For several seconds, no one reacted to Palmwick's words. Gaelira remained on the platform with her hand still extended, aware that the remaining students were watching her.
Whispers began near Moonveil and quickly spread through the hall. Some asked whether she had deceived the academy, while others suggested that she might be under the effects of a curse. Gaelira could not make out every word, but she heard her surname several times.
'This wasn't part of my plan.'
Meredith Marshall raised one hand, and the three mosaics in the hall gave off a brief flash. The sound disappeared immediately, as if the voices had been trapped behind an invisible wall. The students continued moving their lips for several seconds before realizing that no one could hear them.
"Palmwick," the headmistress said as she approached the platform. "Are you saying that she isn't Gaelira Veyr?"
The hand turned its single eye toward Meredith and then looked back at Gaelira. Two of its fingers grabbed the girl's wrist again, although this time it did not use its tongue.
The magic circle beneath their feet lit up and several violet lines rose around her body. Gaelira felt a tingling sensation spreading from her palm to her shoulder.
"The body is correct," Palmwick declared. "The blood too. Her magic retains the same root recorded during admission."
"Then she is Gaelira Veyr."
"Yes and no."
The silent murmurs increased. Meredith's expression hardened, and Palmwick's large eye shifted uncomfortably.
"Her inner taste is different," the creature explained. "I can't send her to a house when I don't know what I'm tasting."
Gaelira felt a chill that had nothing to do with Palmwick's tongue. The creature could recognize the body, the blood, and even the old Gaelira's magic, but something else had changed with her arrival.
Perhaps it was sensing her soul. That meant the magic of this world could detect what had happened to her and, if it could detect it, perhaps it could also reverse it.
The possibility of returning to her mother came with another much less hopeful thought: if the academy discovered that an unknown person was occupying the body of a young noblewoman, there was no guarantee what they would do to her. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Meredith looked back at the students. She lowered her hand and the voices returned to the hall abruptly. "The ceremony will continue," she announced before the questions could begin. "A classification difficulty is not an accusation, and none of you have the authority to turn it into one. Gaelira Veyr will remain to the side while we evaluate the situation."
The headmistress pointed toward the edge of the platform. Gaelira pulled her hand away from Palmwick's fingers and stepped down without protesting. As she walked toward the wall, she searched among the Thornheart students until she found Octavia's red hair. The girl was watching her from the illuminated doorway of her house, concern hidden beneath her usual stern expression.
Palmwick took several seconds to recover his previous behavior. He adjusted his tiny hat, called the next student forward, and extended his tongue. "Too much sugar, fear of disappointing others, and a certain obsession with always being right," he commented after tasting him. "Moonveil."
Some laughter returned to the hall, although it no longer sounded as natural. Every time Palmwick finished a classification, his large eye briefly shifted toward Gaelira.
She remained still while the lines grew shorter and tried to memorize the characteristics of those entering each house.
Thornheart received determined and resilient students. Moonveil seemed to attract those who valued knowledge, precision, and strategy. Stormwing preferred ambition, initiative, and more explosive magical affinities.
The final classification ended with a girl being sent to Stormwing after Palmwick claimed she tasted like rain, pride, and future trouble. The three doors glowed at the same time, and Meredith allowed the groups to leave the hall. Stormwing left first, followed by Moonveil. The Thornheart students began moving forward, but Octavia remained beside the door.
"You don't need to wait," Gaelira told her from across the hall.
"I wasn't waiting for you," Octavia replied. "I just wanted to know whether I'd have to explain why you disappeared on the first day."
"Osborne," Meredith interrupted. "Your house is waiting."
Octavia pressed the book against her chest. Before crossing the doorway, she gave Gaelira one last look. She said nothing else, but the concern was obvious. Gaelira felt a strange warmth when she realized that, despite everything that had happened between them, Octavia still could not leave without making sure she was all right.
The doors to the three houses closed and the Hall of Three Crowns fell silent. Only Gaelira, Meredith, and Palmwick remained. The headmistress deactivated the magic circle and stepped onto the platform, while the enchanted hand sat on its wrist with its fingers hanging over the edge.
"Do you know why Palmwick can't classify you?" Meredith asked.
"No." Gaelira held her gaze. "I woke up this morning after being put to sleep with a spell. Since then, my memories have been disorganized, but I don't know what could have changed my essence."
It was not completely false. Her memories belonged to two different lives, and she still did not understand how she had arrived there. Meredith seemed to consider the explanation, although Gaelira could not tell whether she believed it. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
"Spells can temporarily alter magical perception," the headmistress said. "There are also illnesses, curses, and experiences capable of changing a person's temperament. I'm not going to expel you based only on Palmwick's taste."
The hand opened its mouth to protest, but Meredith raised one finger before it could.
"However, I also can't assign you to a house or grant you access to our facilities without confirming that you possess the abilities listed in your application."
Gaelira remembered the letters in her room and felt her hope begin to fade. The abilities on record were probably mediocre, but even that could become a problem if they depended on magic she still did not know how to use.
"What do I have to do?"
"You enrolled in the sword and magic program. Tomorrow morning, you will take a practical evaluation in the West Dueling Hall. You don't need to impress anyone, but you must demonstrate discipline, the ability to follow instructions, and enough skill to justify your place."
Gaelira slowly released the breath she had been holding. A sword test was much better than trying to use magic in front of the headmistress.
The experience from her previous life gave her a real chance, although she still did not know whether this body could keep up with her knowledge.
"Will I be alone?"
"Only the necessary people will attend. Palmwick, a witness from Thornheart, myself, and the student who will serve as your opponent." Meredith picked up a folder beside the platform and checked the first page.
"I need someone capable of pressuring you without turning the evaluation into a dangerous fight."
Palmwick walked along the stone edge and looked at the document over his fingers. His eye lit up with recognition.
"Excellent choice," he commented.
Gaelira felt that his approval was not a good sign. "Who is it?"
Meredith closed the folder and spoke the name with complete calm.
"Clarke Calnoy, the best swordswoman among Moonveil's new students."