"The loudest person in the room is rarely the most dangerous. Watch for the quiet ones. They’re the ones who’ve already figured out where the exits are."
***
A few nervous laughs broke out across the room. They died fast when Fen’s head snapped toward the sound. Her ears went flat against her skull. That tail of hers whipped back and forth like an angry trono.
"What did you all expect? A warm welco? Inspiring speeches about house unity? ’We’re all in this together’ garbage?" She swept her arm across the room, taking in every cracked wall and stained carpet. "Look around. This is where they dump the broken toys. The embarrassnts. The ones they can’t throw away but don’t want near anyone important."
She’s not wrong. But there’s more fury than despair in that voice. She’s angry, not beaten. That’s the difference between soone who gives up and soone who fights back.
Interesting.
Marcus spoke up from his corner, voice shaky. "Perhaps the professor is simply delayed. Administrative matters, or possibly an ergency that required—"
"Administrative matters." Fen’s laugh ca out ugly. "Because House Onyx ranks high enough for anyone to give a damn. Because we’re so important that a professor would actually hurry to et us."
She spread her arms wide. "Wake up. We’re here because nobody else would have us. The professor isn’t coming because we don’t deserve basic courtesy. We’re leftovers. The academy charter says they have to accept us. Doesn’t an they have to pretend we matter."
She started walking the room. Each step brought her closer to a different group of students. They pressed back into their chairs, trying to shrink. Trying to disappear.
Theron Ashworth opened his mouth. His noble accent wavered, but he kept his chin up. "That’s unnecessarily harsh. We’re still students at the Royal Academy. There must be so—"
"So what?" Fen spun on him. For a second I thought she might actually take a swing. "So dignity? So purpose? So grand destiny if we just work hard and believe in ourselves?" Her voice dripped poison. "Tell , pretty boy. What cri did you commit to land here? Did Daddy forget to grease the right palms? Did you fail to kiss enough aristocratic ass at the entrance ceremony?"
Theron’s face went red, but he didn’t look away. That took guts.
"My family’s circumstances are—"
"Irrelevant. Just like mine. Just like everyone’s." Her voice went cold. Focused. "The only thing that matters now is what we do with the garbage hand we got dealt. Are we gonna sit here crying about fairness? Or are we gonna claw our way up?"
She’s furious, but she’s thinking. Not just a wild animal snapping at anything that moves. She’s working the room. Establishing dominance. Figuring out who’s weak and who might be useful.
Smart. Dangerous.
And if I can point her in the right direction? Very, very useful.
I let my shoulders collapse. Let my whole body sag into sothing pathetic and small. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, playing the terrified noble boy who never learned to stand up for himself. Lyra stood behind like a ghost. Nobody even noticed her.
"Perhaps..." I started, then let my voice die out. Let it waver like I’d lost my nerve.
Fen’s head whipped toward . Those gold eyes locked on. "Perhaps what, little Leone?" Her voice ca out sharp. Mocking. She looked up and down, taking in my ill-fitting robes and twitchy fingers. "Got so ancestral wisdom to share? The proper Leone thod for handling crushing disappointnt?"
Everyone in the room turned to stare at us. Every single one of them.
She was offering a chance. Probably didn’t even realize it. A chance to prove I was worth noticing, or to get demolished as an example.
Perfect. She just handed exactly what I needed.
Ti to fail. Spectacularly.
I swallowed hard. Made sure everyone could see my hands shake. I t her eyes for maybe half a second before I looked away. "I was just going to suggest we wait a bit longer. The professor might still—"
"The professor might still what?" She took a step closer. I wanted to step back. I didn’t. "Suddenly rember we exist? Decide we deserve basic respect?"
Another harsh laugh. "How long should we wait, little Leone? An hour? Two? Till sunrise? Till soone takes pity on the poor forgotten students of House Onyx?"
"I... I don’t know." I stared at the floor. Every inch the boy who’d spent his whole life getting pushed around and had just accepted it. "I’m not very good at this sort of thing. Social stuff. Conflict. Any of it, really."
"No kidding." Sothing in her voice shifted. Less hostility. More... assessnt. Her head tilted to the side like a dog that spotted sothing weird. "What exactly are you good at, Leone?"
Manipulation. Exploitation. Seeing patterns in chaos and turning them into weapons. Reading a story I was never supposed to be part of and using that knowledge to stay alive.
But that’s not what pathetic Kaelen Leone would say.
"Nothing, really." I let real bitterness leak into my voice. "My family sent here to keep up appearances. Third son of a fallen house. Barely scraped past the entrance requirents with a class so useless they probably only let in because of the family na. I’m probably the least qualified person in this room."
That landed. Several students squird. My words hit too close to ho for too many of them.
But Fen kept watching . Her head stayed tilted. Like she’d spotted sothing that didn’t fit the pattern she expected.
"At least you’re honest about it," she said. Sothing almost like approval crept into her voice. "Half these idiots still think they belong sowhere better. Still telling themselves this is temporary. That soone’s gonna recognize their genius and move them up."
Nobody responded to that. Nobody dared.
"Honesty’s about all I’ve got left." I loaded my voice with pathetic self-pity. "That and a very patient attendant who keeps from walking into walls."
A few students cracked smiles. The air in the room got a little lighter. Fen’s expression changed again. Curiosity now. Real curiosity.
Hook set. She’s interested. The weak can be ignored. But the weak who admit it without sha? That’s new. That’s worth investigating.
Let’s see what kind of fish I just caught.
The clock chid. Half past eight. Still no professor. Just twenty-five lost souls slowly realizing nobody was coming. Nobody cared. They’d been left to figure things out on their own. Sink or swim.
"Well," Fen announced to the room, "since our faculty can’t be bothered to show up, I guess we’re on our own. Anyone got real questions about how this place works? Or are we all just gonna sit here feeling sorry for ourselves until—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her ears twitched. Then rotated toward the door.
Wolf hearing. Useful.
I couldn’t hear anything yet. Neither could anyone else, judging by the confused looks. But Fen’s whole posture changed. Less aggressive. More alert. Her claws slid back in.
"Soone’s coming," she said.
The room went still. Everyone strained to listen. Ten seconds passed. Twenty.
Then footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Getting closer.
Soone was finally coming.
About damn ti. Let’s see what kind of professor they give the rejects.
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