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Chapter 72
~Valerie’s POV~
The walk to Principal Whitmore’s office felt longer than usual.
My boots echoed across the silent hallway, every step tapping into the tension coiled tight in my spine. The last ti I was called into this office, I’d only just arrived at PSA. Back then, I thought that was the beginning of my problems.
Now I wasn’t so sure where the beginning was... or if I’d even seen the worst of it.
I paused just outside the tall blackwood doors, hesitating. Inside, I could already feel her presence.
She wasn’t calm, even though she was trying so hard to be. I knocked once.
"Enter," she said crisply.
I pushed open the door, bracing myself.
The room hadn’t changed. Still pristine and perfect, the scent of aged parchnt mixed with floral incense curled faintly in the air.
The tall windows were drawn, the room softly lit by floating glass orbs that cast quiet shadows across the stone floor.
Principal Whitmore sat behind her wide desk, her hands folded neatly on top of a slim stack of files. She looked up the mont I stepped in.
Her expression was unreadable. It always was. "Miss Nightshade," she greeted coolly. "Take a seat."
I stepped forward slowly and lowered myself into the chair across from her, keeping my back straight, my jaw set. I wasn’t here to cower. I didn’t have the energy to fake politeness either.
She didn’t speak imdiately. She just... studied .
Her eyes swept over like a scan. Noticing the minor bruises on my knuckles and the fatigue that must’ve been plain on my face.
"You look terrible," she said finally.
"Thanks," I muttered. "It’s been a great day."
A single brow lifted, but she didn’t smile.
Instead, she reached for a file and opened it with a flick of her fingers. I couldn’t see the contents, but I didn’t need to.
"I presu you’re aware," she said, "that your disappearance triggered lockdown protocols across campus?"
"Yes."
"Three councilmbers demanded a full investigation. The simulation do is under forensic review. And the dragon court thankfully did not yet learn of the situation lest they send scouts here to investigate."
"I didn’t plan to get kidnapped in your do, if that’s what this is."
Her gaze sharpened. "I’m not blaming you. But soone will. You know that."
I stayed quiet. She sighed, closing the file slowly.
"Tell exactly what happened," she said, her tone low now. "From the mont the simulation began. Every detail. Every face."
I recounted it in full. The odd pairing with Cadet Erik. The masked attackers. The abnormal rune trap. The explosion. The forest. Xander. The ambush. The mark on the mask.
Her fingers twitched ever so slightly when I ntioned the mark. But she didn’t interrupt.
"Are you saying soone within PSA—soone with access—customised the simulation to target you?" she asked when I finished.
"I’m saying that’s the only explanation that makes sense."
A long pause followed.
Then, for the first ti, sothing flickered in Principal Whitmore’s gaze. Not fear. But sothing close to... caution. Like a chess player realising the opponent just made a bold move.
She stood suddenly and moved to the window, her arms folded behind her back.
"I want you to be very clear on sothing, Valerie," she said, her voice quieter now. "If soone inside these walls is after you, we are already at war. And this school is the battlefield."
I frowned. "So you believe ."
"Oh, I always believed you," she said, turning back to face . "What I needed to see... was how far you’d survive. How far they’d go."
That made my blood run cold.
"You used ."
She didn’t deny it.
"I monitored your file from the day your admission was submitted," she said. "I’ve watched your records, your discipline reports, your placents. You are mated to those four alphas, am I right?"
I did not know whether or not to deny it or just... thankfully, she answered the question for . "It doesn’t matter whether you answer or not. I have what I want. I believe you were targeted for your link to the Alpha Princes."
My voice ca out dry. "Pardon?"
Whitmore stepped forward, resting her palms against the edge of her desk, leaning in slightly.
"You shall be protected in PSA. I owe your father that much. I owe every student that."
I stared.
She continued, "Because whether you know it yet or not... you’ve just beco a piece on the board that too many kingdoms will want to use either... or remove."
There it was. No lies. No illusions. Just the truth. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "So what do I do now?"
Principal Whitmore leaned back again, her expression unreadable once more. "You stay quiet. You play the part. You act like nothing happened, and you let them believe they won."
"And if they try again?"
She smiled faintly. "Then you show them who they’re dealing with."
I exhaled, rising from my seat. "I will be careful and stay alert. Thank you."
But just as I was about to step away from the chair, she called softly, "Valerie." I paused, hand on the knob.
"Just a reminder. You may want to watch your back, Miss Nightshade. Soone else already is."
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As soon as I left Principal Whitmore’s office, I headed straight for my locker to get my bag and a few books I needed.
On my way, I t Erik pacing in a corridor, leading to my locker. He seed to be deep in thought.
Erik didn’t notice at first.
He paced the narrow corridor like a stormcloud with legs—shoulders tense, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, mouth moving like he was arguing with a ghost.
His eyes were focused on the floor, jaw clenched in frustration, muttering words just loud enough that I caught fragnts.
"Okay, just say thank you. That’s not hard. Gods, she literally dragged you out of that ss, and you couldn’t even keep your footing. Just say sothing that doesn’t make you sound like a total idiot. Or useless. Or both."
I blinked, more than a little surprised. I’d never heard Erik talk to himself like that. He always carried himself like he had all the answers—or at least pretended he did.
But right now, he looked... normal, not the geek he was. Just nervous, even. Like a kid about to walk into an exam he hadn’t studied for.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I leaned against the wall, watching him quietly, arms folded.
He kept going, still unaware I was standing ten feet away.
I bet if Isla saw this, she would have laughed her entire existence, but then again... he was cute. She might blush instead.
I smiled at myself. I had grown fond of Isla and was familiar with her antics. Just the thought of the last ti I saw her made my heart clench.
She’d be worried.
"And then, ’I’m sorry’—no, not dramatic. Just honest. ’I should’ve had your back.’ Yeah. That’s not bad. Say it like that. Not like a desperate—"
He finally turned, probably about to pace back the other direction, and his eyes landed right on .
He froze.
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