Page 18

If Violet had thought Mary was a walking Encyclopedia, then Lila was the world wide web. She never stopped talking. And Violet made a secret note never to let her secret out to her because God knows who she might leak the information to.

Although Violet noticed that every word she let out was essential information required for her stay here and there was no backbiting — at least to someone that doesn’t deserve it. But even at that, Violet was keeping her secrets to herself.

Just like her, every student in the West house was heading to the dining hall. And it seemed old habits don’t die young because just like her first day at school, the student’s creepy stares followed her as usual making her skin prinkle with the awareness.

However, Violet was pretty much used to it and ignored them, listening avidly to the stories Lila had to offer, keeping the important ones and filtering out the rest.

"About Ivy...." Lila switched topics as they made it outside, now following the flock of students heading in the same direction. "Don’t hate her too much, she’s not like you think."

Violet frowned at her, "It’s the fact you think I’m stuck up on such frivolous things that annoy me. I didn’t come to this academy to -".

"Yeah yeah, blah blah, you don’t have a heart and literally don’t care about anybody, I understand." Lila cut her off before she could continue. It might have been a day but she already knew Violet’s personality.

"Deny it all she wants but the truth remains Ivy sees you as a threat and possibly jealous of you."

"Exactly, why?" Violet asked, her tone raising as the ire grew inside of her again upon remembering yesterday’s incident. "I already told her what to do if she’s that jealous."

"Calm down, Violet. Let me fill you in," Lila began. "If you haven’t noticed, Lunaris Academy only accepts the wealthy, the spectacular, and the privileged. The Sinclair family may be new money, but when Ivy first applied, she was rejected. Can you imagine the shame? Even as an elite, she didn’t make the cut. Now there are rumors that the Sinclairs paid their way into the scholarship, just to get Ivy here. And then here you come, on your first day, making it into the top twenty—a feat no one else has accomplished. A feat Ivy believes she would’ve achieved, and more, if only she’d had that one chance encounter with Griffin. "

"Wow, I knew she was into being smacked down by Griffin. Tell her she won’t miss the next opportunity if she sticks around me," Violet replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Though inwardly, Violet knew that with what she was still planning, being throttled by Griffin might end up the mildest punishment she’d face. Trouble had a way of finding her after all.

That is, if she stayed in this school. Violet planned to meet with Principal Jameson to have her scholarship revoked, if she could find a gap between her classes. The schedule here was relentless.

Lila sighed, realizing she wouldn’t get an ounce of sympathy from Violet. But she wouldn’t give up. Beneath Violet’s hard exterior, Lila sensed there was softness; she just hid it well.

Getting to the dinning hall was another long trek on its own and it was much closer to the school building than the dormitories. Although the west house had a vending machine in its hallway that dispensed snacks, Violet made a mental note to eat to her content here.

Lila hurried ahead to hold the door open for Violet, sweeping her arm with mock grandeur. "Welcome to the Silvered Court, my lady."

Violet stopped, raising an eyebrow, "Silvered court?"

"That’s what we Lunaris kids call the dining hall." Lila winked. "You’ll understand when you get inside."

Violet didn’t have time to dismiss Lila’s words as mere exaggeration, there was already a line of students grumbling for them to move.

She stepped inside, with Lila holding the door open just a bit longer than necessary, letting it swing shut almost in the next student’s face. The student cursed while Lila grinned, not even one bit remorseful for her action.

Violet shook her head at the scene, Lila can be quite childish. However, her steps faltered when she took in the dining hall in all its glory. And to be honest, Lila had not been lying by calling it the silvered court. It was almost as if loyalty was dining in these very halls.

The Lunaris Academy dining hall was nothing short of majestic, crafted with all the extravagance befitting the academy. It was vast, large enough to hold hundreds of students on the academy ground. But size wasn’t its most striking feature.

Golden sunlight poured through enormous arched windows, illuminating the hall’s classical design, dominated by cream and gold. The marble floor gleamed, reflecting the opulence of the entire space.

Massive chandeliers glittered overhead, casting a regal glow across the hall. However, that was where everything kind about it ended. Beneath this beauty lay the rigid social hierarchy that governed the academy.

At ground level, rows of polished mahogany tables were reserved for ordinary students—humans and lower-ranked werewolves who hadn’t carved a name for themselves.

Compared to her previous school, this was grand by ordinary standards, however their seating lacked the opulence reserved for the elite, and was adorned with simple silverware and functional, if plain, tableware.

This section was the loudest, bustling with conversation, offering little privacy as these students were constantly under the watchful eyes of staff and higher-ranked students.

Even here, a subtle division existed: humans and werewolves each had their own areas, though some mingled. But both groups remained equally subservient in the academy’s pecking order.

Hence despite the fine table settings and polished floors, it was unmistakable that this was the lowest rung. And it was also from here that one could look up and see where the real privilege lay.

An ornate staircase, with wrought-iron railings accented in gold, curved upward to an elevated platform: the elite section, exclusively for the academy’s top students.

These elite students enjoyed an entirely different atmosphere. Seated in plush, individual chairs around small, velvet-draped tables, they dined with the finest china and silver, symbols of both their status and refinement.

Here, they ate with an air of indifference or amusement, often casting glances down at the floor below, some smug, others disdainful. The noise below seemed irrelevant to them, secure as they were in their superiority.

At the very center of the elite floor, sat four, regal chairs set apart from the others and it "commanded" attention.

Unlike the other seats, these ones were larger and more ornate than the others, carved from dark ebony wood, with the Academy’s crest emblazoned in gold upon the back. Even without Lila saying a word, Violet knew whom those seats belonged to. It was the throne of the Cardinal Alphas.

No one, not even the top twenty, dared sit in this chair, an unspoken law of Lunaris. To approach it was to risk the wrath of not only the Cardinal Alphas but the entire structure of power.

The chairs were a symbol of absolute dominance in the academy’s ruthless hierarchy, and every glance in its direction was filled with a mixture of awe, fear, and reverence.

While Violet had been impressed at first, a frown now crossed her face. A place meant for nourishment had become a daily affirmation of hierarchy, with every upward or downward glance serving as a reminder of the power some held—and the power others could only aspire to.

This place was a death sentence.

While others thought she was lucky to have reached the top, seeing this now made Violet realize it was a curse. Absolute power corrupts, and Violet knew that if she continued down this path, it would only be a matter of time before she became just like every other member of Lunaris Academy.