Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 402

Aurora’s P.O.V

“We're going to attempt something more advanced today,” Alice continued, her voice calm but laced with an undertone of seriousness that made my stomach tighten.

“The spell is called Praemium. It’s an incantation used to destroy a specific object. Not violently, not without cause—but with focus. Intention is everything.”

I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees, eyes fixed on her. “Destroy… like, completely?” I asked, already suspecting the answer.

She looked at me then, her dark eyes catching the sunlight in a way that made her look almost unearthly.

“Yes, Aurora. Completely. Reduced to nothing but shards, or sometimes dust. The spell reacts to your energy, your desire to remove that object from existence. Which means it can be dangerous.”

I blinked, feeling the weight of her words sink in. “Dangerous… How dangerous are we talking?”

Alice’s lips pressed into a thin line. She turned slightly and began to walk a slow circle around the three of us—me, Maggie, and Ashton—her voice low and deliberate. “Any spell that involves destruction is, by its nature, offensive magic. That means the energy you’re channeling is volatile. If your focus slips, even for a moment, the spell could ricochet. Backfire. It could destroy something else… or hurt someone. Which is why I’m warning you now—don’t let your mind drift. Don’t let emotions take over. Let them fuel you, but do not let them control you.”

A chill ran down my spine, but I nodded slowly. “Alright. I understand.”

Beside me, Maggie was already rolling her shoulders back, trying to ease the tension from her muscles. Her jaw was set in that stubborn, determined way she had when she was about to face a challenge. Ashton gave her a quick look, then turned back toward the center of the circle with his arms folded across his chest, posture alert and focused. I admired how steady they both looked. Me? I was trying not to fidget, my fingers twitching every few seconds in my lap.

Alice stepped back and motioned toward the three glass bottles placed on the ground a few feet away from us. Each one was identical—slim neck, rounded base, filled with nothing but air.

“Your target is the bottle in front of you,” Alice instructed. “I want you to look at it, focus on it—only it—and picture it shattering in your mind’s eye. See it break. See it vanish. Then, when you feel the magic stir inside you, say the word: Praemium. Clearly. With purpose.”

I was hoping that Alice would choose either of the two for the first try, but she locked her gaze on me. I swallowed, moving a step forward.

My fingers were suddenly ice cold. My lips felt dry. I swallowed and fixed my gaze on the bottle. I tried to silence the thoughts whispering at the edge of my mind—What if I mess up? What if I hurt someone? What if I can’t do it?

No. I pushed those away.

I imagined the bottle cracking, the glass webbing with fractures. I pictured it collapsing inward, like a dying star.

I felt the magic rise, slow and searing, coiling in my chest like smoke trying to become fire.

“Praemium,” I said.

The bottle split clean down the middle—no shards, no dramatic burst. It just… crumbled into fine powder. I stared, wide-eyed, barely believing what I’d done.

Alice smiled faintly, approving. “That,” she said softly, “was control.”

I exhaled a shaky breath, realizing I’d been holding it. Maggie reached over and squeezed my hand. Ashton gave me a small nod. And just like that, I realized this was more than just spellwork. This was trust. This was dangerous. This was power. And I wasn’t afraid of it anymore.

Ashton came up next. He stood in the center with the kind of calm that made you both admire and envy him. That familiar crooked smirk played on his lips as he looked at the bottle positioned on the stone pedestal ahead of him, like this was just another regular Tuesday and not a test of our spellwork precision.

I glanced at Alice, who stood at the side, her hands clasped behind her back, eyes sharp and observant. She gave him the smallest nod. That was all Ashton needed.

He inhaled slowly, extended his arm, palm facing outward, and with the clarity of someone who’s practiced this a thousand times, he uttered the incantation, “Praemium.”

The bottle didn’t just break—it shattered. It exploded into a thousand glittering shards that caught the light like stars raining to the earth. The sound of the glass bursting echoed through the clearing, sharp and clean, like a symphony’s cymbals at the perfect moment. Not a single shard flew out of the designated circle. Every fragment fell exactly where it was supposed to.

Alice didn’t even try to hide her approval. “Excellent, Ashton,” she said, her tone smooth but edged with pride.

“Controlled and precise. Just how it should be.”

Ashton shot me a look on his way back, eyebrows raised, his grin now full-blown. I gave him a tight smile in return, trying to ignore the way my stomach flipped at the thought of going next.

And finally… “Maggie.”

Maggie stepped forward. She walked like she owned the earth she stepped on, her boots crunching slightly on the grass, her chin high, her braid swinging with each step. Confidence radiated off her in waves, so different from the quiet anxiety clawing at my insides.

I don't know why, but something in me tightened. Maybe it was the way the air shifted—just the tiniest bit colder, like something was stirring. Maybe it was instinct. Or maybe I was just paranoid. But the moment Maggie raised her hand and began the incantation, my breath caught.

“Praemium.”

The bottle shattered—again—but not like Ashton’s and definitely not like mine. The sound was louder. More chaotic. The blast rang out and the shards flew, but not all of them stayed within the barrier line.

A sharp whistle of wind passed my ear and my eyes widened as I saw tiny glints of glass spin outward.

And then I heard it—

“Ahh!”

Maggie’s yelp of pain sliced through the air, and my heart dropped.