Chapter 10 The Poisoned Spark

The grand dining hall was completely full for breakfast. Hundreds of noble students sat together, their voices filling the large room with a loud hum.

Dax stood near the entrance, holding his old canvas bag tight against his side. He kept his right hand deep inside his jacket pocket. After his long night of cleaning the training lounges, his eyes felt heavy and his shoulders were sore. He looked around for a corner where he could eat a simple piece of bread alone.

"Dax! Over here!"

A clear voice carried over the noise. Dax looked up and saw Chloe sitting at one of the middle tables. She was waving her hand at him, a bright smile on her face. The students sitting near her were all wearing fine clothes with silver family badges, and they immediately stopped talking to look at who she was calling.

Dax hesitated. 

"Come sit down," Chloe called out again, her voice friendly and loud.

The students around the room began to turn their heads. The whispers started instantly, moving from table to table.

"Is that the zero-rank boy?" "Why is Lady Chloe calling him over?" "He looks like he belongs in the kitchen, not at the high tables."

Dax knew that if he ran away now, it would only make him look more suspicious. He swallowed the lump in his throat, kept his head low, and walked down the path between the tables. 

He reached the table and stood by the empty chair next to Chloe. "Hello, Chloe. I should probably sit in the back row. My uniform is dirty."

"Do not worry about that," Chloe said, pulling the chair out for him. "There are no assigned seats here. Sit down and eat with me. You look like you did not sleep at all."

Dax sat down slowly on the edge of the chair. A boy sitting across from him, who wore a heavy gold ring on his finger, set his fork down with a loud clatter. He looked at Dax’s muddy boots with deep disgust.

"Chloe," the boy with the ring said, his voice tense. "Are you serious right now? This is the elite sector table. We do not eat lunch with outer branch garbage who cannot even light a single spark of energy."

"He has a name, Gavin," Chloe said, her voice dropping its sweetness and becoming firm. "His name is Dax. And his family name is Silverton, which carries just as much history as yours."

"The Silverton name belongs to the main branch," a girl next to Gavin whispered, crossing her arms. "Not to a boy with clogged veins who has to clean the floors at night."

Dax did not say anything. He reached out with his left hand, picked up a plain roll from the basket, and began to chew it slowly. He forced his breathing to stay regular, drawing the air deep into his belly just like Kaelen had taught him. 

Suddenly, the large doors of the dining hall slammed open.

Asher Hayes walked into the room, surrounded by his usual group of followers. He was laughing at something his friend said, but he stopped completely when his eyes landed on the middle tables. His face went red, and his hands tightened into hard fists at his sides.

Asher walked straight over, his boots striking the floor hard. He stopped right behind Dax's chair, leaning down until his shadow covered Dax’s plate.

"Get up," Asher said, his voice shaking with anger.

Dax finished swallowing his bread and turned his head slightly. "I am eating breakfast."

"I said get up, slum rat," Asher shouted, his voice echoing across the entire dining hall. The room went completely silent. Every student stopped eating to watch. "You think because you took a few steps on the gravity track you can sit with the high heirs? You are a stain on this room."

Chloe stood up from her chair, her eyes bright with anger. "Asher, stop it. You do not own this hall, and you do not tell my guests where to sit. Leave him alone."

"I am not talking to you, Chloe," Asher said, keeping his eyes fixed on Dax. "This nobody does not understand the rules of the academy. He thinks he can hide behind your skirt and pretend he belongs here."

Asher stepped around the chair and slapped his hand down onto the table, making the cups rattle.

"Dax Silverton," Asher said loudly, so the entire room could hear every word. "I am calling for a Combat Adjustment match against you. Next week, in the main arena. No energy blocks, no safety shields. Just you and me in front of the elders."

A collective gasp went through the students. A Combat Adjustment was an official academy rule. It allowed a higher-ranked student to challenge a lower-ranked one to "correct their behavior" if they felt the lower student lacked proper respect. Because it was an official school challenge, it could not be refused without the student being expelled.

"He is going to kill him," a student whispered from the next table. "Asher is a rank-two fighter. The trash boy will be carried out in a box."

Dax looked up at Asher's angry face. He could feel the golden seal inside his pocket getting warmer, responding to the threat of a real fight. 

"The match is next week?" Dax asked, his voice completely level and calm.

"Yes," Asher said, a cruel smile returning to his face. "Seven days from now. Enjoy your food while you can still chew it, trash."

Asher turned around and walked away, his friends laughing loudly behind him as they moved toward the front of the hall. The other noble students went back to their food, but they kept looking over at Dax, shaking their heads as if he were already a dead man.

Chloe sat back down. Her face looked pale and worried. She reached across the table and placed her hand over Dax's left hand. Her fingers were small and soft, and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"Oh, Dax, I am so sorry," Chloe whispered, her dark eyes looking straight into his. "This is my fault. If I hadn't called you over, he wouldn't have done this."

Dax felt the soft pressure of her hand. 

"It is okay," Dax said softly. "He was going to find a reason to fight me anyway."

"Do not give up," Chloe said, squeezing his hand even harder. "I know you do not have an energy rank, but I saw your spirit on the track. You have something these nobles do not have. I will help you look through the library files this week. We will find a way for you to survive this match. I promise I will support you, Dax."

Dax looked down at their joined hands. The spark of hope that had died the night before inside the locker tried to flare up again in his chest. He wanted to trust her words so badly. He nodded slowly, pulling his hand back gently to finish his bread. "Thank you, Chloe. I will see you in class."