Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

AURELIA

I barely slept after everything that happened yesterday. Every time I closed my eyes I could still feel the pressure around my throat and hear the ground cracking when Draven and Zale fought. Lirien had stayed up talking with me for a while, explaining more about how the academy let S-Ranks get away with almost anything. She added me to the low-rank group chat before we finally went to sleep, and I kept checking the messages on my new My-Phone like it might somehow make me feel less exposed. It didn’t. I still felt like the whole school was already talking about the human girl who got choked in the middle of training.

When morning came I got dressed in the plain black D-Rank uniform and tried to act like I wasn’t still shaking inside. Lirien gave me a small smile before we headed out. “Just keep your head down if you can,” she said. “And if anything feels off, text the chat. We’ve got you.”

I nodded and made my way to my first real lecture of the day. The classroom was big, with long rows of desks and those floating blue lanterns overhead. Most students were already seated when I walked in. I felt the stares right away. A couple of girls near the back leaned in and whispered to each other. One guy a few rows ahead turned around, looked straight at me, then leaned over to his friend. I kept my eyes on the floor and found an empty seat in the middle, trying to make myself small.

I had just pulled out my notebook when someone slid into the seat right beside mine. I glanced over and saw sea-green hair and a friendly face I didn’t recognize from yesterday.

“Hey,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Mind if I sit here? I’m Caelum Rivers. C-Rank. Siren, technically, but I spend most of my time on land these days.” He gave me a warm, easy smile. “You’re the new girl from the training grounds yesterday, right? I saw what happened. That looked rough.”

I felt my cheeks warm a little but nodded. “Yeah. That was me. I’m Aurelia. Aurelia Elowen Voss. I’m… just human, I guess. Or at least I thought I was until two days ago.”

Caelum’s smile softened. “Well, welcome to the chaos, Aurelia. First week here is always a mess, but it’s worse when you’re the only human and the S-Ranks decide to make everything about you.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a neat stack of handwritten notes, then slid them across the desk toward me. “Here. I made extra copies from last week’s lecture. Figured you might want to catch up since everything got thrown at you so fast.”

I looked down at the notes. They were clean and organized with little arrows and underlined parts. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said with a small shrug. “But I wanted to. You seemed pretty shaken up yesterday, and honestly, the first week is rough for everyone. Might as well make it a little easier if I can.”

I gave him a small, tired smile. “Thanks. That’s… really nice of you.”

We kept our voices quiet while the professor started setting up at the front. Caelum flipped open his own notebook and leaned a little closer so we could talk without disturbing anyone.

“So what were you studying back in the human world?” he asked.

“Mostly regular stuff,” I said. “History, English, some mythology on the side because I liked it. Nothing like this though. I didn’t even know places like this existed until the black envelope showed up.”

Caelum nodded like that made sense. “A lot of people who grew up knowing about the academy still get shocked when they actually get here. The rank system alone is enough to make your head spin. But you’ve got Lirien looking out for you now, and you’re in the group chat too, right? That helps more than people think.”

“Yeah, she added me last night. It’s nice knowing I can ask questions without feeling like I’m bothering anyone important.”

He smiled again, and it reached his eyes. “Exactly. We low-ranks have to stick together. The higher ones love acting like we don’t belong, but most of them would panic if they actually had to survive a real trial without backup.”

We kept talking quietly while the professor began the lecture on basic elemental control theory. Caelum pointed out a couple of things in the textbook that were common mistakes for new students, and somehow we ended up laughing softly about how overly complicated some of the diagrams looked.

“It’s like they drew this just to confuse us on purpose,” I whispered, tapping the page.

“Right?” he whispered back. “I swear the artist was having a bad day. Half these arrows don’t even make sense unless you already know what you’re doing.”

For those few minutes I actually felt like a normal student again. The knot in my chest loosened just a little. Caelum’s easy humor and the way he didn’t treat me like I was fragile or some kind of walking problem made it easier to breathe.

But of course it didn’t last.

About halfway through the lecture a C-Rank student a few rows ahead turned around in his seat and spoke loud enough for half the class to hear. “So that’s the human who caused the big scene yesterday, huh? The one who got choked and still somehow managed to make two S-Ranks fight like idiots? What a worthless little attention seeker.”

The words landed harder than I expected. My face went hot and I stared down at my notebook, pretending I hadn’t heard. But the room seemed to get quieter, and I could feel more eyes turning toward me.

Caelum didn’t even hesitate. He turned slightly in his seat so he was facing the guy and kept his voice calm but firm. “Hey, maybe shut up and mind your own business? She didn’t ask for any of that to happen. And calling her worthless when you don’t even know her? Real mature.”

The C-Rank student scoffed but turned back around after a second. Still, the damage was done. I could feel the stares from all around the room again, heavier than before. Some people were whispering. Others were just openly watching to see what I would do. I kept my head down and tried to focus on the lecture notes, but my hands were shaking again.

Caelum leaned a little closer and spoke quietly so only I could hear. “Don’t let them get to you. People like that are just bored and looking for drama. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I nodded, grateful, but the knot in my stomach was back. I could already imagine how fast this story was going to spread through the group chats. The human girl who got choked and now had people calling her worthless in the middle of class.

When the lecture finally ended I packed up quickly, wanting to get out of there before anyone else decided to say something. Caelum walked out with me, still talking in that easy way of his, trying to lighten the mood.

“You know, if you ever want to study together or just vent about how ridiculous this place is, I’m around,” he said. “Seriously. Lirien’s great but sometimes you need someone who’s not also drowning in D-Rank survival tips.”

I managed a small smile. “Thanks. I might take you up on that. Today’s already been… a lot.”

We stepped out into the hallway together. The corridor was crowded with students moving between classes, and for a second I thought we might actually make it to the next building without any more drama.

Then I felt it.

A strange, warm pull started in the center of my chest, like something invisible was tugging me forward. I looked up and saw him at the far end of the hallway. Draven. He was walking with a couple of other students, but the second our eyes met he slowed down. His golden-amber gaze locked onto mine and stayed there, intense and unreadable. My body reacted before my brain could catch up. My heart started beating faster, my skin felt too warm, and a shiver ran straight down my spine. It wasn’t just fear. There was something else mixed in, something that made me want to keep looking even though every sensible part of me was screaming to look away.

He didn’t say anything. He just kept walking, but his eyes lingered on me for that extra second, and I knew he felt it too. Whatever this pull was, it was getting stronger.

Caelum was still talking beside me, but I barely heard him. All I could think about was the way Draven had looked at me and how my body had answered even after everything that happened yesterday. I was in way over my head, a

nd the academy wasn’t going to let me forget it for even one morning.

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