Chapter 36: _ The Initiation Begins

Before I could process the beauty of the heights our dear dragonless Elira could help us achieve, Raice Ignis-Dominus stepped into the hall.

As usual, he looked disoriented—typical of a lunatic.

However, his presence unraveled me, even more than the very first time my eyes collided with the dragonless weapon.

He’s never attended the Initiation Gala in his life, I thought, my eyes narrowing as I watched him step onto the carpet.

Raice didn’t glance at the thrones. He didn’t look at Ajax, or me, or Remus.

His burning violet eyes fixed on the markless girl standing alone in the center aisle, and he marched straight toward her. He closed the distance like a storm, stopping mere millimeters from her face—so close their noses almost touched.

For some reason, watching that made my teeth clench. What in the world was this reaction? I wondered.

It couldn’t be the close proximity between them... hell no. It must be something else. Something I was missing.

I hated missing ANYTHING.

I leaned forward on my throne, reminding myself that this was exactly what I... we wanted. Hence, a smile curved my lips as I watched the crazy Fae lean down toward her.

The game hadn’t just changed. It had just exploded.

Hundreds of voices filled the hall, yet his whisper reached me as clearly as if he had spoken beside my throne.

"Found you."

And from my seat on the high dais, I realized my job for the night had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

High Rector Maddox’s arrival ruined the best moment of the night.

Just as Raice stood inches from the markless girl, the doors burst open again. A solemn procession swept into the hall. At the front was Raice’s annoying mother herself, flanked by the headmasters and headmistresses of the five factions, senior professors, disciplinarians, and the higher faculty staff.

The sudden intrusion broke the spell over the crowd, cutting Raice off mid-breath.

Raice leaned in slightly closer to the markless girl and whispered words I didn’t miss a single beat.

"Well, I guess we’ll finish this later. Wait for me for I’ll find you."

Without waiting for her response—or acknowledging the hundreds of high-borns staring at him in sheer disbelief—he walked to the thrones.

He didn’t spare a glance toward me, nor did he acknowledge Ajax, who was already flashing his signature, sickeningly sweet welcoming smile. Raice completely ignored him, stepping past the Lion throne as if Ajax were nothing more than a piece of decorative furniture.

I almost respected Raice for it. Unlike me, who maintained the exhausting performance of royal decorum when necessary, Raice didn’t give a damn about appearances. He spoke to no one. He tolerated no one.

Which made the fact that he had just spoken two full sentences to a markless commoner the ultimate proof I needed. My plan was fated to work rather magnificently.

As Maddox and her battalion of academic elite settled into the elevated gallery behind the royal thrones, the official ceremonies commenced.

Headmaster Valerius of the Lion Academy stepped forward to deliver the opening address. As expected of a Lion, he was draped in gold-embroidered velvet.

I’d always hated listening to the man, so much that I groaned and shook my head when he gestured grandly to the crown, speaking in his high-pitched, enthusiastic voice.

"Welcome, bright initiates of the new dawn!" Valerius practically sang, his jeweled rings catching the light of the chandeliers. "Tonight, we welcome you into the brotherhood of the Five Academies! We wish you boundless success as you climb the heights of glory, forging yourselves into the ultimate shield that will protect our realms from the dark clutches of the Hell Lord when the prophesied time comes!"

A loud burst of wild cheering and WHOOPS erupted from the front rows, led by the first-year Lion initiates who were already drunk on vanity and free wine. Valerius beamed, soaking in the applause like a flower drinking up sunlight.

"Tonight is a night of joyful integration!" he continued, clasping his hands together extravagantly. "It is a night to celebrate your arrival, but more importantly, to discover the extraordinary, dormant talents hidden among you! The Lion Academy is deeply honored to host this year’s Initiation Gala, and I truly hope our legendary hospitality has impressed you all!"

More screams and applause echoed from the Lion table. I rolled my eyes internally, resting my chin against my palm.

Where the hell was Ivar?

The absurdity of his absence hit me anew. Even Raice—a literal social recluse who looked like he’d crawled out of a mass grave ten minutes ago, had shown up to this disaster.

Yet the Wolf Prince, who lived for public adulation, was still missing in action. Whatever had happened between him, Remus, and the girl at the Sunken Arch had completely broken his nerve.

Pathetic, I thought. I’ll deal with his incompetence later.

High Rector Maddox raised one thin hand, and the ballroom instantly fell dead silent. The woman possessed an aura that could freeze a volcano.

"Let the Awakening begin," Maddox commanded.

She pointed her slender finger toward the open floor behind the main aisle. On cue, the marble tiles groaned and parted, and a large stage rose from beneath the ground. At its center sat a pulsing crystal called the Heartstone.

"Each initiate will step forward. Your blood will touch the Heartstone. For those whose beast has not yet awakened, the stone will unlock the spirit within. The radiance and color of the light will reveal the true magnitude of your power." Maddox announced.

I’ve watched this barbaric ritual every single year. The academy masked it as a grand tradition, but stripped down to its bones, it was simply the institution’s way of enforcing the caste system.

It publicly crowned the powerful so they stayed dominant, while crushing the weak before they even set foot in a classroom. In a world preparing for an apocalypse, the weak were useless. The stone simply made sure everyone knew their place in the food chain right from day one.

Five faction instructors stepped up to the perimeter of the stage, their arms crossed as they turned to face the crowd of initiates.

"Who among you is brave enough to set the pace?" the Lion instructor called out. "Step forward and claim your fate!"

As always, a hesitant silence settled over the first-years. No one wanted to go first. Going first meant risking public embarrassment if your beast turned out to be a pathetic house cat or a field mouse. The noble children glanced at each other, waiting for someone else to take the hit.

I leaned back, preparing for the usual ten minutes of awkward lingering.

Then, a figure moved.

To my genuine surprise, it wasn’t a proud son of a High Duke or a pompous Lion initiate who stepped out of the crowd.

It was one of the girls who had walked in alongside the markless rat—the quiet, sharp-eyed girl with the rigid stance.

She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t look at the royal thrones, nor did she flinch under the gazes of two hundred mocking nobles. She walked up the stone steps, her eyes fixed on the pulsing stone.

"I’ll go first."

I watched the girl climb the stage. Not because I cared about her awakening. She was nothing to me... just like Elira.

I wanted to know what kind of people surrounded the one person who had managed to disrupt three princes in a single night. The one person who was going to be the weapon to catapult me right to the top of the Academy’s food chain.