Chapter 7 Zara’s POV

Zara’s POV

I had everything planned out before I went to bed. 

And by the time I woke up, I was totally convinced that I wasn't going to see the twins for the whole day. 

I was wrong.

I woke up feeling irritated. The bed was too soft. Far too soft for someone whose body had gotten used to the hard floor all her life.

The elite dorm was built for comfort, and no one ever becomes a great warrior when all they do is sleep in a soft and warm bed without cold or discomfort.

I looked at the soft, plushy slippers on the floor and angrily kicked them to the side, then slid down from the bed and stepped my barefoot on the floor, feeling a wave of relief as the coldness of the tiles hit me.

I wobbled to the sink and ran the cold water on my face which was the only thing that felt good since the bed. I was about to grab a towel to clean my face when the door opened.

"Breakfast, Miss," a voice chirped.

I whipped around with my towel in hand, ready to fight. It turned out to be a maid, and she looked terrified.

"I didn't order anything," I snapped, my heart hammering against my chest.

"The brothers insisted," she squeaked, then dropped the tray and bolted off before I could protest.

I stared at the tray which contained fresh fruit, steaming tea, and a note sitting right on top saying, “don't be late for class. You're going to need your strength.”

"They are literally stalking me," I muttered, pacing the room.

Ivy sat up, looking much better after the heavy meal from last night. "They literally gave you this room. But they seem nice, Zara. Why are you so against them? Being in the elite dorm is a blessing."

"It's a trap, Ivy. A golden cage," I corrected, grabbing my bag. "They want us where they can watch us but I’m not playing that game. I’ve made sure we never cross paths ever."

"How?" she asked.

"I’ve spent the last three days memorizing the class lists. I’ve picked the most boring, unpopular classes and specifically chose the lonely route to those classes. Places the elites would never be. It’s perfect."

I felt victorious because I had everything figured out. 

I helped Ivy get settled and stepped out into the hallway, determined to disappear into the masses. 

I walked fast and kept my head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Immediately I reached the lecture hall for Advanced Herbology, I pushed the door open.

To my greatest surprise, it was empty.

I frowned and checked my watch. It was five minutes before start time and usually, there would be at least a few stragglers.

I shrugged it off thinking they chose to leave only me in the classroom today. 

A student walked by and looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you doing here?” He asked like I was lost. 

I frowned. “Classes dumbass.”

He laughed at me for a long time. "Are you kidding? That class got moved to the lower campus last night. I guess you didn't know about the new schedule changes from the Administration office."

My stomach dropped. "What? That's impossible."

"Check your device, girl," he grunted and walked away.

I pulled out my student tablet with trembling fingers. My screen came up and I refreshed the page till the new schedule was finally downloaded.

My breath hitched.

Every single class I had painstakingly chosen was gone. In their place was a rigid, high-intensity curriculum that involved combat theory, tactical magic, leadership dynamics. The kind of classes that Cassian and Dante Nightshade would definitely attend.”

I groaned in frustration. 

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," I hissed. 

I know this was done on purpose. I was very sure about that. 

They weren't just watching me, they were orchestrating my entire existence.

I stormed toward the Advanced Combat Theory hall, my boots thundering against the polished stone floor. I wanted to scream, I wanted to find them and throw that schedule right in their arrogant faces or meet one of those dumbass administrators but I knew they would just repeat what was in the mail. A necessary upgrade. 

I pushed the heavy double doors open, and the noise died instantly.

The room was packed and the twins were sitting in front of the class like they owned it.

Cassian didn't even look up as I entered; he just kept his eyes forward and his posture remained rigid and cold. 

Dante, however, turned his head slowly, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across his lips when he saw my furious expression.

He waved an arm over. “Here.” He said loud enough for the whole class to catch. “I saved you a seat.”

I tried to turn and his voice stopped me. “Don't even bother searching. There's literally no seat anywhere else.”

I sighed heavily and sat right next to them, ignoring a girl who looked at me with pure, unadulterated jealousy.

I threw my notebook onto the desk with a loud thwack, and stared straight ahead.

"Glad you could join us, Zara," Dante whispered, his voice dangerously close to my ear.

I didn't answer. I just gripped my pen until my knuckles turned white.

The professor walked in with a stern-face and demanded absolute silence. 

He began lecturing on tactical positioning in a multi-pack engagement, a topic most students struggled to grasp.

He stopped mid-sentence and looked around the room. "Can anyone explain why you would flank a pack that utilizes a subterranean defense strategy?"

The silence was deafening because most of these students were used to brute force, not strategy.

I didn't have that problem due to all my military training lessons so my hand went up before I could think about it.

"The strategy is flawed," I said, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

The professor blinked, startled. "Go on."

"If you attack from the surface, you’re walking into a kill zone," I said, standing up. "You don't flank. You use concentrated earth magic to collapse the tunnels at the perimeter points. It forces them up to the surface where their numbers don't matter, and their defense is neutralized."

The room was deathly quiet, even the professor stared at me with his mouth slightly agape.

I sat back down, realizing I had just shown my cards. Worse, I could feel two pairs of eyes burning into the side of my face.

Cassian leaned over with his gaze still fixed on the chalkboard, and picked up my notebook. 

With fluid, elegant handwriting, he wrote two words in the corner, “Who are you?” and slid it back to me.

My heart was racing, but I refused to let it show. I took my pen, crossed out his words with a dark, aggressive mark, and wrote underneath, “Someone you can't figure out.”

I slid it back without looking at him and the rest of the class passed in a blur of tension. 

I didn't speak again, and neither did they but the air around us was thick, electric, and suffocating.

As the bell rang, I grabbed my things and practically ran out of the room, desperate to have somewhere just to myself.

I reached my door, ready to collapse and plan my next move, when I stopped dead in my tracks.

All of my old belongings which included the worn, threadbare clothes and the meager possessions from the servant quarters were sitting in a pile right outside my new door and resting on top of the pile was a single, dead rose.

I picked it up with my hands trembling slightly. 

There was a small, handwritten note tucked into the petals with a Jagged, sharp handwriting on it. 

“Get out while you still can.”

I stared at Isabelle's note until the word blurred.