Chapter 51: Starlight Strikes Again

The leather ball bounced rhythmically against the polished wooden court, echoing through the empty gym as Nikolai executed a lightning-fast crossover, driving past Mikhail with an easy smirk. He lunged toward the basket, ready to score, but his brother snatched the ball out of the air before he could drive it home and immediately sprinted down the court in the opposite direction.

"Too slow," he called over his shoulder, grinning as he spun away from his brother’s attempt to steal the ball back. A second later, the ball left his hands in a smooth arc and dropped cleanly through the hoop. Swish. Mikhail threw both arms up in exaggerated celebration.

"That’s five in a row, little brother. At this point, I’m starting to think you’ve gone soft. You’re playing like you left your reflexes back in the dorm."

"Oh, shut up." Nikolai scooped the ball off the court and bounced it once. "Stop acting like you’re some kind of legendary athlete just because you’re beating your own twin."

He charged forward this time, forcing Mikhail backward. For a brief second, it looked like he might finally score, only for Mikhail to swipe the ball away at the last moment.

​Nikolai stopped dead and stared at him in disbelief. "Seriously, bro?"

Mikhail only laughed and took off running again.

A minute later, the ball sailed through the hoop for yet another point. "And that’s six in a row," he cheered triumphantly, spreading his arms. "Come on, you are making this way too easy."

Nikolai groaned.

"Do you want me to retrain you on how to play basketball? I don’t mind." Mikhail smirked. "You know I can literally do anything for my cute little brother," he cooed.

"Ew! Stop that," Nikolai complained, scrunching up his face in disgust.

Mikhail barked out a laugh.

"I think I need a break," Nikolai muttered, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead.

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. "Is that an excuse to escape the beating I’m giving you?" he asked smugly. "Are you finally admitting defeat?"

"Oh, just shut up already. You’re just getting lucky with those shots, and I’m not going to keep running around while you pretend you’re playing in some professional league," Nikolai shot back, rolling his eyes.

Mikhail bounced the ball once before catching it and spinning it effortlessly on the tip of his finger as he grinned.

"Lucky? Six times in a row? At some point, you have to stop calling it luck and start admitting that I’m completely outplaying you."

Nikolai responded by raising his middle finger without even looking back.

"Call it whatever you want. I’m getting water," he said, heading toward the bleachers where their gym bags and water bottles were resting.

Eden was sitting nearby on the bench, completely absorbed in his phone, his thumb flying across the screen. Nikolai reached into his bag, uncorked a bottle of cold water, and took a long, heavy gulp, closing his eyes as the cool liquid eased the dryness in his throat.

As the water went down, a sudden, quiet chuckle escaped Eden. Nikolai paused mid-swig, lowered the bottle, and narrowed his eyes at him.

He carefully screwed the cap back on.

"What is so funny?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "What could possibly have you laughing like that all by yourself?"

Eden looked up, still grinning. "Starlight Dawson and her friends are at it again."

That immediately caught Mikhail’s attention. He abruptly dropped the ball he had been twirling and jogged over. "Did I hear Starlight? As in our Starlight?" he asked, trying to catch a glimpse of what was on Eden’s phone. "What on earth has she done this time?"

"Calm down, man. Since when are you this invested in academy gossip?" Nikolai asked with a frown. "You’re acting like some gossip-obsessed fan."

Mikhail simply waved him off without even bothering to respond, his attention entirely fixed on Eden’s screen. Eden tilted the phone so Mikhail could clearly see the video playing.

"Isn’t that Sera from the Umbra Clan?" Mikhail asked in complete disbelief, his eyes widening slightly. "Why on earth is she bleeding?"

Eden nearly choked trying to suppress his laughter. "Apparently, Miss Dawson smashed a food tray directly into her face during breakfast," he said, shaking with barely contained amusement as he replayed the clip.

"She did what?" Nikolai asked, nearly dropping his water bottle as he hurried over and leaned in to look at the screen.

"Sera ended up challenging her to a ranking duel," Eden added, unable to stop yet another amused laugh from escaping.

Nikolai straightened up in annoyance. "Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with that girl?" He let out a sharp, incredulous breath. "At this rate, she’s going to make an enemy out of all the clans, and it won’t be funny anymore. She’s barely been at this academy for a week, and she’s already managed to draw blood from two different princesses from two major clans. What on earth does she think she’s doing?"

"She’s doing exactly what I would have done if someone grabbed me like that," Mikhail said, his grin growing wider with every passing second.

"I don’t understand why you’re enjoying this, Mikhail" Nikolai said, finding nothing amusing about the situation. "We need to call her to order, okay? She’s wreaking havoc all over the academy, and if we don’t do something about it soon, someone else will put her in her place, and it won’t end well for her."

"Are you actually worried about her right now?" Mikhail asked, a teasing smile on his face.

Nikolai immediately glared at him, his jaw tightening. "I’m being serious right now. We really need to call her to order. She’s getting way out of hand, and we can’t keep tolerating her and her mess. Let’s put her in line before this goes any further, because it seems like all the attention she’s getting is going straight to her head."

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. "You’re taking this way too seriously, Nikolai. I don’t know why you’re so worked up. She wants to fight, so let her fight. I mean, does she look like she needs any of our help? At least not yet. That girl doesn’t look like the type to back down easily, even if we intervene. If anything, she might even take us on too if we tried anything."

"Mikhail—"

"Just let her be," Mikhail cut him off. "Intervening now will only spoil our actual plan. Besides, she wouldn’t go around slapping someone and smashing a tray across another person’s face if she couldn’t handle herself. Miss Dawson is clearly more capable than you think, so calm down and worry less."

"I’m not fucking worried," Nikolai snapped.

"Yeah, potato, potahto, whatever you say. You’re not worried, fine." Mikhail waved him off. "Just let her be. She can scatter the whole campus for all I care. The more chaos she causes, the better for us. Now, can we go back to playing basketball?"

"Fuck off." Nikolai muttered, grabbing his bag before storming toward the locker room.

Eden looked up from his phone, watching Nikolai’s retreating back before glancing at Mikhail. "What’s his problem?"

Mikhail simply shrugged. "If you ask me, who will I ask~?" he sang in a deliberately off-key voice.