Harper Elizabeth Quinn sat stiffly in the dim detention room, where shadows clung to the corners like secrets. The air was dense with silence, and the faint scent of dust and parchment hung like a veil. A single flickering candle lit the room from a central desk, casting long, twitching shadows on faded maps and arcane symbols lining the walls.
Across from her, Asher Reed fidgeted, jaw tight, the usual spark in his eyes dulled by frustration. A few seats away, Astra Stormwind and Mira Solstice Tempest lounged smugly, their expressions dripping with amusement. They were the reason Harper was here. What had started as teasing had turned ugly fast—Astra and Mira knew how to provoke, and today they'd pushed just far enough.
Professor Cedric Thorn, their Combat Magic instructor, sat behind a desk like a statue carved from stone and shadow. His sharp eyes scanned their files without so much as a glance up.
"Miss Quinn. Mr. Reed." His voice rumbled like distant thunder. "I understand there was a confrontation."
Harper's heart thumped, but she kept her tone steady. "They were mocking new students. Asher stepped in. I tried to deescalate it, but… it got out of hand."
Astra scoffed. "Please. They just wanted a scene."
Mira leaned forward with a cruel smile. "They should learn to take a joke."
Thorn's eyes flicked up at last—cold, unreadable. "Mockery is not entertainment. You're all here because you failed to exercise restraint. Detention will last two evenings. You'll be working on a research assignment… together."
Harper exchanged a look with Asher. He gave a small nod, but his posture remained tense. Cooperation with Astra and Mira sounded more like punishment than the detention itself.
That night, the tension in the room was a solid, pressing thing. Candlelight danced along the cracked spines of ancient books, and the quiet was only broken by the distant creak of floorboards in the hallway.
"Tonight's task," Professor Thorn announced, "is to research the Celestial Relics—artifacts of immense magical importance. You'll find your materials in the Arcane Library. And you will work together."
The Arcane Library. Even its name carried weight.
They followed Thorn through darkened halls to a door twice Harper's height. It creaked open to reveal a sprawling labyrinth of bookcases, magical artifacts sealed in glass, and scrolls humming faintly with power. The library felt alive.
Harper and Asher quickly fell into work. They leafed through tomes with yellowed pages and flaking ink, scanning illustrations of relics crowned in stars and suns. The deeper they searched, the stranger the stories became—some said the Celestial Relics were crafted by the first guardians of Avaloria; others hinted they were forged by the stars themselves.
Astra and Mira, unsurprisingly, skimmed lazily through a few books before tossing them aside. Harper ground her teeth, but said nothing.
"Think they'll do anything useful?" she muttered to Asher.
He shook his head. "Ignore them. Let's keep going."
Hours passed. Scrolls unrolled. Notes piled up. Harper's hand cramped from writing, but her excitement grew with every new mention of the relics' power.
Then—crash.
A loud thud echoed through the library as a stack of books hit the floor. Harper's head snapped up. Astra and Mira stood near a forgotten shelf, smirking.
"Oops," Astra said, not bothering to hide her grin.
Mira raised her wand, and with a flick, a gust of wind blasted across the room. Scrolls flew. Pages scattered like birds in a storm. Harper instinctively shielded her notes as chaos erupted.
"Are you serious?" she snapped.
Professor Thorn's footsteps pounded toward them. His face was stone, but his voice cracked like lightning.
"Enough."
He took in the wreckage. "You will all stay late to clean this mess. No arguments."
Astra looked faintly annoyed. Mira just smiled sweetly and said, "Oops again."
The rest of the night was grueling. Scrolls had to be rolled. Books had to be sorted by elemental aura and date. Magical wards needed recasting. Harper's arms ached, but she kept moving.
And then… something caught her eye.
Near the chaos Astra had caused, a fallen book glowed faintly beneath a pile of enchanted parchment. Its dark cover was etched with celestial runes, the title faded but familiar: The Relics Beyond the Realms.
Her breath hitched.
"Asher," she whispered, "look at this."
He stepped beside her. "That symbol—same as the eclipse stone."
Harper opened it carefully. Inside were vivid illustrations of the Celestial Relics, more detailed than anything they'd found. One passage described a counter-relic—a force that could neutralize corrupted celestial power.
"The Equinox Pendant," Harper read aloud, heart thudding. "It's real."
"This changes everything," Asher murmured.
They barely noticed the minutes slipping past. By the time dawn broke, their notes filled two full scrolls. Professor Thorn, inspecting the newly restored shelves, gave them a long look.
"Good work," he said quietly—almost grudgingly. "Dismissed."
Harper and Asher exited the library, exhausted but wide awake with adrenaline.
"Tonight wasn't what we expected," Asher said, "but it was worth it."
Harper held the book tightly to her chest. "This is just the beginning."
Far behind them, in the depths of the library, something stirred.
And the balance of Avaloria shifted.