Chapter 74: The Flayed Tournament

Aina

The Flayed Tournament. Just the name alone was enough to send a cold, violent shiver straight down Aina’s spine.

It was an ancient, brutal tradition that had been established the very same year Moonside Academy built its stone foundations. For centuries, it served as the ultimate proving ground—a ruthless, high-stakes battleground where students from lower-ranking academies across the territories were tossed into the arena for a rare, golden chance at earning a transfer into Moonside.

But more than just a school transfer, the Flayed Tournament was where legends were forged and fame was bought in blood. It was the ultimate debutante ball for ruthless young fighters, ambitious nobles, and aspiring prodigies alike to make an undeniable mark on the world. If you managed to claw your way into the Top 10, your future was instantly sealed. You were guaranteed power, a place in prestigious packs and an absolute golden path for the rest of your life.

And now, Aina was being dragged straight into the heart of it.

After hours of a suffocating, silent bus ride, the heavy tires finally crunched to a stop on a gravel parking lot deep, deep within the jagged, fog-draped mountains of the capital.

Aina shuffled off the bus steps, pulling a deep breath of sharp, icy mountain air into her lungs. Surrounding the entire valley was a dense, endless ocean of towering trees, and nestled right at the center of the dark forest was Lake Tosh, a massive, glassy body of black water that reflected the overcast gray sky. Spread out along the lakeshore was the tournament campsite, dotted with dozens of canvas tents and small, rustic wooden lodges.

The parking lot was pure, organized chaos. Dozens of buses from rival academies were offloading hundreds of students, all wearing different colored uniforms. Aina watched them from beneath her lashes, her skin crawling at the sheer intensity radiating off the crowd.

These weren’t just students, they were predators. They had a desperate, ravenous hunger in their eyes, staring at the Moonside crest on Aina’s uniform with pure, unadulterated envy and hatred. Every single one of them wanted to tear a Moonside student down to take their spot.

"Oh wow..." Molly groaned loudly behind her, dropping a heavy leather suitcase onto the gravel with a pathetic thud. She was practically drowning in her own mountain of luggage, her face flushed red as she wiped her forehead. "Do we really have to carry our own bags? This is a lot!"

Beatrice rolled her eyes, hoisting her own modest duffel over her shoulder. "Molly, we told you that before we left."

"Yeah, literally three times," Delilah added, shaking her head as she picked up her bag.

Aina barely heard them. A thick, suffocating knot of pure terror was twisted tightly in her stomach, making it hard to even breathe. Her mind was racing, completely consumed by the threat Sophia had left her with. You will do something for me. The words kept echoing in her head like a death sentence. Frantic, Aina pulled her phone out of her apron pocket, her thumb tapping the screen over and over again to check her messages.

Nothing.

She opened her chat with Ally, her heart hammering against her ribs. There was no reply. Not a single word, no typing bubble, completely empty. Why wasn’t Ally responding? Did Sophia get to her? Was Ally in trouble too?

"Alright, gather around! Pay attention, Year Ones!"

Their homeroom professor stepped into the center of the gravel lot, clutching a thick stack of official tournament rosters. He cleared his throat loudly, calling out names over the roar of the crowd.

"Everyone is going to be divided into tournament teams!" the professor announced sharply. "Molly, you are placed with Delilah, you’re in Team Caki!"

Molly let out a tiny, dramatic gasp, clasping her hands together. The professor flipped the page, his eyes scanning down the list until he paused, frowning slightly at the paper before looking up into the crowd. "Travis Whitelock."

Aina stepped forward, her heart leaping into her throat. "Yes, Professor?"

"You are placed with the third years," he read off flatly. "Team Fang. Your teammates are Malric, Theo, Vance, and Keali."

A heavy, stunned silence instantly fell over the surrounding group. Everyone turned to stare at Aina in absolute, jaw-dropping shock.

Aina’s brain completely short-circuited. "What?!" she blurted out, her voice cracking as sheer panic surged through her veins. "How am I placed with the third years when I’m a first year?! That doesn’t make any sense!"

The professor just crumpled the corner of his paper, looking utterly unbothered and thoroughly annoyed by her outburst. "How am I supposed to know? It’s on the official board roster. Take it up with the tournament directors."

Aina squeezed her eyes shut, a bitter, furious grumble escaping her throat as she aggressively shoved her hands into her pockets. I can’t deal with this right now. I literally cannot deal with this. First Sophia, now being locked into a team with the very princes who wanted her head on a spike.

As the students began hauling their luggage toward the crowded campsite, Molly shuffled over to Aina, looking genuinely pitying as she pulled one of her rolling bags along.

"Oh, I’m so sorry for that," Molly murmured, biting her lip. "I blame myself. I’m pretty sure my brothers are going to do something to you, so sleep with one eye open."

Aina let out a hollow, dry laugh, her eyes completely lifeless as she stared ahead. "I always do."

Carrying her little assignment slip that read Team Fang in bold black ink, Aina trudged down the packed dirt path toward the registration huddle. The campsite was humming with noise, crowded with foreign academy students glaring at each other as they hunted for their assigned lodging.

Aina approached the little staff girl sitting behind a wooden check-in booth near the tree line. She held up her crumpled paper.

The staff girl glanced at the paper, then pointed a thin finger down a narrow, shadowy trail that veered off into the dense woods. "Oh, so you’re in Team Fang," she said calmly. "Team Fang’s cabin is near the lake. The one nearest to the lake."

Aina stared down the dark trail, her chest tightening with grim humor. "Great, thank you," she muttered.

They can throw me in the lake and choke me when they want to, she added bitterly in her head, dragging her feet down the dirt path.

She walked and walked, the loud noise of the main camp fading into the background until she finally stumbled upon the little wooden cabin sitting right at the edge of the dark, foggy water. It was nothing as grand as the luxurious mountain lodge where the princes had held their insane party weeks ago, but it was sturdy enough—dark timber, a sloping roof, and a small porch.

Aina crept up the wooden steps, holding her breath. She reached out with a trembling hand, slowly opening the door and peeking her messy head inside.

Silence. The cabin was completely empty. No Malric, no Theo, no Vance. Aina let out a massive, shuddering breath of relief. "Okay," she whispered to herself, her shoulders dropping. "I guess things are not bad."

Acting fast, she tossed her light canvas bag right near the front door, turned around, and quickly ran out of there as fast as her legs could carry her. There was no way she was staying in that enclosed space. She was already planning on just sleeping out in the forest under a tree, coming back to the cabin only to change into her uniform in the morning, and avoiding the princes completely for the rest of the week.

Leaving the lakeshore behind, Aina began pacing up and down the dusty forest trails, her mind a frantic, chaotic mess. She couldn’t calm down. She was pacing just for the sake of pacing, her mind spinning out of control over Sophia’s blackmail, her exposed identity, and why Ally hadn’t sent her a single text.

BZZZ—

Suddenly, a loud, crackling burst of static echoed through the trees as the camp’s overhead intercom system clicked on.

"Attention all students, attention all students," a mechanical voice droned through the speakers mounted on the wooden posts. "All students are asked to present themselves near the campfire immediately for opening announcements. There is no fire at the moment, but just come, you know... it’s at the center."

All around her, streams of students immediately turned and began walking in massive groups toward the central courtyard.

Aina stayed completely frozen on the edge of the path. She was way too stressed, way too panicked to be walking toward a crowded campfire to listen to some stupid speeches. She didn’t give a single damn what was going to be said at that campfire.

Desperate, she pulled her phone back out and tapped the screen. The top bar read: No Service. A small, breathless realization hit her. No service... maybe that’s the reason Ally hasn’t messaged me.

A tiny ray of hope flared in her chest. If Ally just had no signal, then maybe she wasn’t in danger. But Aina had zero chance of finding Ally in a massive crowd of hundreds of students without calling her.

Pointing her phone straight up into the air, Aina began walking along the high forest line, straining her eyes at the signal bars as she shoved her arm high into the cold sky, desperately trying to catch a single blip of connection.

A few passing students from rival academies gave her weird, mocking stares as she stumbled along the gravel, shoving her phone awkwardly into the air like a madwoman, but Aina didn’t care. She ignored them completely, her pulse racing faster and faster with every second that passed without a bar.

Please... just give me one bar. Just one—

Aina froze dead in her tracks.

The air around her suddenly changed. The crisp, pine-scented wind shifted, carrying a wildly distinct, heavy, powerful scent that cut straight through the cold atmosphere.

Her heart did a violent, explosive leap right against her ribs, beating so fast and hard it felt like it was going to burst through her skin. Aina slowly brought her arm down. Her fingers trembled so violently her phone almost slipped from her grip.

She turned her head slowly, her eyes wide, her mind whispering a single, breathless name before her brain could even process it:

Roiner.

There, on the other side of the dark tree line, emerging slowly from the shadowy depths of the thick forest like a fallen god, was Headmaster Roiner.

The low afternoon sunlight caught his sharp, breathtaking features, casting long shadows over his towering frame. He stepped out from beneath the canopy, his dark eyes sweeping across the terrain until they locked directly onto hers.

Aina’s breath hitched violently in her throat.

Time seemed to freeze entirely. The distant chatter of the students, the crackle of the intercoms, the rushing sound of the lake, everything faded into absolute, dead silence. They just stood there, separated by a few yards of dirt, staring intently into each other’s eyes.

A turbulent, wild whirlwind of emotions erupted in Aina’s chest all at once. The sheer, crushing weight of the entire terrorizing month, the beatings, the blackmail, the fear, the agonizing loneliness, suddenly felt as if it were being lifted right off her exhausted shoulders. Hot, stinging tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, threatening to spill over her cheeks as a choked sob caught in her throat.

She felt overwhelmed, terrified, relieved, and completely shattered all at the same time. And as she stood there under his unyielding, intense gaze at the edge of the woods, Aina felt like she was finally going to cry.