The bell signaling the end of History of Ancient Magic was a sweet, sweet relief. The old professor practically tripped over his own beard on his way out, just thankful to have survived an hour under the watchful eye of a goddess. Henry felt like he'd just run a marathon. Helia's silent watchfulness was a physical weight, and Tsukuyomi's non-stop commentary was like needles in his brain.

As the students started packing up, a figure blocked the exit to the row where Henry and Helia sat. It was a tall girl with platinum blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail and icy blue eyes that sparked with intelligence and impatience. Her magical affinity was on full display, with tiny, harmless arcs of electricity crackling at her fingertips. She was flanked by two other students who looked more like bodyguards than friends.

"So, it's you," the girl said, her voice sharp and full of disdain. Her gaze flicked to Helia with a brief, forced nod of respect before locking onto Henry. "The walking disaster that has all the faculty's attention."

Henry blinked, taken aback by the direct hostility. "Sorry, do I know you?"

The girl let out an arrogant huff. "I'm Lyra. And you should know me. I'm the most promising mage this academy has seen in decades. I've broken every aptitude record, my manifestations are perfect, my control is absolute. And yet," she gestured sharply at Henry, "it's *you*, the boy who can't even stop his power from going off like a cheap firecracker, who becomes a goddess's pet project."

The two students behind her snickered. Henry felt his face flush with shame.

"My involvement with Mr. Henry is none of your concern, student," Helia's voice cut in, calm and cold.

Lyra wasn't intimidated. "With all due respect, Master Helia, it *is* my concern when an incompetent takes the spot that should be mine by right. I work, I study, I perfect my craft. And what's his talent?" She looked Henry up and down with contempt. "He looks weak. Useless. An accident waiting to happen. The attention you and the other masters are giving him is an insult to every true genius in this academy."

*Ooh, I like her,* Tsukuyomi purred in Henry's mind. *She's got fire. We should see what her insides are made of.*

"Listen," Henry started, "I didn't ask for any of this—"

"Exactly!" Lyra cut him off. "You've done nothing to deserve it. And that's why this ends here." She took a step forward, her icy blue eyes boring into his. "I am going to prove to everyone who is superior. I will crush you in every test, outperform you in every class, and show everyone that you are nothing but a lucky fraud."

She smiled, a cruel smirk that didn't reach her eyes. "Consider this a warning, 'Just Henry.' I'm your rival. And I never lose."

With that, she spun on her heel, her ponytail whipping through the air. She and her two minions laughed as they walked away, leaving a trail of awkward silence and the stares of every other student on Henry.

Henry just sat there, stunned. He'd come to Aegis Academy for anonymity and control, and in less than two days, he'd become the center of a divine tug-of-war, the talk of the entire school, and now, the target of a declared rival.

"Don't worry about her," Helia's voice said beside him, pulling him from his thoughts. "Pride is the weakness of the talented. She will consume herself."

"But she's right," Henry muttered, looking down at his own hands. "I am weak. I can't control anything."

"Not yet," Helia corrected, standing up. "That's why we're here. Now, come on. The dining hall awaits. Try not to blow up the soup."

As he followed his divine guardian out of the room, feeling the weight of every stare, Henry couldn't help but think that maybe the Obsidian Heart, with its straightforward monsters and violence, was a much simpler place than this.