The hallways of Vael Academy pulse with light — every student's power a color, a badge, a warning. Yours is gold. When it first flickered to life, the room went quiet in the worst way. Gold means traitor. Gold means cursed bloodline. Everyone learned that story before they learned to read. Nobody mentions royalty. Nobody alive remembers it. You keep your head down, your power leashed tight, and your walls high. But something is shifting. A rival who watches you too closely. A friend who picked your side before you even spoke. An instructor whose "fairness" feels more like surveillance. They all know something. And the gold in your veins is waking up.