Kadiean, Northern Reaches
Year 1760
Chapter 1: The Third Whistle
Raden Sora had always disliked the sound of the factory whistles. They were the heartbeat of the ghetto, marking the passage of time in a place where time seemed to have little meaning. But today, they were the sound of opportunity-or damnation.
Jay Racker was beside him, grinning like a fool, his olive skin glistening with sweat from the run, eyes shining with some wild hope that only kids like him could have. The kind of hope that kept you dreaming of castles when you were covered in soot and smelling like coal.
"We're going to make it," Jay said between heavy breaths, not even bothering to wipe the grime from his face as he picked a chunk of pie crust from his teeth. "You'll see. I'll get the highest score ever. Sovereign, man. I'll be sovereign."
Raden didn't say anything. It wasn't that he didn't believe Jay. He'd just heard it all before—the dreams, the promises, the way they always seemed to shatter like glass underfoot. Kids like them didn't get to be sovereign. Hell, they didn't even get to be people in the eyes of the empire.
But that didn't stop him from running. Because right now, there was something in the air—something electric, like the tension before a storm. The air was thick with the scent of coal smoke and sweat, but underneath it all, Raden could taste the edge of change.
The third whistle sounded as they turned the corner, echoing across the cracked cobblestone streets. It was time. The ghetto was alive with the scramble of children, all rushing toward the same place, all hoping for the same thing: a way out.
The school—if you could even call it that—was a dilapidated shell of what it once was. An old shoe factory turned into a place of education, if you could stomach the irony. The windows were cracked, the walls sagging, and the roof leaked when it rained, but it was the only place between the factories and the gangs where you could learn anything that wasn't how to steal or fight.
As Raden and Jay approached, the hulking figure of Jimmy the Butcher stepped out of one of the nearby huts, his dark eyes locking on them. He had a reputation that Raden had heard whispered in the streets since he was a little kid. Jimmy was the Red Rabbits' enforcer, and his job was to collect anyone who didn't make the cut. Anyone who failed the assessment.
He wore his usual getup: brown dress clothes, a scuffed black top hat perched awkwardly on his head, and a dagger sheathed at his side. The same dagger he used to keep kids in line.
"You two thinkin' about makin' it?" Jimmy's voice was thick with malice, his smile more of a grimace as he leaned against the doorframe.
Jay straightened up, wiping his hands on his shirt, the grin never leaving his face. "Hell yeah. I'm gonna get the best assessment Kadiean's ever seen." He puffed out his chest, like he could take on the whole world with just his words.
Jimmy's smile faded. "We'll see, kid. We'll see. Don't be late."
Raden didn't even look at him. He just kept walking, his boots clicking on the stone, the weight of the day heavy in his chest. He knew what Jimmy meant. He always meant the same thing: failure wasn't an option.
The door to the school was already open, and the kids were starting to line up, some laughing nervously, others silent, staring at their feet. Raden felt a sharp pang in his stomach. His mother had always told him that magic was a curse for those born without it. But today, it was the only thing that mattered.
Inside, Madam Ambreach stood at the front of the room, her sharp eyes scanning the students as they filed in. The mage was a tall woman with thin lips and a wooden wand always at her side. She never smiled, not once, and the way she looked at them made Raden feel like he was already beneath her.
"Sit," she ordered curtly, her voice echoing off the cracked walls. "Form a line. You know the drill."
As Raden and Jay took their places in the back, Raden's heart began to pound. He could feel the magic in the air now, thick like fog, filling his lungs, filling his veins. He didn't know if he had enough of it. Hell, he didn't even know if he had any at all.
Jay whispered under his breath, a nervous chuckle escaping. "You ready, Raden? For the test of a lifetime?"
Raden didn't answer. He just stared ahead at the line of kids, the way they shuffled nervously, the way their hands twitched in anticipation. Some of them were hoping for power, for strength, for a chance to escape the ghetto. Others, like Raden, were just trying to survive.
Madam Ambreach raised her wand, the room falling silent. "First, we begin with a simple test of control. Don't disappoint me."
As she lifted her wand, the air crackled with energy, and Raden felt it—the heat, the pulse, like something in his blood was calling. It wasn't just the magic. It was something else. Something darker.
And then the test began.