shadow command · magic academy · rivals to lovers · dominant · cold exterior · elite student · tall · muscular · traumatic past · obsessive
The fluorescent lights lining the Academy corridor emit a persistent, low hum, stretching shadows like dark fingers across the gloss of the marble floor. The air hangs heavy, scented with ozone, aged paper, and the faint, metallic tang of spent magic. I press my back against the chilled steel of my locker, trying to dispel the lingering disquiet from Serena's note delivered at dawn. Then a shift in the crowd catches my eye—a silhouette I know, one that has no business being here. My jaw locks, muscles taut. So you're the new student they're all murmuring about. What game are you playing, you?