me long at all. I slipped the key into the lock and opened the door.

  The room itself was small, as I knew it'd be. Much of the floor space was dominated by a large bunk and a somewhat smaller single bed, against the eastern and western walls respectively. The southern wall held a large window that looked out onto the gardens beyond the campus center, and a heavy desk was flanked on either side with tall shelves, crammed with textbooks on various arcane subject matter.

  As I'd hoped, nobody was in the room yet. I was the first to arrive, and Mother’s seneschal ensured my belongings had already been delivered to the room. My travel satchel was set against the single bed on the western wall, along with a somewhat larger bag that was full of clothing appropriate for various occasions.

  I shoved the duffel underneath the bed with my foot and turned my attention to the travel satchel. A few moments of rooting around yielded a smaller satchel that I carried with me daily, containing some basic useful items as well as a family insignia that marked me as a daughter of House Alcyone. The bag seemed a fair bit heavier than usual. I caught sight of two items that weren't in the bag when I packed them two nights before: a large coin purse, filled nearly to bursting with Solarian crowns, as well as the dagger Mother gifted to me on my twelfth birthday.

  I smiled. Mama was always looking out for me.

  The door lock clicked and I blew out a disappointed sigh. I'd taken too long and now one or both of my roommates were here.

  Chapter 2

  The Crow and the Maiden

  The door opened and a tall, slender figure walked into the room. Her long hair was black as night and left unbound to flow around her shoulders like liquid shadow, contrasting sharply with her pale skin. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she fixed her deep violet eyes on me.

  “Ah, you must be Lily Alcyone. Welcome to the Academy.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  There was no change in her placid expression, though her tone was polite. “My name is Erika, of House Corvus. A pleasure, Lily of House Alcyone.” She dipped into a shallow bow of the type offered to those of equal social standing. I supposed she was going out of her way to make me feel comfortable, though I couldn't imagine why she'd even bother.

  I managed to sketch a bow of my own. “Likewise.”

  Erika offered a polite smile. Like the headmistress, the glow of her manashard was green in hue, signifying the Corvus mage's wind Aspect. She seemed to be studying me quite thoroughly, but I noticed her gaze did not linger on my forehead. I'm certain she noticed my lack, but clearly this Corvus was tactful enough not to bring up the dragon in the room.

  “As a senior student at the Imperial Academy,” Erika went on, “I have been tasked with mentoring first-year students for their initial term. For the next six months
, I will work together with you and another first-year mage.”

  “That's why you've been assigned a room with me?” I guessed.

  “Yes. Our third should arrive shortly, assuming she hasn't gotten lost.” Erika closed her eyes and the light in her manashard flickered. I sensed magic being worked and assumed she was using some sort of minor seeking spell to locate the wayward student—

  I nearly jumped out of my own skin when the door was flung open, striking the limit of its hinges with a loud bang. Erika didn't flinch in the slightest, instead merely frowning as another girl dressed in the Academy uniform leaned heavily against the threshold. She was breathing hard, as if she'd ran flat-out from the auditorium without stopping.

  There was something about this person that piqued my interest. I wasn't sure exactly what, however. She was clearly a foreigner, which was unusual in of itself. Her skin was a rich and dark brown in color, dotted with even darker freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Thick waves of silvery-white hair cascaded down around her shoulders. Her brown eyes were large and expressive as she scanned the room. The manashard on her forehead, cut in a different sort of fashion than others I’d seen, pulsed irregularly with crimson light, signifying her fire Aspect.