Chapter 5 CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

AURELIA

Caelum was still talking, trying to keep the mood light, but I could feel the weight of people watching us as we moved through the crowded corridor.

We hadn’t gone far when I spotted Lirien coming toward us from the opposite direction, her arms full of floating books and her round glasses slightly crooked. She looked up and saw me, then slowed down when she noticed Caelum walking next to me.

“Hey, Lirien,” I said, grateful for a familiar face. “This is Caelum. We just had class together.”

Caelum smiled and gave a small wave. “Hi. I know you. I’ve seen you around the lower dorms and in the group chat a few times. You’re the bookwyrm, Lirien. I’m Caelum Rivers. C-Rank siren, but I don’t spend much time in the water these days.”

Lirien’s cheeks turned a soft pink and she adjusted her glasses, her voice coming out quieter than usual. “Sure. Yeah. I’m Lirien Quill. D-Rank. It’s nice to meet you properly.”

I could tell she was shy, the way she kept her eyes on her books instead of looking straight at him. I stepped in to help the conversation along. “Lirien’s been helping me a lot since I got here. We actually have almost the same schedule. Just two classes different, but everything else lines up.”

Lirien nodded, still a little quiet. “Yeah. Same major track basically. It makes it easier to study together.”

Caelum looked interested. “Really? What are you two studying?”

I answered first. “Comparative Mythology and Folklore Studies. It was my dream course back home, so when the acceptance letter came it felt like it was meant to be. Even if everything else has been… intense.”

Caelum’s smile grew wider. “No way. My major is actually really close to that—Ancient Cultures and Mythic History. We probably have a bunch of the same classes. Want to compare schedules real quick? Might be nice to have someone to sit with in the overlapping ones.”

Lirien glanced at me, then back at Caelum, her voice still soft but a little more open now. “Sure. That could be helpful.”

We all stopped near one of the floating benches in the hallway while Caelum pulled out his My-Phone. I showed him mine and we lined up our schedules side by side. He was right—most of our classes overlapped, especially the mythology and history ones. Lirien’s schedule matched mine almost exactly too, just shifted by one or two periods.

“This is perfect,” Caelum said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Now I know who to bother for notes if I miss anything.”

I laughed a little, the sound surprising even me after how heavy the morning had felt. “Same here. And Lirien’s already been saving my life with explanations and everything.”

Lirien smiled shyly at that but didn’t say much, just nodded and adjusted the floating books beside her. The three of us started walking together toward the cafeteria. It felt strange but nice to have people on both sides of me. For a few minutes I almost forgot about the eyes that had been following me since yesterday.

The cafeteria was loud when we got there. We grabbed trays and found a table near the edge of the room. I sat between Lirien and Caelum, grateful for the small shield they created. We started eating and talking about random things—how the food here tasted different from human-world stuff, how the floating trays sometimes glitched and dropped soup on people. Caelum made a joke about a student who once tried to use water powers to catch a flying sandwich and ended up soaking three tables. We were all laughing quietly when the entire cafeteria suddenly went still.

I didn’t notice at first. I was still chewing and reaching for my drink. But Lirien’s hand froze halfway to her mouth and Caelum went quiet. Around us, almost every student was standing up from their seats. The sound of chairs scraping against the floor echoed through the big hall. I kept eating, confused, until a shadow fell over our table.

Before I could look up, a large hand reached down and knocked my tray clean off the table. My food went everywhere—spilled soup, scattered vegetables, my half-eaten plate clattering to the floor. I jerked back in shock, my heart jumping straight into my throat.

“What the fuck?” The words came out louder than I meant, but they died in my throat the second I saw who was standing there.

Draven.

He towered over me, golden-amber eyes burning with that same anger from the training grounds. Power rolled off him in waves that made the air feel thick. My voice dropped instantly, barely above a whisper. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. I didn’t mean to—”

He cut me off, his voice low and cold. “You’re worthless. That’s what you are. A worthless little human who doesn’t know her place.” Then he turned and walked away like I was nothing, like he hadn’t just thrown my food on the floor in front of half the academy.

My face burned. I could feel every single eye in the cafeteria on me again. Some people were whispering. Others were just staring. Lirien reached over and touched my arm gently, but before she could say anything, another figure appeared beside our table.

Vespera.

The A-Rank shadow fae girl smiled like she had been waiting for this exact moment. She held a cup of water in her hand. Without a word she tipped it over my head. Cold water poured down my hair, my face, soaking into my uniform. I gasped, the shock of it mixing with the humiliation already sitting heavy in my chest. My eyes stung and I blinked hard, trying not to cry in front of everyone.

The whole cafeteria stayed silent for a second, then the whispers started again, louder this time. I sat there dripping, food scattered at my feet, and felt like the entire academy

had just watched me get torn down piece by piece.