Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance-Chapter 66: Magic Void

I didn’t need to. I could feel the weight of my eyes on me, whispers curling like smoke around my spine.

The word Magic Void rang in my ears like a curse.

I was halfway down the hallway when Valeen’s voice chased after me. "Athena."

I stopped. The air seemed to thicken between us. My hands clenched at my sides as I turned to face him.

He stood there, calm as ever, arms folded over his chest, face unreadable. "You’re letting your emotions block you. That’s why it’s not working."

My lips curled before I could stop them. "Block me?" I laughed, sharp and bitter. "You think this is about emotions?"

He stepped forward, his voice low and firm. "I think you’re capable of far more than you let yourself believe. But if you keep resisting the process—"

"Process?" I snapped. My voice echoed down the hall, sharp as broken glass. "I’m stuck in a world that isn’t mine, surrounded by people who either mock me or study me like I’m some broken toy. You call this a process?"

His jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

"You think pairing up and casting spells is going to help me?" I continued, voice rising with each word. "Every day you throw me into tests and lectures and I try, Valeen—I try—but none of this is working. I’m no closer to finding my way home. I’m no closer to understanding what I am."

Silence.

Valeen’s eyes narrowed. "What you are isn’t the problem. It’s what you’re afraid to become."

Something in me flinched. But I couldn’t take the way he looked at me—like he knew something I didn’t. Like he held the missing piece and wouldn’t share it.

I turned and stormed off before I could say something I’d regret.

Back in my room, I collapsed onto the narrow bed, staring at the ceiling, fists still trembling. The blankets smelled faintly of lavender, but it did nothing to soothe the storm inside me.

I didn’t know how long I lay there—minutes, hours, I couldn’t tell. Time passed strangely in this realm.

Then there was a soft knock.

I didn’t answer.

"Athena?" a familiar voice whispered through the wood.

I sat up. "Lira?"

The door creaked open, and she slipped inside. Her dark curls were pulled back in a loose braid, her usual smirk softened with something more serious tonight.

She closed the door gently behind her. "Wanna run away?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Run away," she repeated, her voice light as if it were a joke—but her eyes told another story. "From this place. From the tests. From the judgment. From... everything."

"What do you mean?" I sat up straighter.

She took a step closer, the lamplight catching the edge of the silver ring she always wore. "I’m not really just another student here. I’m a princess—heir to the southern Skyfire Empire."

I stared at her. "What?"

"I came here because I was bored. Wanted to experience life like everyone else." She shrugged like it was the most casual thing in the world. "But I think I’ve had enough fun. I’m going home."

"Your home is a palace?" I asked.

"More like a floating fortress built into a mountain," she said, grinning. "But yes."

I tried to make sense of it. "So you were slumming it here for fun?"

Her smile faded. "Not just for fun. I wanted to see how strong people were—what kinds of power this realm holds. And I wanted to find people worth trusting. Fine. I came here for fun but I’ve gotten bored now."

She looked at me. Not the way the others did. Not with mockery or suspicion.

"I’ve watched you," she said. "You’re different. The way magic doesn’t touch you, how it slides off like it can’t recognize you—it’s not weakness, Athena. It’s something you just don’t understand ad yet.

I swallowed.

"I can’t promise much," she said. "But my father is one of the strongest cultivators in the realm. If anyone can help you—figure out what’s wrong with your magic, it’s him."

I hesitated.

I hadn’t told her the truth—not all of it. She didn’t know that what I wanted most wasn’t my magic back. It was my world. My pack. My revenge.

But maybe she didn’t need to know.

Maybe this was the first real chance I’d had.

Staying here meant enduring more tests, more whispers, and more meaningless sparks that died before they reached my fingertips. Going with Lira meant something else entirely. Movement. Opportunity.

"Alright," I said softly. "I’ll go with you."

Her grin returned, brighter now. "Then pack light. We leave tonight."

The wind howled outside the academy walls as Lira and I moved through the shadows. She led the way with practised grace, dodging guards and weaving through hidden corridors I hadn’t known existed.

"You’ve done this before," I whispered.

She winked. "Let’s just say this isn’t my first ’midnight escape’."

At the edge of the outer wall, she knelt beside a hidden panel and pressed her ring into a carved indentation. The stone shimmered, then folded inward like paper, revealing a narrow tunnel lit with faint blue runes.

"Come on," she said.

I followed.

We walked in silence for a long while, the tunnel sloping downward, the air growing colder.

"Where are you from?" she asked eventually.

I hesitated. "I don’t wanna talk about it now."

"It’s hard to say?"

I nodded, heart twisting. "Yes, I really hope you don’t mind."

Lira was quiet for a moment. "We all have things we wanna hide and that’s fine. Just feel free to open up to me..."

I didn’t reply.

Because I wasn’t sure I’d been sent here.

I’d fallen.

Dragged by betrayal, pushed through a crack between worlds.

Still, something about her words clung to me.

After what felt like hours, the tunnel opened into a vast cavern lit with crystals. At the centre waiting for a transport sphere—ancient, humming with power.

"Once we step in," she said, "we’ll be inside the Skyfire Empire within a few hours.