Chapter 104: Drowned In Crimson

The ride down in the elevator was suffocating and tense, the silence in the enclosed space stretched tight, thick with unspoken hostility.

Starlight stood near the back corner, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring fixedly at the rigid back of Nikolai’s head. Her mind was racing, feverishly drafting every brutal method she could think of to make him pay for every insult and abuse he had thrown at her. She envisioned knocking him off his feet, bringing him down to the dirt, but that didn’t feel satisfying enough. She even pictured spilling something on him, anything just to make him taste the exact same humiliation he dealt out so casually.

But every scenario felt inadequate. Wrecking his face or knocking his pride down a notch did not seem strong enough for the sheer, soul-crushing condescension he radiated. She needed something absolutely devastating. Something that would dismantle his arrogant composure completely. She was so consumed by her plans for his eventual downfall that she completely missed which button he had pressed on the control panel. The Eclipse House elevator had dozens of floors, but Starlight had only ever memorized the button that led to her dorm floor and the one that brought her down to the main ground-floor foyer. So, when the doors slid open with a soft chime and revealed an unfamiliar, deserted hallway, Starlight paused. Her brows drew together in confusion as she looked around.

There wasn’t a single student in sight, which was strange considering it was the time when everyone should have been rushing to class. The academy corridors were usually crowded during this period, filled with students hurrying toward lecture halls, but here, there wasn’t a single soul.

A sharp spike of unease prickled at her chest.

Where the hell is he taking me?

She considered demanding an answer, but one look at Nikolai’s tense shoulders and locked jaw killed the thought instantly. The last thing she needed right now was another explosive altercation with his unpredictable temper. So, she clamped her mouth shut, buried her irritation, and silently kept pace behind his long strides, her eyes constantly moving over their surroundings.

Nikolai led her through a heavy set of double doors at the end of the corridor, bringing them down a steep flight of stairs that opened directly into a vast, subterranean parking garage. Starlight blinked at the sprawling rows of high-end sports cars and sleek, dark-windowed vehicles. She had never stepped foot in the underground garage since she didn’t own a car, nor had she ever needed one within the academy grounds. She didn’t even know the school had one. Nikolai pulled a sleek key fob from his pocket and pressed it without looking back.

A nearby matte-black luxury car chirped twice, its headlights flashing in the dim, concrete space. He opened the driver’s door and slid smoothly into the leather interior. Starlight lingered near the passenger side, staring at the closed door in hesitation. ’Was she supposed to just get in?’ Before she could process the situation, the passenger window rolled down with a quiet hum.

Nikolai turned his head toward her, his expression already carrying that familiar look of irritation. "Do you need a written invitation or something? Get in and stop wasting my precious time," he barked impatiently.

Starlight’s jaw tightened.

’Seriously? Did this arrogant bastard not know how to be nice or what?’ She rolled her eyes as she yanked the door open and climbed inside, making sure to slam the door shut harder than necessary before fastening her seat belt.

She barely had time to fasten it properly when Nikolai slammed his foot onto the accelerator. The engine roared, and the car shot forward out of the bay, sending her back against her seat with the sudden acceleration. Starlight glared at him, clicking her tongue in sheer annoyance, but kept her thoughts to herself as he navigated the dark subterranean ramps. The drive lasted barely five seconds before they were already driving into another underground garage. Nikolai put the car in park and cut the engine. Starlight stared out the window at the new garage in complete disbelief. ’We literally just drove through an underground tunnel to another wing. Are you kidding me right now? We could have walked this distance. Talk about being spoiled and lazy.’

Nikolai opened his door and stepped out without a word. Starlight let out a silent, exasperated sigh, unbuckled her seat belt, and found herself trailing after him again. They entered yet another elevator, and Starlight stared at the unfamiliar panel with no buttons, wondering how it even worked. Nikolai simply pulled out a card and tapped it against an encrypted sensor. The doors glided shut, and the elevator surged upward, leaving Starlight staring at him in confusion.

She tracked the floor indicators as they lit up, her mind churning with questions. She had never seen this wing of the academy. It was completely disconnected from the other buildings, almost as though it existed in a world of its own.

When the elevator finally slowed to a smooth stop, the doors parted to reveal a massive, heavily styled foyer. Starlight’s eyes widened slightly at the sheer elegance of the corridor.

The walls were finished in polished marble, their smooth surfaces reflecting the warm recessed lighting overhead, while intricate gold detailing traced the edges of the walls and ceiling. Ornate wall panels and tasteful decorative pieces lined the passage, giving the entire hallway an expensive, almost regal appearance. Even the polished floor gleamed beneath their feet, making the unfamiliar wing feel distinctly different from the rest of the academy. She followed Nikolai through the quiet hallway, her curiosity growing with every step, until he stopped before a large door and opened it.

Starlight stepped inside and froze.

The entire space was drowned in crimson. From the furniture to the walls, the curtains, and even the decorative accents, almost everything was some shade of rich blood-red, while ambient crimson lighting glowed softly from hidden recessed fixtures around the ceiling.

’The Red Lounge? Could they be any more obvious?’ Elle had told her about this place before, describing it as one of the places where the academy’s royals and most influential students spent their free time, painting it as some mythical, exclusive haven where the academy’s true ruling class gathered away from the prying eyes of common students. Starlight looked around at the overwhelming crimson aesthetic, a faint, cynical smirk tugging at the corner of her lip.

Could they be any more literal with the name.

Everything in here is practically screaming red. She wondered where the inspiration for the name had come from, though judging by the room, she already had a pretty good idea. As they rounded a low dividing wall, the space opened up into a sprawling VIP media room. Positioned at the center of the room, relaxing on a massive, curved leather sofa, was Prince Mikhail. He sat with one leg casually crossed over the other, his attention fixed on whatever was playing on the screen.

The moment he noticed them, Mikhail slowly turned his head, those dangerous, silver-gray eyes sweeping over Nikolai’s tense frame before settling softly on Starlight, a slow, knowing smile gracing his lips. "Ah," he said softly, uncrossing his legs. "You two are finally here."