Chapter 101: _ Today is the Day!

"Gods above," I breathed, my hands flying up to clutch my hair as my lungs fought for air. "Oh, gods above... what if it’s true?"

"Elira, calm down, breathe..." Miriel started, scrambling across the floorboards to grab my hand.

"How am I supposed to breathe?!" I choked out while a breathless laugh bubbled out of my throat as panic completely took the wheel. "If I am fated to one prince, I’m a target for assassination! If I am fated to four of them... I am a walking, breathing declaration of war between the four realms! They will tear this academy apart fighting over me! They will tear me apart!"

The horror made me weak to the bones. High-born fated bonds weren’t sweet, fairytale courtships. If four royal heirs were tied to one markless girl, it meant my existence threatened the entire political balance of the sovereign world.

This had never happened before. First, I was markless; now I might carry the bonds of four Princes. What does that make me?

"If High Rector Maddox finds out..." I stammered, my eyes wide with terror as I looked at Bren. "If Headmistress Maisie finds out... They will lock me in an iron tower or dissect me to see what kind of monster I am!"

"Nobody is dissecting you, glitch. Look at me. Look at me, Elira!" Bren’s voice dropped into a protective growl that snapped me out of my spiral for a second.

I forced my tear-stained, panicked eyes up to meet hers.

"We don’t know anything for certain yet," Bren stated, her sharp jaw set in determination. "It is a theory. An insanely plausible theory, but still just a theory. We need you to interact with those princes more to be sure. But for now, let’s worry about stepping before the Realm Council to deal with Headmistress Maisie’s blackmail and Tobin’s murder. That is the battle right in front of us."

"And Ajax?" Miriel chimed in nervously, biting her lip. "What if Prince Ajax knows about this multi-fated bond too? What if that’s why he took her outside the gates?!"

I went completely still, the memory of sitting on the sun-lit cliff beside Ajax flashing through my mind.

"I couldn’t help the obsession, Elira. It caught me completely off guard.""I see a girl who refused to bow..."

He had been so persuasive. So impossibly charming. He had explained away the princes’ actions as mere "infatuation," offered to fix my grades with Master Eldritch, promised to protect my mother, and pledged to stand with me against the headmistress.

Was Ajax truly offering me a genuine alliance... or was he simply the smartest predator in the forest, building a gold-plated cage around me before the other four wolves realized what I was?

"I don’t know who to trust. I don’t know what’s real anymore."

Bren let go of my shoulders, reaching over to pull my woolen blanket up around my lap. "You trust us. You trust Miriel and me. We are first years and are not powerful yet, Elira. We don’t have sovereign crowns, or high-born magic, but we survive. Come what may, we walk into that Council chamber together."

Miriel squeezed my hand tight, offering a brave smile despite her trembling shoulders. "Together. Even if we have to duck under five different princes to do it."

Despite the terror clawing at my throat, a small smile broke through my panic. I leaned back against my pillow, pulling the blanket tight around my chest as the orange glow of the hearth flickered across our small room.

I lay awake long after Bren and Miriel’s breathing evened out into deep sleep.

I stared up at the wooden beams of the ceiling while my left wrist throbbed with a rhythmic heat beneath my sleeve.

I wondered if High Rector Maddox had managed to bail Raice out of that dismal solitary cell, or if Warden Clement still had him detained. If he was still down there, it had to be a living hell.

Raice was a royal prince accustomed to high-born luxury, not cold iron bars and the stench of wet flagstones. My heart cries for him.

Then my thoughts drifted to Remus. What was the Dragon Prince currently thinking of me? After everything that had happened, after all the rumors spreading through the Great Hall... would he actually make good on his wild promise and marry me? Or was it just a silly and fleeting childish recklessness? Do I want him to?

And Ivar... would the Wolf Prince ever tell me why he had stalked me, kissed my forehead, and called me a petal? What did that word even mean to a wolf shifter?

And Zev... would he ever drop his charismatic act and tell me his real intentions toward me? Was everything just a joke to him, or was there something far more dangerous hidden behind that playful smile?

Surrounded by a storm of unanswered questions and the dull, throbbing heat on my wrist, exhaustion finally dragged me under.

When the harsh, grey light of dawn broke through our window, the cozy warmth of Room 3B dissolved into chaotic morning rustle.

"Elira, wake up!" Miriel urged, yanking her boots on with frantic tugs. "We have twenty minutes before breakfast, and if we are late, who knows what Warden Silas would do to us?!"

I groaned, dragging myself out of bed and rubbing my bleary eyes. I walked over to my small wooden chest, flipped open the iron latch, and stared down into the empty bottom.

My heart sank.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," I muttered, digging my hands through the bottom of the trunk.

"What’s wrong, glitch?" Bren asked, adjusting her dagger belt over her waist.

"I have no clothes left," I complained, throwing my hands up in sheer frustration. "The three basic tunics I brought from Stonewick are all filthy!"

Miriel paused, her hands freezing mid-braid as she looked over at my empty trunk. "Oh, Elira... that’s terrible! Here, take one of my spare blue tunics! It’ll be a little big on you, but it’s clean. You can drop your dirty ones off at the laundry chutes near the lower courtyard after morning assembly."

"Miriel, you’re a lifesaver," I sighed, taking the folded fabric from her hands.

Before I could slip the blue tunic over my head, an announcement came.

"ATTENTION ALL INITIATES. ALL REGULAR ACADEMIC CLASSES ARE CANCELED FOR TODAY."

The three of us froze, exchanging a series of bewildered glances.

"FIRST-YEAR INITIATES ARE TO ASSEMBLE AT THE ARENA IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING BREAKFAST. SENIOR INITIATES WILL CONDUCT MANDATORY COMBAT DRILLS, FOLLOWED BY THE ANNUAL INTER-ACADEMY EXHIBITION SPORTS. FACULTY MEMBERS AND HIGH ADMINISTRATION WILL BE OCCUPIED WITH OFFICIAL REALM AFFAIRS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THAT IS ALL."

The speaker clicked off, leaving our room in deafening silence.

"Classes... canceled?" Miriel whispered, her eyes widening in shock. "Inter-academy sports?! And we will be trained by seniors today?"

Bren stood motionless by the window, her jaw locked tight as she looked out toward the administrative wing. "It’s a distraction. They’re herding all the initiates into the arena to keep the courtyards clear."

An ice-cold knot tightened in my stomach. The blue tunic felt heavy in my hands as the reality of the announcement settled over me.

"The faculty is occupied. High Rector Maddox is here. The Council is convening."

"Today is the day. The Realm Council hearing is happening today. And it means sooner or later... they’re coming to summon us." Bren confirmed.