The air inside the Bastion’s grand hall buzzed with anticipation, the tension so thick Jessalyn could almost taste it. Radiant students filed into the room, their brilliant attire catching the light of the sprawling Noxflare chandeliers overhead. Despite the splendor of the scene, Jess couldn’t help but feel a shiver of unease as she joined the throng.

  At the heart of the room stood a raised dais, where an older Radiant, adorned in ceremonial robes embroidered with Noxflare thread, waited. Behind him loomed a massive crystalline sculpture of the Bastion’s sigil—a radiant crown encircled by three interlocking moons. Its symbolism was unmistakable: unity, power, and ascension.

  Jess glanced at Talia, who stood at her side, her amber eyes scanning the room with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “Any guesses on the grand secret they’re about to unveil?” Talia murmured, her voice low enough to avoid the sharp ears of the upper-echelon Radiants.

  “Not a clue,” Jess replied, her hands smoothing the fabric of her dress—a nervous habit she couldn’t quite suppress. She’d spent her life preparing for the Bastion, yet something about the way her mother had refused to answer questions about the orientation made her stomach churn.

  The hall quieted as the Radiant elder stepped forward, his presence commanding without effort. His eyes, sharp and gleaming, swept over the assembled students.

  “Welcome, initiates,” he began, his voice resonating through the space like the toll of a bell. “You stand at the threshold of greatness, chosen from among the best to forge a path that will shape the future of Lumina Nocte.”

  Jess straightened, the weight of his words pressing down on her. This was it—the moment she’d dreamed of, worked for, sacrificed for.

  “But,” the elder continued, his tone darkening, “greatness is not given freely. It must be earned.”

  A murmur rippled through the crowd, uncertainty flickering in the faces around Jess. Even Talia, usually unflappable, tilted her head in curiosity.

  “The Bastion operates on a principle as old as time itself,” the elder said. “Survival of the fittest. Only those who prove themselves worthy may ascend to the ranks of true Radiance. This is why, over the next month, you will undergo the Trials of Crowns.”

  Jess’s breath caught in her throat. Trial of Crowns? She’d heard whispers of a grueling initiation, but nothing concrete. Her mother had been maddeningly vague when Jess pressed her for details. So it would be a series of trials for rankings, she mused.

  “The trials,” the elder explained, “will test your resolve, intelligence, and strength. It will push you to your limits and beyond. Failure is not merely an option—it is a certainty for many of you. Only those who succeed will earn their crown and the right to remain at the Bastion.”

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  A chill ran down Jess’s spine. Remain?

  Talia raised a brow, leaning closer to Jess. “They’re serious about this, aren’t they?” she whispered, her usual playful tone replaced with genuine concern. “I have always wondered what happened to the other students. I imagine they are shipped off to the three moons.”

  “More than I thought,” Jess replied, her voice barely audible. “That’s what I figured, or banishment to the fringe towns on the other side of Lumina Nocte. I heard some are made into the forgotten.”

  Jess shook her head, “No way, they wouldn’t do that to a Radiant.”

  “Even though we were born Radiant it isn’t official until we graduate. Until then we are just glimmers really.” Talia smirked and winked.

  The elder gestured, and a series of shimmering screens descended from the ceiling, each one displaying scenes of previous trials. Jess’s stomach turned as she watched students racing through labyrinthine corridors, fending off mechanical constructs that looked far too deadly to be mere training tools. Others solved intricate puzzles under the pressure of ticking clocks, while some faced each other in combat arenas.

  “This is the path to your crown,” the elder said, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. “Failure of the first trial is death. Survival will mean glory. You are the children of previous Radiants so you are paired against Glimmers on your first trial. The path to the crown is through them. If you live through the maze you will meet your opponent at the end of the maze. Kill the glimmer and pass the first trial. ”

  A silence fell over the room as the elder allowed his words to sink in. Jess felt the weight of every eye around her, the tension thick enough to choke on. He couldn’t possibly have meant they should kill them. Jess felt her throat closing up. She looked around at the hundred students. A hundred more would be introduced tomorrow and they would have to kill them? What if the Glimmer won? They would seriously allow half the students to be killed the first day of school? She thought back bitterly at the martial training her mother had drown her in since she could walk. It was all really for this and her mother had never even hinted at the true danger here.

  “The trial begins tomorrow at dawn,” the elder announced. “Rest well, for tonight may be the last peace you know for some time.”

  ---

  After the Orientation

  Jess sat on the edge of her bed in the radiant dormitory, staring at the ornate crown emblem embroidered on the blanket. The Trial of Crowns. No one had said a word about this, not even her mother. Was it a test of character, or simply a cruel tradition designed to weed out the weak?

  Talia paced the room, her boots clicking against the marble floor. “Well, this is an interesting twist,” she said, breaking the silence. “I thought we’d be easing into things, maybe a few lectures and some pretentious banquets before the real work started.”

  Jess shook her head. “You saw the screens. This isn’t just a test—it’s a culling.”

  Talia stopped, her expression softening. “Hey, you’ve got this. You’re smarter and stronger than half the people in that hall.”

  “And the other half?” Jess asked, her voice tinged with doubt.

  Talia smirked. “They’re probably more scared than you are.”

  Jess let out a shaky laugh, though it did little to ease her nerves. “You really think we’ll get through this?”

  Talia sat beside her, her expression uncharacteristically serious. “I don’t know. But if we don’t, we’re going down spitting and biting.”

  Jess nodded, her resolve hardening. Whatever the Trial of Crowns entailed, she wouldn’t let it break her. She had to set her eyes on the goal. She would not allow anything to get between her and the prize. She was born for this, she had trained for this even if she thought her mother was just training her for the enforcers. It made sense now that she thought about it. When she had first mentioned enlisting her mother had looked down her nose at the idea. It had confused Jess but her mother hadn’t been training her to fight rebels, she was meant to survive this test and return a Hierarchy prodigy.

  “Be careful tomorrow Talia.” Jess pulled out of her thoughts and grabbed her friend’s hand.

  “You know me, I’m a Nightclaw in a dress.” She winked and spun allowing her green dress to flurry around her. She put on a fierce face but her slim features, wavy brown hair, and amber eyes made her seem meek.

  “Well Nightclaw I better see you come out that back door tomorrow.”

  “Or what, you’ll kill me?” Talia shot back but neither found it funny.