Chapter 42
Anastasia Lang's POV
Fire.
It was everywhere.
Consuming not only our enemies—
but us as well.
Smoke swallowed everything.
I couldn't see.
Still, my eyes searched desperately for Ria.
For the fiery gown that had unfolded at the worst possible moment.
"Ria!"
My voice tore through the smoke as it rushed into my lungs.
I collapsed onto the scorching ground, coughing violently.
A hand pressed gently over my nose.
Fresh air.
Just enough to breathe again.
My eyes drifted shut.
When they opened—
terror seized me.
Only a few yards away lay the enormous body of a monster.
Pinned beneath one of its massive claws was a splash of crimson.
Ria's dress.
I jerked upright.
My hand flew to my forehead.
Cold sweat.
The familiar outline of the room slowly came into focus.
Joelle's bed.
Our room.
My entire body was still trembling.
For several endless seconds, my mind refused to separate the vision from reality.
This...
This was how people like me went mad.
I drew in a slow breath.
Held it.
Released it.
Again.
And again.
Breathing had always grounded me.
It gave my mind something simple to hold onto until reality returned.
Throwing the green bathrobe over my shoulders, I slipped quietly into the hallway.
I barely noticed myself crossing the common room.
One moment I was standing by my door.
The next, my fingers were already wrapped around the cold handle of the next room.
Without hesitating, I hurried to Ria's bed.
Dropping into a crouch beside her, I gently shook her awake.
I wasn't thinking.
I was simply reacting.
I didn't care that she needed sleep.
I only needed to know she was alive.
"Ria, wake up," I whispered, once again wondering how someone could sleep so deeply.
I woke at the slightest sound.
"Stasia...?"
The sleepy mumble came from the next bed.
Instead of Ria, I'd managed to wake Gianna.
Damn.
"You're dreaming," I sang softly before turning back to Ria.
This time I gave up on being gentle and shook her arm much harder.
Frowning, she instinctively tried to brush my hand away.
Then, as if reality caught up with her, her eyes flew open.
Fear flashed across her face.
Heat instantly radiated from her skin, and I snatched my hand back.
"I'd rather not end up with burns," I muttered, frowning.
"Stasia?" Ria asked, her voice still thick with sleep. "What's going on?"
She didn't bother lowering her voice.
I immediately shushed her and nodded toward Gianna's bed.
"We need to talk."
"Get up."
Letting out a weary sigh, Ria pushed herself upright.
"And grab something warm."
Illariana Arden's POV
Following Stasia outside, I slowly began to wake up, pulling Airis's hoodie tighter around myself as the cold wind hit us the moment we stepped out of the dormitory.
What struck me as odd was that no one stopped us.
There was no strict dorm supervisor, no one questioning why two first-years were wandering outside in the middle of the night.
We simply walked out.
"Where are we going?" I asked, catching up beside her.
"To ruin your dress," Stasia replied matter-of-factly. "Or ask Madame Zhivorzhinette for a new one. Depends on whether she's asleep."
I frowned.
For a second, I wasn't entirely convinced I was actually awake.
"...What?"
"I had another vision." Her voice remained calm. "And I think if we remove one important detail, we might be able to change the outcome."
"And that detail is my dress?"
She nodded.
"All right." I rubbed my eyes. "What exactly happened?"
Silence.
"You are not asking me to break rules with you while refusing to tell me why."
"What rules?" she asked. "Curfew doesn't start until after the Selection."
"So we do have a curfew."
She nodded.
I immediately returned to my previous question.
"Nice try. What happened?"
"In my vision, your dress was trapped beneath the paw of some creature I'd never seen before."
My stomach tightened.
"So... you think I—"
"I don't know," she cut in before I could finish.
"I just want to get rid of the dress and hope it changes something."
She paused.
"Or at least helps."
I studied her profile.
"Are you absolutely sure it wasn't just a nightmare?"
Ahead of us, the academy building came into view.
Its main entrance.
Oddly enough, we'd never actually gone inside through those doors before.
"I'm sure," she answered quietly.
"But I'd be more than happy if it turned out to be nothing more than my imagination."
I fell silent.
Or at least I tried to think.
Sleep still clung stubbornly to my mind.
Getting rid of one of the vision's key details...
It wasn't exactly irrational.
"What else did you see?" I asked. "Maybe there's something else we can change."
"I wasn't paying attention to anything else."
She shrugged as she reached for the handle leading into Madame Zhivorzhinette's dressing atelier.
"Maybe we should just ask for a different dress," I suggested. "I doubt she'd appreciate us destroying the one she made."
"That depends," Stasia said, pulling the door open,
"on how willing she is to negotiate."
******
In the end, I wore the black dress.
Stasia had insisted on it.
Thankfully, we hadn't had to destroy my original gown.
Madame Zhivorzhinette—who had apparently spent the entire night preparing outfits for every student—had agreed to exchange it without much protest.
Now our small group made its way toward the Selection grounds behind Joelle.
Besides Stasia and me, there were Gianna, Seris, Kaeron, Loretta, Pria, Taylor, and, bringing up the rear, Azalia and Aaron.
The path itself felt like part of the ceremony.
We walked beneath archways completely woven from flowers.
Some blooms glowed softly.
Others released delicate melodies whenever the breeze stirred their petals.
The ones growing near the ground filled the air with sweet floral scents that clung to the fabric of our elaborate gowns.
My dress had a simple, deep-necked bodice, while the skirt flowed in layers of tulle shaped like tongues of flame.
The upper half of my wavy hair had been pinned back, leaving the rest to fall over my shoulders and down my back.
I had to admit...
This version felt far more like me.
"I still can't believe they made us wear..." I glanced down at my dress.
"...all this."
I looked over at Stasia.
"This is all for show, isn't it?"
She walked beside me in an emerald-green gown embroidered with gold thread.
Its off-the-shoulder neckline gave way to long, fitted sleeves, while the enormous skirt barely fit beneath the flower-covered arches.
I couldn't even imagine how heavy it was.
Yet she carried it as though she were wearing nothing at all.
"Not exactly," she said.
"These outfits are meant to honor two different worlds."
"The Sky Realm, under Libra..."
"...and the Fire Realm, under Leo."
"What do they have to do with dresses?" I asked.
"Libra values beauty."
"Leo values grandeur."
"So the Selection isn't just meant to showcase strength and magic."
"It's meant to be beautiful."
I nodded slowly.
I'd always liked looking nice.
I'd just spent most of my life trying not to stand out.
Even though, secretly...
part of me had always wanted to.
"And the opening dance," Gianna added from behind us, walking beside Seris, "along with the ball before the trials..."
"...that's a tribute to the Water Realm."
"Cancer."
"They adore romance."
"And symbolic gestures."
"So if someone suddenly decides to confess their feelings in front of everyone..."
Taylor's voice drifted from farther back.
"...the Water Realm would probably consider that excellent entertainment."
Stasia glanced over her shoulder.
"So..."
"Do you already have someone in mind?"
Taylor's lips curved into a lazy smile.
"I think 'victim' would be the more accurate word."
Pria rolled her eyes.
"As expected."
"Pull yourselves together."
Joelle's irritated voice cut through the conversation.
"When we step through those gates..."
"...every eye will be on you."
She wore a fitted burgundy gown threaded with black beads.
Even hers widened into a dramatic skirt near the hem, keeping the overall silhouette elegant rather than modern.
The farther we walked...
the brighter the light ahead became.
Music drifted toward us.
Soft.
Elegant.
Calming.
Yet somehow inspiring at the same time.
The moment we stepped into the light, the full grandeur of the Selection unfolded before us.
An enormous open plaza stretched across the academy grounds, adorned with flowers, shimmering gold and silver, and hundreds of guests dressed in breathtaking formal attire.
At its center stood a circular marble stage, suspended above the ground by an intricate lattice of silver and gold metalwork.
Beyond it lay a vast marble dance floor, still empty for now.
Around its edges, long banquet tables overflowed with food and crystal glasses filled with colorful drinks.
Behind the dance floor, wide marble steps rose toward an elevated terrace where the academy's most distinguished guests had already gathered.
My gaze immediately caught on two enormous creatures.
One was a harpy.
She towered nearly three times higher than an ordinary one, her feathers the color of a clear summer sky.
Tiny white sparks shimmered across her wings, while her bright golden eyes glowed with quiet intelligence.
Her beak twitched slightly...
as though she were speaking.
My eyes drifted farther—
and found him.
Airis.
He stood beside her, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit embroidered with silver patterns that caught the light with every movement.
His dark hair remained as untamed as ever.
Not even Madame Zhivorzhinette had managed to tame it.
He stared ahead without moving.
Even from this distance, I could feel the coldness radiating from him.
The quiet displeasure hidden behind his expression.
"That's Thari," Aars said suddenly.
I nearly jumped.
The spirits had returned.
Louis waved enthusiastically at me.
Mortz offered only a polite nod.
Aars didn't even bother looking my way.
"The harpy bonded to Airis."
My attention shifted farther along the platform.
"And beside Draksen..."
"...are Aeshm and Eshma."
I looked up at the second creature.
Two heads.
One body.
"They're two beings sharing a single spine," Aars explained.