The morning of the Naming ceremony began before dawn. Mumma shook me awake and fed me porridge while I was still half-dreaming. She thrust the egg basket into my hands.

  "Make haste, Mira. We're on a schedule today."

  I collected the eggs as quickly as my short legs allowed, my stomach fluttered with anticipation. Today I would see the world beyond this farm.

  When I returned, Mumma was waiting with my yellow dress laid out on the bed. She helped me into it, her gentle fingers braiding my pink hair, weaving in icy blue flowers through them. The braid swung at my hips when I moved.

  "I love you, Mira." Her hands tightened on my shoulders. "You're my sweetest baby girl and I will always love you."

  How could I not know? She showed me her love every day.

  "I love you too, Mumma." I hugged her back just as tightly.

  She pulled a pendant from her pocket. It was a golden, heart-shaped locket. Inside there were two pictures: hers and the father I'd never met.

  "Your father loves you very much. Never doubt that."

  We rarely talked about father. And never directly. But pieces of him lingered everywhere on the farm if you looked.

  "Let's go now!" Finn's voice boomed from outside, instantly souring my mood.

  Rowan drove the carriage. He was only eight but already capable in so many ways that impressed me. Finn and Rowan attended Knight school in town six days a week. Soon I'd make this very same journey too, but to the mage tower instead.

  I counted the time: 1, 2, 3...1823. Half an hour exactly.

  The town square bustled with energy. The Naming festival only happened once a year, but it drew everyone. Stalls lined the streets selling training weapons: swords, crossbows, maces, all child-sized. Mascots representing different classes wandered through the crowds. Knights, Mages, Healers, even a Lawyer with an oversized scroll.

  Background music played softly, unobtrusive but calming. It must be magic.

  A diamond-shaped clock tower dominated the center square. The clock face looked familiar, the same twelve hours I remembered from Earth. We didn't have clocks at the farm; we lived by the sun.

  I tugged Mumma's skirt. "Can we eat now? Please?"

  Finn and Rowan joined my begging until Rowan led us to a food stall. I ate bird meat on a stick, then eel, then roasted corn. Mumma insisted on a sweet-sour candy afterward to "cleanse my palate." I ate that too.

  The clock chimed twice. Two o'clock.

  We filed into the temple with other families. The interior felt more like a sci-fi facility than a fantasy cathedral. At the center stood a cylindrical chamber made of some translucent material. Glass or crystal, I couldn't tell.

  I watched the other children go first.

  A boy with brown hair stepped inside. The chamber's opacity decreased until I could see him levitating at the center, arms and legs spread wide in an X-shape. Light traced patterns across his skin. Then words appeared on a screen outside the chamber. Glowing text I couldn't read, accompanied by numbers.

  Most children had single or double-digit numbers. One boy, a merchant's son, had three digits in one category. A merchant representative whisked him away immediately after.

  Three more children went. A girl cried during the process. Her mother held her afterward, whispering reassurances.

  Then it was my turn.

  Mumma kissed my forehead. Finn muttered, "Good luck." Rowan clapped my back. "You got this."

  I straightened my shoulders. Probably looked ridiculous on a four-year-old body, but power poses mattered in any life. I walked toward the chamber with measured steps, trying to look respectable.

  The moment I crossed the threshold, my limbs went numb.

  Panic spiked through me. I couldn't move my legs or arms. My breathing quickened, then I remembered this happened to everyone. I forced myself to take slow breaths as I began to float.

  The sensation was strange. Not like my death-flight through space, but controlled. Mechanical. I hung suspended in the air, spread-eagled, while light crawled across my skin like living things.

  It tickled. Then it burned. Then it felt like nothing at all.

  A voice echoed through the chamber. Deep, resonant, neither male nor female:

  "MIRA. DAUGHTER OF ELENA. DAUGHTER OF ALDRIC."

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  My heart hammered. Aldric. That was my father's name.

  "CLASS: MAGE"

  Expected. I already knew that much.

  "MAGICAL CAPACITY: 847"

  Numbers meant nothing to me without context, but I heard gasps from outside the chamber.

  "MAGICAL CONTROL: 3"

  More gasps. Different tone this time.

  "HOLY POWER: 0"

  "KI: 2"

  "SPIRIT: 0"

  "INTELLIGENCE: 124"

  "WISDOM: 89"

  "CONSTITUTION: 34"

  The voice continued listing numbers I didn't understand. All I knew was that 847 was a big number and 3 was a small one. The zeroes were just a bonus.

  The light faded. The numbness left my limbs. I dropped gently to the floor and the chamber's walls cleared completely.

  A young man in a purple wizard hat stood waiting. His smile seemed practiced.

  "Congratulations, Mira. You're the most powerful mage in our Naming history."

  I blinked at him, not sure how to respond. "Thank you?"

  "You also have the least control we've seen in any mage." His smile didn't waver. "Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't accidentally destroyed the town yet."

  My stomach dropped.

  He could read those words. He knew more about me than I knew about myself, in excruciating, probably gamer-style detail. I needed to learn how to read. Desperately.

  "Where's your father? We need to discuss your apprenticeship contract."

  "I'm her mother." Mumma appeared at my side, her hand finding mine. "You can discuss terms with me."

  Something flickered across his face. Surprise? Calculation?

  "Of course. Let's move somewhere more private." He gestured toward a doorway. "The inner atrium."

  The inner atrium looked carved from white marble, threaded with silver. A round obsidian table sat at the center, surrounded by plush chairs. Mumma guided me to sit.

  The mage snapped his fingers. A rolled parchment appeared on the table. Another snap produced a full tea service.

  "Can I do that?" The words burst out before I could stop them.

  "Once you learn control." His tone was clipped. Professional.

  He slid the contract toward Mumma. "Would you like to review the terms?"

  She stared at it. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed them in her lap.

  "I apologize. I cannot read. Could you explain the terms to us?"

  I saw it then. The shift in his expression. The gleam in his eyes that said he'd just gained an advantage.

  "Of course, madam." He poured himself tea with deliberate slowness. "Your daughter has extraordinary magical power. Her capacity score of 847 is unprecedented in this region. However, her control score of 3 is... concerning."

  He took a sip.

  "To put it plainly: if Mira were to lose her temper, she could reduce this entire town to ash. It's of utmost importance that we train her control as quickly as possible."

  Mumma's hand tightened around mine.

  "We'd like Mira to join the Mage Tower as a residential apprentice immediately. This allows us to monitor her constantly and prevent catastrophe. Daily commute classes won't be sufficient for someone with her... unique situation."

  "Mira is a calm child." Mumma's voice stayed level despite her shaking hands. "More mature than others her age. If other children can learn control through regular classes, surely she can too. She can attend as a residential student when she's older.”

  "You're right that Mira is exceptional." He leaned forward. "But that's precisely the problem. Other children have control scores of 30, 40, sometimes 50. Their power and control grow together. Mira has the raw power of a Master Mage with the control of a..." He paused. "Well, a two-year-old."

  He said it like it was a compliment and an insult simultaneously.

  "She needs constant supervision. And I must be frank, not all mages qualify for the Academy. Mira has the power, but her control issues would make her entrance exams impossible. What I'm offering is better: private apprenticeship under Master Magistus, the most powerful mage in the kingdom."

  "Will I be allowed to visit her?" Mumma's voice cracked slightly. "Can she come home for summer?"

  I didn't like where this was going. Exploration was one thing. Never seeing the farm again was another.

  "Unfortunately, visits won't be possible for several years. Mira will study at the southern tower, assisting Master Magistus in his work..."

  "The southern tower?" Mumma stood abruptly, pulling me up with her. "You're talking about sending her to the warfront! She's four years old!"

  "I'm trying to save her life." His voice sharpened. "The kingdom needs her. She needs Master Magistus. Do you understand what happens to mages who can't control their power?"

  Mumma said nothing.

  "We bind their magic. Permanently. Then they slowly die from the lack of magic circulating in their system. It's the law." He stood as well. "I'm offering Mira a chance to avoid that fate. Master Magistus is the only person skilled enough to teach her control before she accidentally kills someone."

  "She's a baby..."

  "She's a weapon." His hand moved and the door behind us sealed shut. "A powerful weapon that doesn't know even know it’s own power. I cannot allow her to remain untrained. Not on my authority. Not on the King's authority."

  The room felt smaller suddenly. We were trapped.

  My magic stirred in response to my fear, a familiar bubbling sensation in my chest. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to lose the only home I'd known in this life.

  The bubble was forming again. To protect me and Mumma from this man who thought he knew what was best for me.