Chapter Twenty-One #3
The thought sent warmth spiraling through her, followed immediately by cold dread. Julian’s words echoed in her mind. I know you’re hiding something. She quickly averted her gaze. She couldn’t afford to give either of them away, not with Julian so determined to discover her secret.
“So,” Julian called, as he sauntered over to her, “successful hunt?”
The question seemed casual on the surface, but there was something sharp beneath it.
Cassara’s hand drifted to the Aether Shard at her throat, feeling its subtle warmth against her skin.
Inside, she could sense the creature’s presence, like a distant hum she couldn’t quite tune out.
He had been mercifully quiet during the trek back, curled up in whatever space the shard provided, but she still felt…
wrong. Off-balance. Like wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit.
“Everything went exactly as planned,” she said, injecting just the right amount of smugness into her voice. “But you’ll have to wait for the gala like everyone else.”
The lie tasted bitter on her tongue, but she delivered it flawlessly. Years of court training, of smiling through galas while her father criticized every breath she took, had taught her how to perform confidence even when her world was crumbling.
Julian’s smile widened. “I’m sure it did. You always were good at getting exactly what you wanted.”
There it was again, that edge. That knowing tone that made her skin crawl.
“Usually,” she agreed, meeting his gaze steadily.
Auren cleared his throat, drawing their attention. “All right, everyone aboard. We’re heading back to Vallemont.”
As the students began filing up the ramp, Cassara hung back, pretending to adjust her pack straps.
In reality, she needed a moment to breathe.
To remind herself that she could do this.
She’d survived the Wildes. She’d bonded with…
something. She would get through the gala, figure out what came next, and—
“Cassara.”
Auren’s voice was quiet, meant only for her. She turned to find him approaching, his expression carefully neutral but his eyes intense.
"You're all right?" he asked, low enough that the others couldn't hear.
The question caught her by surprise. Well, not the question itself, but rather the tone.
Nothing about it felt perfunctory or like he was just checking a box.
He actually wanted to know. She couldn't remember the last time someone had asked after her wellbeing like that—like the answer actually mattered to them, not just what it meant for their plans or reputation.
For one dangerous moment, she wanted to tell him everything. About the creature she'd never wanted, Julian's threats, and how scared she was that everything was about to fall apart.
Instead, she pushed it down and smiled. "Never better."
He studied her face and she was afraid he could see through the lie, that he could read the tension in her shoulders, and the careful way she held herself. But he simply nodded.
"Good," he said quietly. "I'm glad you're safe."
The warmth in his voice nearly undid her. There was no judgment, no expectation, just genuine relief that she'd made it back. She started to step closer, drawn to that rare feeling of being seen as more than a name or a ranking or a problem to be managed.
But she caught herself. Julian was watching her from the deck above, and she couldn't risk it.
“See you at the gala, Instructor,” she said instead, injecting just the right amount of formal distance into her voice.
Uncertainty flickered in Auren’s eyes and he stepped aside to let her pass.
As Cassara climbed the ramp, she could feel the weight of multiple gazes on her back. Julian’s calculating stare. Gideon’s quiet assessment. Auren’s concerned attention.
She acknowledged none of them, but rather kept her shoulders squared and her smile in place.
The skiff crested the final ridge, Vallemont rising into view like a mirage of steel and stone. Banners fluttered from the observation decks. Students and faculty lined the platforms, anxiously awaiting the return of the first year cohort.
Cassara stood near the bow, chin high, hands folded loosely behind her back. Her body ached and her feet throbbed. Her beast, if you could even call it that, remained curled and silent within the shard at her neck.
She felt like a cracked mirror, but she kept smiling anyway.
Applause erupted as the skiff hissed and settled into place, ramps lowering with a practiced clatter allowing the students on board to disembark.
As they descended, the crowd parted. The headmistress stood at the base of the platform, flanked by the faculty.
“Welcome home, first-years,” Headmistress Kalisandra said, her voice carrying effortlessly through the courtyard. “You’ve crossed one of the most sacred thresholds in the taming arts and survived. For that alone, you’ve earned the respect of this academy and all those who came before you.”
Murmurs of pride rippled through the gathered students. Liri beamed beside Talia. Gideon, as ever, stood straight-backed and unreadable. Julian rested one hand lazily on his belt, gaze flicking sideways toward Cassara.
She did not meet it.
The Headmistress continued. “Though you have been victorious, remember this. You have returned with bonds still fresh and untested.”
The elation in the crowd dimmed.
“Over the next week, you must solidify the bond you have begun. You must learn to communicate with your beast, to understand its nature, to work as a unified pair. Those who cannot achieve this level of partnership will undergo a final assessment.”
The words hung heavy in the air. Everyone knew what that meant—potential dismissal. Being sent home in disgrace. For Cassara it meant a life shackled to Julian.
“I must impress upon you the gravity of this task,” Kalisandra continued. “It is exceedingly rare for a tamer to receive a second opportunity to bond with a beast. This is your moment. Do not waste it.”
Cassara’s smile never wavered, but inside, panic clawed at her chest. A week to bond with a creature she couldn’t even stand to acknowledge. A week to somehow make partnership work with something that felt more like a cosmic joke than a worthy companion.
She could do this. She had to.
A hush fell across the courtyard. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
“That being said, tonight I implore you to rest, savor this moment, celebrate this milestone. Tomorrow the real test begins.”
With that, the headmistress took her leave and the students began to disperse, some elated, most pale with renewed anxiety.
Cassara paid them no mind and kept walking, each step echoing with more dread than triumph. Her creature stirred faintly in the shard, a flicker of awareness she shoved back down like a secret too dangerous to voice.
As they entered the academy proper, the weight of the next week settled on Cassara’s shoulders. Seven days to forge a partnership she didn’t want with a creature she couldn’t respect.
Seven days to save her future.