CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14: AIDEN’S POTENTIAL

Aiden watched nervously as a drop of his blood sank into the crystal globe. It was almost instant—the globe reacted far faster than he expected.

The red section lit up first, glowing so brightly it was almost blinding. Gasps rippled through the hall. The red glow meant one thing: Aiden was a witch with high potential. Miss Flecine’s eyes widened in surprise. She had never expected to see another high-potential witch.

But before her astonishment could even settle, the glow shifted. The light flared again, this time surging into the white section. The meaning was clear—Aiden was also a Fae with high potential.

Miss Flecine’s mouth fell open slightly.

And then, impossibly, the glow changed yet again, sweeping across to the black section. The black light signified high-potential werewolves.

For a few seconds, the entire hall was silent. The three instructors—Miss Flecine, Mr. Gareth, and Mr. Bertain—stared at each other in disbelief. Aiden himself frowned, unsure what to make of it all.

Finally, he turned to Miss Flecine. "What does that mean?"

She gave him a look that said, as plainly as words, If you’re asking me, then who am I supposed to ask?

Aiden hesitated. "Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe I should test again?"

Miss Flecine quickly nodded. "Yes—yes, test again. That had to be an anomaly. It must be a mistake. Test again."

Aiden agreed and pricked his finger once more, squeezing out more blood than before. This time, as the drops fell onto the globe, the reaction was even more extreme. The globe didn’t just go through the sequence once—it went haywire, flickering from black to white to red in rapid succession, again and again without stopping.

At one point, Aiden could have sworn all three sections lit up at the same time. He blinked, thinking he might have imagined it—

And then the entire globe exploded in a burst of blinding light.

Everyone in the hall shielded their eyes. The teachers couldn’t even keep them open. The sharp crack of breaking crystal rang out, followed by stunned silence.

When the light faded, the testing globe lay shattered on its stand.

The three teachers turned to stare at Aiden as if he had suddenly sprouted horns. Around them, the students began whispering and pointing. Even Julian, sat there with his mouth hanging open.

Aiden shifted uncomfortably under all the stares. Normally, he didn’t mind being the center of attention—but the way everyone was looking at him now made him uneasy. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave Miss Flecine a sheepish smile.

"Could it be... another mistake?" he asked hopefully.

Miss Flecine almost snapped at him. "Mistake your head," she muttered under her breath. She had never seen anything like this. The testing globe had been used for centuries without fail—and now, because of Aiden, it was in pieces. Replacing it wouldn’t be easy.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to think. "What do you think we should do?" she asked the other instructors. "How am I supposed to grade him?"

Mr. Gareth, the werewolf instructor, shook his head. "I don’t know either. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like it. Maybe we should consult the higher-ups—they might know how to address this kind of phenomenon. What do you think, Mr. Bertain?"

When there was no answer, Gareth turned and saw Mr. Bertain deep in thought.

"Mr. Bertain," Gareth called.

No response.

"Mr. Bertain!" Gareth said more firmly.

The man blinked and finally looked up. "What is it?"

"What were you thinking about?" Gareth asked. Miss Flecine also leaned forward, curious.

Mr. Bertain hesitated, then said slowly, "I think... I’ve seen something like this in the school’s historical records. There was a female student whose test results were the same—high potential in all three races. It turned out her ancestors on all sides had been among the most gifted of their kind. All three bloodlines were powerful, and inside her, they were... fighting each other. In the end, the witch blood won. The other two bloodlines disappeared completely, but her witch heritage became stronger than anyone had ever seen. She became the most powerful witch of her time."

Gareth raised his brows. "Something like that really happened?"

Bertain nodded.

"Where did you read about it?" Gareth pressed.

"In the library," Bertain replied. He went on to describe the section and the exact place he had seen the record.

Gareth nodded firmly. "I’ll be back."

Before Miss Flecine or Mr. Bertain could say another word, he was gone.