Lykos stood, smoothed out his robe, and turned his blue eyes toward Oliver.
He was a head shorter than the Ash boy, which he tried not to be annoyed by, though his fluffy ears and tail betrayed his emotions. Still, in that mont, the air in the lecture hall seed to drop.
"You are loud."
His voice carried a weight that Oliver’s screeching lacked.
"I think we’d all prefer it if you sat down."
"What? Stay out of this, wolf-boy! This is between and—"
"I..."
Lykos interrupted.
"I am Lykos, son of Remus, of the GREAT House Death."
His words hung in the air, reminding them of the obvious.
Though Lykos’s House was a vassal of Death, much like Ignotus’s, Lykos’s mother was married to Nex, the very House Lord of Death.
That, in turn, connected them in a way House Plant could never be.
Indeed, this technically made the boy before them be from a Great House.
The only one in the Third Stratum...
One of the three pillars of the realm.
The difference in status between the two was the difference between a candle and a forest fire.
"And I, as Lord above you, command you..."
Lykos continued with his eyes narrowed.
"To shut up. You are souring my mood."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The gossiping Disciples clamped their mouths shut, especially those who had been calling Ignotus a fraud.
Many suddenly found their shoes very interesting.
In the Third Stratum, you could mock a falling House, but you did not ss with House Death. If Lykos was vouching for Ignotus—or even just annoyed by Oliver—that was the end of the conversation; nothing more needed to be said.
Oliver’s face went pale. His righteous anger evaporated, replaced by the primal fear of social and literal execution.
"..."
He opened his mouth, but no sound ca out, making him look like a fish gasping on a dock.
All that talk about avenging his brother was gone... And honestly, Oliver was lucky. Because while he was busy staring at the terrifying wolf-boy, he missed the threat sitting on Ignotus’s other side.
Gaia was vibrating.
Her hands were clenched in her lap, and the stone floor beneath her sandals had developed a fine, spiderweb crack. Her brown eyes were glowing with a terrifying intensity, fixed squarely on Oliver’s throat.
’How dare he?’
Her inner voice sounded nothing like the calm, elegant lady she presented herself as.
’Ignotus was thinking. He was contemplating important matters, and this insect dared to screech at him?’
She, in her barely contained and weirdly arrived anger, wanted to bury Oliver in the Academy’s foundation.
But she held it in and took a deep breath, letting Lykos handle the insect.
Gaia was a lady now.
Ladies didn’t crush classmates into paste on the first day.
Besides, no matter how much she would’ve liked to bury him, her actually doing it was a different matter altogether. After all, she, much like those beside her, wasn’t exactly experienced with death.
That was to be expected; Ignotus was the outlier here.
And speaking of Ignotus, the main character of this entire drama. He was completely oblivious to the political power play happening a few feet away, still humming and staring at Oliver, trying to connect the already established dots.
’Ash House... weak chin... arm issues...’
Whoosh!
A torch finally went off in his brain.
"Ah!"
Ignotus snapped his fingers, the sound echoing loudly in the silent hall.
He pointed at Oliver and bead with the joy of solving a great mystery.
"You’re the brother of that guy I almost killed!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The hall remained silent.
Oliver stared at him.
Lykos stared at him.
Gaia stared at him.
Ulv stared at him.
Even the birds outside probably stared at him.
He’d just said exactly what Oliver had spent the last five minutes screaming about!
"What?"
Ignotus looked around, noticing the blank expressions.
"Why is everyone quiet? Did I miss sothing?"
Oliver, the pitiful boy, looked like he wanted to cry. The humiliation was total. He had been threatened by a Great House heir, nearly murdered by an Earth Runebearer’s glare, and now the object of his vengeance had just admitted he hadn’t been listening to a single word he said.
"Haaaa..."
Lykos let out a long, shuddering breath and sat back down.
"I don’t care anymore."
He crossed his arms and looked away, his cheeks slightly pink.
’Thank the Gods...’
Despite his calm act, his heart was racing.
’He didn’t hear defending him. If he knew I used my na to protect him, he’d never let live it down. He’d probably call a "Good Boss" for a month straight. I dodged Hell.’
Indeed, Ignotus would do such a thing. Though thankfully for the wolf, Ignotus didn’t know, so he only blinked and looked at the back of Lykos’s head.
He seed confused as to why there was such relief in the slump of the wolf-boy’s shoulders.
’Why is the puppy acting like that? Is he why Oliver stopped talking?’
He opened his mouth to ask, ready to make a joke about Lykos, when a sharp sound cut through the awkward atmosphere, saving the wolf.
Clack!
A cane made itself known, making everyone turn towards the wooden doors.
There, a tall man stepped in, his gray beard trimd to a point, his eyes scanning the hall.
His staff tapped the marble floor with each step until he stopped before his lectern.
"Alright, settle down. I don’t get paid enough to listen to your chatter."
The Disciples’ voices died instantly, and Ulv leaned forward, whispering:
"That’s Shepherd Lothar. He teaches Rune Alignnt... Synaxis."
Ignotus slumped back in his chair.
"Great. Maybe he’ll herd Lykos away from ."
"What was that?! You Naless bastard—"
Lykos hissed, only to be cut off:
"Quiet."
Lothar’s cane smacked the floor, echoing loudly through the hall, shutting everyone up.
He looked around slowly, his eyes catching every face—until they stopped on Ignotus.
"You... You’re the one who made a ss of the Colosseum this morning, aren’t you?"
Ignotus lifted a hand lazily...
"You’ve caught ."
And chuckled.
"But don’t act like you don’t know exactly who you are talking to."
A few muffled laughs ca in response while Lothar raised an eyebrow.
"Hm, you are either brave or stupid."
"Both."
Ulv muttered an answer, and Ignotus shook his head, denying ’both:’
"I’m mostly bored, actually."
The old man’s frown deepened, but he turned away without another word.
"Fine. Let’s begin."
Ignotus leaned his head against his hand, whispering under his breath:
"...this is going to be a long day."
Gaia looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"You... you don’t like classes?"
"Not when the teacher’s voice sounds like a dying goat."
Her hand went to her mouth, barely hiding her giggle.
"Stop talking."
Lykos shot him a glare.
"You’ll get us in trouble."
"I’ll get you in trouble. I’ll be fine."
The cane slamd the floor again.
"Silence!"
Ignotus raised a brow.
"See? Goat."
Gaia burst out laughing.
Reviews
All reviews (0)