I woke slowly, painfully, as though my body no longer fully belonged to . Every limb felt weighted down with invisible chains, heavy and unresponsive.
Even the simple act of opening my eyes required deliberate effort. A dull, relentless throbbing pulsed behind my temples, while an uncomfortable burning sensation lingered around my throat, raw and tender. A soft but persistent ringing echoed in my ears, like an irritating whisper trapped deep inside my skull that refused to fade no matter how hard I tried to shake it away.
For several long, disoriented seconds, I simply lay there, blinking sluggishly up at the pale gray morning sky stretching endlessly above . Soft clouds drifted lazily overhead, tinged with the first faint hints of dawn.
Wait... sky?
Confusion sliced through the fog in my mind. Why was I staring at the sky?
A sharp, icy wind suddenly brushed across my exposed skin, cutting straight through the thin fabric of my robe and sending violent shivers racing down my spine. Realization slamd into with brutal force, making my stomach drop like a stone.
I wasn’t in my bed. I wasn’t even inside the dormitory.
I jerked upright far too quickly. The world spun violently around in dizzying waves, colors bleeding together as nausea surged up my throat. My vision blurred dangerously before I caught myself, palms pressing hard against the cold, unforgiving stone ground beneath .
Ground. I had literally been sleeping on the bare ground. Outside. Right in front of the Red Dorm building like so discarded stray.
"...What?" I croaked weakly. My voice erged as a broken rasp, my throat burning as though soone had wrapped it in flas and squeezed with rciless strength. The word scraped out painfully, leaving wincing.
Goosebumps erupted violently across my arms and legs as another freezing gust of wind swept through the academy grounds. The thin robe I wore offered almost no protection against the biting morning chill. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
And because the universe had clearly marked as its favorite target for public humiliation, several students were already awake and moving about nearby. Walking. Talking. Staring. Very obviously staring.
Whispers erupted almost imdiately the mont I sat up.
"Was she out here all night?"
"Why would anyone sleep outside like that?"
"Isn’t that Nyx Vaeloria?
"Oh Goddess... she looks terrible."
I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief mont, mortification burning hotter than the pain in my throat. At this rate, Altheris Academy might as well organize an official public humiliation ceremony dedicated entirely to and get it over with. Perhaps they could even sell tickets.
I groaned internally and attempted to push myself fully to my feet. My knees buckled almost instantly, legs trembling like newborn fawn. Before I could collapse face-first onto the stone path and add yet another layer to my growing legend of embarrassnt, the heavy wooden doors of the Red Dorm burst open with a loud bang.
"Nyx?!"
Lyra was the first to reach , her face flooding with imdiate panic as she skidded to a halt beside . Theo, Kaden, Elion, Thorne, hurried after her, their expressions shifting from confusion to concern in rapid succession. Even Liora ca rushing out from behind them, despite belonging to a different dorm entirely.
Right. She had ntioned last night that the Purgers were allowing cross-dorm sleeping arrangents to help everyone feel safer and more normal.
Normal. The word almost made laugh bitterly yesterday.
Nothing about this academy felt remotely normal. Especially not after waking up half-frozen on the ground with almost no mory of how I’d gotten here... and definitely not after the chaotic events of last night.
The dream.
The forest.
Irene.
The Sentinels.
Ashriel carrying like a sack of potatoes.
My stomach twisted painfully at the mories.
"Why are you sitting out here?" Lyra asked worriedly, imdiately dropping to her knees and brushing dirt, dead leaves, and small twigs from my sleeves with gentle, frantic hands.
"I wasn’t just sitting," I muttered tiredly, my voice still hoarse. "I think I actually slept out here."
Everyone stared at in stunned silence.
Kaden frowned deeply, his brows knitting together. "It wasn’t like there was alcohol hidden in yesterday’s food."
Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed at the attempt to lighten the mood. Today, I barely had the energy to remain upright.
Elion stepped closer, his usually playful sharp eyes narrowing with careful scrutiny as he studied my face, lingering especially on the tender bruises I could feel blooming around my throat.
"Where did you go last night?" he asked, his tone deceptively calm but laced with unmistakable suspicion.
My stomach clenched hard. The forest flashed through my mind in vivid, unwanted detail, Irene’s vice-like fingers crushing my windpipe, the Sentinels closing in like shadows, Ashriel’s effortless strength as he threw over his shoulder.
"I just went for a walk," I lied as smoothly as I could manage, though even I could hear how weak and unconvincing it sounded. "I was exhausted after everything and must have passed out out here afterward."
Technically, it wasn’t a complete lie. Just missing several very important, very life-threatening details.
Theo looked deeply unconvinced, arms crossed over his chest. "You don’t look okay. At all."
"I’m fine," I replied automatically, the words leaving my lips before I could think better of them.
The problem was... I wasn’t actually sure if that was true anymore.
Liora stepped closer, her expression softening with genuine concern. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly, searching my eyes.
I opened my mouth, ready to reassure them again.
"I’m okay," I repeated.
Even though deep down, I no longer trusted my own words. Because nothing about last night made any sense. Not the dream that had felt far too real. Not the forest encounter. Not Irene’s sudden violence. And definitely not the fact that Ashriel Tavien apparently considered dumping my unconscious body outside the dorm entrance an acceptable way of "helping" .
Honestly? Rude. Extrely rude. The least he could have done was drag inside before abandoning to freeze.
"I think everyone should get ready quickly," Liora said eventually, glancing toward the distant academy towers where faint activity was already stirring. "The Sentinels will probably escort us to the field soon for whatever they have planned today."
Everyone nodded wearily. One by one, they began filing back inside the Red Dorm building to wash up and prepare for yet another day in this cursed place.
Everyone except Thorne.
I noticed it imdiately, he hadn’t spoken a single word since stepping outside. He simply stood there, silent and imposing, watching with those dark, unreadable eyes fixed on my face with unsettling intensity. It wasn’t just concern. It felt like he knew sothing was deeply wrong. Not the full story, perhaps, but enough to sense I was hiding dangerous secrets.
And sohow... that made even more nervous.
---
A few hours later, after everyone had bathed, changed into fresh uniforms, and attempted to shake off the lingering exhaustion, we the Red Dorm students walked together toward the main academy field under the pale, watery morning sunlight. The air still carried a biting chill, and fatigue clung to all of us like a second skin after the recent horrors.
The field was already crowded when we arrived. Arbiters stood clustered near the center, speaking in low, serious voices among themselves, while Sentinels remained stationed around the periter like silent, armored shadows, ever watchful, ever nacing.
My eyes instinctively scanned the area.
Unfortunately, I spotted Irene almost imdiately.
The vampire stood near the other Arbiters, looking perfectly composed, elegant, and utterly untouchable. Her posture was flawless, her expression serene, as if she hadn’t tried to choke the life out of just hours earlier in the moonlit forest.
I quickly looked away, heart racing.
Big mistake.
The mories ca rushing back with vicious clarity: the moans echoing through the trees, the Sentinels surrounding her.
I swallowed hard, throat still burning.
My gaze drifted toward the line of Sentinels guarding the field. I lingered on them longer than I should have, trying to guess which four had been with Irene last night. But that was Impossible. They all wore identical dark armor and full-face masks, standing like identical statues of death under the morning light. Even without the masks, I doubted I would have recognized them.
That realization unsettled more than I cared to admit.
My thoughts inevitably circled back to Ashriel, and fresh irritation replaced the confusion. Where was he? I couldn’t spot him anywhere in the crowd. Maybe he wasn’t required to attend. Or maybe he was simply avoiding the chaos.
Either way, one bitter thought kept repeating in my head:
He seriously could’ve taken inside the dorm. Saving my life only to dump unconscious outside like forgotten baggage felt unnecessarily cruel.
"You all may head toward the dining halls for breakfast," Mr. Evander’s deep, resonant voice suddenly bood across the field, amplified by so unseen magic.
Visible relief washed over many students’ faces. Food sounded like salvation right now, warm, comforting, and desperately needed.
The crowd imdiately began turning toward the academy halls...
"Except the Red Dorm."
Mr. Asher’s cold, authoritative voice sliced through the air like a blade, stopping everyone in their tracks.
A heavy silence fell.
Slowly, we turned back around as one. Dread settled deep and heavy into the pit of my stomach, cold and twisting.
Oh, what in all the hells had we done this ti?
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