The train station wasn’t anything fancy. Just a large building with three platforms. Aidan technically lived in Golden City, but he had always lived on the outskirts. Thankfully, Gold University was a twenty-minute train ride away. But that didn’t mean it would be easy for him to find his way back.

Magic was all around them. If it didn’t want Aidan to return to this location, he wouldn’t.

At a young age, children were taught that magic was alive and had a will of its own. It was the people that respected magic who ended up becoming highly powerful.

Aidan glanced behind him after feeling eyes on him. What he saw was an empty platform save himself. Taking a deep breath, he created a tiny barrier around his body to shield from unwanted attention.

At this point in his life, it was effortless for him to do tiny spells like this. And magic didn’t necessarily need a spell. It was a very flexible substance and could be used in a variety of ways should the person be strong enough to wield magic without spells.

Aidan was one of the few that could—but he often kept that a secret. Despite the potential for powerful magic, people often got restless the moment they found out someone was better than them.

It would be different for Aidan after he was licensed to become a Demon Hunter. His education and training would be enough justification for his strength in magic. Having raw power like he did was often frowned upon in society.

Just then, he heard the tell-tale whistle of the train and, shortly after, saw it pull into the station. After another glance around, he quickly boarded and sat with his back to the window, hoping to ignore the feeling of being watched.

A few minutes later, the train pulled away from the platform and traveled through a dark tunnel before emerging on the other side; tall, magnificent buildings stretching as far as the eye could see.

Aidan allowed himself to relax the further he got from the orphanage. He still had the feeling of being watched, but it wasn’t as strong as before. He was more relieved to leave behind a painful past. It hadn’t been easy growing up at the orphanage. The other children hadn’t treated him as a human being. It was only thanks to Lucy that he was able to realize his potential and not fall to the harsh treatment of his peers.

He had been relieved when Lucy gave the notice seven months ago to close her home. There had been a flurry of activity when news of this spread. It seemed most of Golden’s population had come to adopt the children Lucy had kindly taken under her wing.

Aidan had made sure to stay out of sight for fear of being adopted himself. He hadn’t yet turned eighteen.

Under the city’s adoption laws, he would have been forced to go with whoever decided to take him at the time. It proved more economic to raise a child into a magic profession than not have one at all. The parents or guardians of said child would earn a percentage of his or her earnings if they so chose.

Aidan didn’t want that for his life. He had spent far too much time practicing his magic and applying to different universities to just chuck it all away because some greedy individual wanted to use him to earn money.

He had a slim hope that some of those people genuinely wanted children and would take care in raising them as their own.

He glanced out the window once more and smiled humorlessly. He hadn’t been eighteen for more than three hours and already it was turning into a lonely affair. But he should be used to that by now. After his parents abandoned him on Lucy’s doorstep, he hadn’t celebrated his birthday since.

He quickly closed his eyes to block out the painful memories from his childhood. He didn’t need to remember—not today.

Aidan took another steadying breath and opened the book Lucy had given him. He was surprised at the durability of the pages though he knew he shouldn’t be. Lucy had most likely enchanted it with magic so it wouldn’t decay over time.

The first page was a table of contents listing the different categories and subsections. The title Shadow Angels caught Aidan’s attention and he quickly flipped to that section. He already knew the legends of Angels of Light and Angels of Darkness.

It was rumored that when an Angel of Light died, it was reborn again. However, there weren’t any rumors on what happened when an Angel of Darkness died. Aidan had never understood why. If Angels didn’t exist, surely there would be countless rumors on what happened when they died.

He shook his head a bit to clear it before he read:

Shadow Angels. I stumbled across this term during my time at a recent library visit overseas. I don’t recall the name of the library but that’s probably for the best. I don’t think I’d be welcomed back with open arms after destroying half the place trying to kill a demon. But I’ll do my best to write what little I know of this term. Shadow Angels are supposed to be the in between of Angels of Light and Angels of Darkness. The magic they possess seemingly has no limit to what it can do. They are shadows of this world.

Aidan’s brow crinkled in confusion as he stared at the short paragraph explaining nothing. He hadn’t heard of Shadow Angels and he wasn’t about to inquire about it. If this was all the information Lucy had found, then it was probably a dead-end rumor that had no truth to it. Most rumors about Angels were lies fabricated by greedy people willing to exploit others genuine curiosity in order to make a profit.

It was a waste of time and a waste of talent. Aidan closed the book and stowed it safely away in his bag. He spent the rest of his journey staring out the window and watching the city flash before his eyes. It was large and housed far too many people for his liking. But he was willing to put up with it for the sake of his education.

When the train pulled into Golden City’s main station, Aidan let out a relieved laugh as he stood and gathered his things together.

What had once felt like an impossible hope had now matured into actual reality. He was ready to face whatever challenges came his way.

When he stepped onto the platform, he quickly scanned through the crowd in search of a familiar face. It didn’t take him too long to spot the impossibly tall woman with pure red hair and eyes as black as night.

She had been his interviewer and had arranged to pick him up from the train station. She hadn’t explained her specialty to Aidan, but he could more than guess that she favored dark magic over any other.

He weaved his way through the crowd and wasn’t surprised to find her equal in height to him. He was well over six feet tall and built for speed. The woman wasn’t as lean as Aidan, but she did possess a certain grace that could only come with careful practice in both body and mind. When her eyes found his, she let out an empty smile.

Aidan returned her smile with a curt nod. He had fast learned that intimidation was his closest friend in this world.

“Gerelda, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Aidan greeted in a quiet voice. 

Gerelda let out an annoyed sound. “Why is it that you look eighteen yet talk like an old man? It’s annoying.” Her voice was hard and calculating as her eyes narrowed.

Aidan ignored his smart reply, deciding to redirect the conversation. “When do classes start?”

Gerelda’s eyes narrowed further before she said, “Two hours from now. You’ll receive your schedule at the university gates.”

“And work?” 

“You and another student will be taking the night shift together.” Gerelda pulled out a slab of sleek black marble and drew a pattern on it. The moment her finger touched the surface, blood red lines came to life.

“What’s that?” Aidan asked despite himself. 

“The latest brand of communication the magic world uses.” Gerelda muttered as she waited for a response.

“Ah, of course.” Aidan replied as he watched the latest technology do whatever it was it did.

Magic technology was an advanced and highly respected field. It powered radios, cell phones, cars, and other forms of technology. All it needed to work was a person’s touch of magic. There was a never-ending list of magic tech and it was always being improved upon.

Gerelda let out an amused laugh as a bright pattern of white lines appeared on the marble slab. “It seems the director is expecting great things from you, Aleta.”

Aidan remained quiet as he watched another series of lines, this time dark green, appear then disappear in a matter of seconds. He assumed the slab of marble was connected to other slabs that shared the same magical components, allowing communication to transpire.

Gerelda let out one more laugh before slipping the device into her dark red jacket. “The Director is expecting us in thirty minutes.”

Aidan narrowed his eyes at her tone. “And how long does it take to get there from here?” 

Gerelda shrugged her shoulders. “At least an hour…without magic.” 

Aidan’s eyes sparked in interest. The only powerful magic he had ever seen was his own. He was more than willing to watch someone else and learn from them. “Does your car teleport?”

Gerelda’s eyes snapped to his in annoyance. “You can’t teleport through a car.” 

“So, we’re going to be late.” Aidan tried not to let that bother him as people pushed past him.

“It would appear that way. At most, we’ll be twenty minutes late. Follow me.” She didn’t give him time to respond as she turned on her heel and headed toward the exit.

Aidan adjusted his grip on his belongings and quickly caught up to her. He did his best to avoid knocking into people as he squeezed through one of the packed doors.

Once outside, rain pelted against them as they made their way toward one of the busier streets. Aidan could have used magic to stay dry, but that would have revealed his true powers. He had a feeling that if anyone found out about his strength, his life would become a living nightmare.

Sitting dangerously close to oncoming traffic sat one of the sleekest looking cars Aidan had ever seen. It sat low to the ground and was a pure, glossy black. He let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”

Gerelda smirked at him before popping the trunk. There was just enough room for his belongings. Shortly after, they were safely tucked away inside Gerelda’s car and headed toward Gold University.