LOGINCaden's POVThe summons dropped on my phone as I headed away from the courtyard following Lord Veron's announcement.~Come to the palace right away.I read it twice and pocketed the phone. My mind went to my previous conversation with Father. He warned me about ignoring his summons. I couldn't avoid going.I knew what this was about before I even got in the car. Word travelled fast in a place like this. Someone knew I broke curfew for Serena and reported it to my father.A sigh rolled off my lips. Father wouldn't be happy. I turned around, abandoning my walk toward the male hostel and headed to the front gate where one of the royal drivers was waiting.I got in the car and he drove me to the palace.A guard told me Father was in a meeting with some dignitaries when I arrived. I went to my room in the palace and waited.I opened my phone and scrolled through Mira's pictures. My lips stretched with a smile as I looked at her pictures. Nothing would take me away from her."Lord Crest is
Mira's POVSerena was on her bed, swiping through her phone. I watched her from my bed silently. Her thumb kept moving on the screen. I realised she was looking at pictures. Her brows pulled together every few seconds, in deep thoughts.~She doesn't remember them.~I got off my bed and sat down next to her. The mattress dipped under my weight. She looked at me and then continued swiping through the gallery."What was going on here?" she said finally, holding the phone toward me. A photo of the three of us. Me, her, and Josh. We were standing outside the dining hall, and Serena had her tongue out and her arm slung around my neck."That was after the second round at Ironridge," I said. "You'd just beaten a girl from Duskwall and you wouldn't stop talking about it for days.""What's Ironridge?""It's a school. We had a competition there before we came here."She shook her head. "I don't remember beating anyone.""Well, you won. It was a good fight."She scrolled to the next one. Slower t
Vessa's POVThe luxury shop was small and warm. It smelled of expensive fragrance and sat on the main street in the nearest small town to the campus. It had everything in stock. From jewelry to training accessories to overpriced skincare.I moved along the display shelves slowly, picking things up and setting them down. My eyes caught a gold bracelet. I picked it up.Kayla closed the distance between us. Her eyes moved over everything with excitement . "I'm impressed. This place has all the designers."I gestured to the items on the shelves. "Pick whatever you want."I returned my gaze to the bracelet I was examining. She picked up a designer bag."Vessa, I can't just..." She pointed to the prize tag. "It's too expensive.""I said pick whatever you want." I set the bracelet down and moved to the next shelf. "You did well. You earned it."Kayla was quiet for a moment, then I heard her drop the bag in the trolley.She earned it. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to make all the mov
Veron's POVAs soon as the call with Lord Crest ended, I set the phone down on my desk.I sat silently for a moment, staring straight ahead of me.~The Sentinels Accord induction needs to happen sooner than scheduled.He wanted the competition accelerated. He wanted the top candidates identified and pushed harder than the current format allowed.~Why the urgency? What does he know that he's not telling me?~There was only one answer that made sense. Lord Crest knew the Dracthari were close. He'd always had his own sources, his own seers and informants running parallel to mine. He'd spent years preparing for exactly this. The Sentinel Accord wasn't a ceremonial thing to him.I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. Lord Crest accelerating the competition meant more scrutiny on the campus, more eyes on everything happening within these walls. That made my arrangement with the Dracthari harder to maintain without exposure.I thought for a moment about my arrangement with Lord
Aldric's POVA knock sounded on my door and a familiar voice asked. "Orven, the seer, is here, My Lord?"Orven. I'd been waiting to see him for weeks. We agreed he would hasten up with his work because no one could predict when the Dractharis would be back, but I didn't hear from him until now. "Let him in."I pushed the bowl of grapes on my table away and waited for him to step in. Orven entered in his flowing white robe. He bowed his head right away. "My Lord.""Orven," I said. "Sit down. Why did you take so long?""Remember I told you it would take some time to find all the spiritual ingredients needed to make the potions.""Yes. Did you find them?""Yes, My Lord."He eased into a seat opposite mine. Right away, he pulled out a small leather case from under his robe and set it on the edge of my table. It was old. The leather was cracked with age. He unclipped the fastening and opened it.Inside were seven vials. Each one no wider than two fingers. The liquid inside was deep amber
Tyrell's POVI sat at the desk in my office, holding a pen in my hand. There were lots of prescriptions to write, lots of patient's files to go through. I had left my work behind to help Mira look for her friend. Too bad we ended up getting treated like criminals by the guards.I leaned forward and opened one of the files. Just then the clinic door opened. I looked up. Mira came through first, and then Serena stepped in, with Josh beside her.My eyes widened. That's the girl we were looking for!I'd heard noise from somewhere on the campus minutes earlier, but I didn't bother about it. I had too much work on my hands to worry about anything else.I looked at Serena now and understood immediately that she wasn't okay.She was upright, was breathing and her eyes were open. But something was off in the way she carried herself. Too stiff. There was also this confused look on her face. It looked like she had never been anywhere on this campus before."Where did you find her?" I asked Mira.
Chapter SixMira's POVThe medic pressed two fingers against my ribs. I winced."Breath out," she said. "Slowly."I exhaled. Pain gripped my side like an electric shock.She nodded. "Not broken. But close."Thank Goodness.She moved to my shoulder next. She rotated it carefully and I bit my lip, tr
Mira's POV The crowd pulled back to give us space.I rolled my neck and flexed my wrists. My ankle was still throbbing from the leopard fight. My forearm had a long red scrape from where I had hit the ground. I did not look at either injury. Looking at things made them hurt more.Caden stood acros
Mira's POVJosh rushed over to me. He stepped between me and the Ironridge boy and put one hand on my shoulder. His grip was firm."What are you doing?""I'm trying to make him eat his words."An instructor cut through the crowd before Josh could say something. He was a thin man with permed hair an
Mira's POV We arrived at Ironridge Academy by bus the next day. Josh sat beside me and pointed out buildings to me. He had been here before. The students here were built differently. Not just physically, though that was part of it. It was the way they carried themselves. The confidence. The aura







