The Dinning Hall

Chapter 6

The main dining hall of Lunar Ridge Academy looked like a Gothic cathedral converted into an exclusive playground for the supernatural elite. High vaulted ceilings lost themselves in deep shadows, illuminated only by floating, dim magical sconces and massive stained-glass windows that cast long, bloody streaks of red and purple light across the stone floor. Long mahogany tables stretched down the length of the hall, rigidly divided by social hierarchy.

At the far end, elevated on a marble dais, sat the elite tables, the domain of the high-ranking Alphas, the wealthy trust-fund heirs, and the old-money lineages who ran the territories.

The moment Chloe and I stepped through the heavy double doors, the ambient roar of hundreds of talking students dropped significantly. The friction from the atrium confrontation had already traveled ahead of us.

"Just keep your head down and follow me," Chloe whispered, her grip tightening on my forearm as she steered me toward the lower-ranking tables near the back. "Don't look at them, Eva."

In my first life, I had done exactly that. I had kept my chin glued to my chest, letting my long hair fall forward like a curtain to hide my burning face, utterly humiliated by the weight of their scrutiny. I had slunk to the back like a dog that had been kicked, practically begging them to see me as a victim.

This time, I kept my shoulders back. I scanned the room with a cold, analytical gaze, cataloging every face, every smirk, and every raised phone.

"Well, well. Look what finally crawled out of the gutters."

A sharp, dripping-sweet voice cut through the ambient hum of the hall.

Vivienne Sterling sat at the center of the highest Alpha table, surrounded by her inner circle of wealthy sycophants. She looked like an ice sculpture in a perfectly tailored academy uniform, her long, platinum-blonde hair falling in flawless waves over her shoulders. She was swirling a glass of dark red juice, looking down at me with an elegant, condescending smirk that could freeze water.

Beside her, Cassian was slumped in his seat, a dark, brooding cloud hanging over him. He didn't look at me, keeping his golden eyes focused on the table, his jaw clenched as he aggressively gripped a silver fork.

"I'm surprised you showed your face today, Evangeline," Vivienne continued, her voice amplified slightly by her inner magic so it echoed off the stone walls, ensuring the entire hall heard every word. "I would have thought a scholarship girl would have the decency to pack her bags after throwing such an embarrassing, psychotic tantrum last night. Rejecting a sacred mate bond? Desperately throwing yourself at a man who clearly wanted nothing to do with you just to get attention? It's pathetic, really."

A chorus of cruel, mocking laughter erupted from the elite tables. Marcus leaned back in his chair, barking out a laugh, while the girls next to Vivienne giggled behind their manicured hands.

"Leave her alone, Vivienne," Chloe snapped, her hazel eyes flashing as she stepped in front of me. "Mind your own business."

"I am making it my business, Gamma," Vivienne hissed, her eyes narrowing into cold slits as her high-society demeanor cracked for a fraction of a second. "This trash is disrupting the sacred traditions of our academy. She doesn't belong here, cleaning our floors while pretending she has a right to choose her destiny."

Before Chloe could escalate the argument, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder and stepped around her.

A sharp, sudden wave of heat surged deep within my chest—that familiar, agonizing burn of my awakening royal bloodline magic reacting to Vivienne's condescending malice. A violent cough threatened to tear through my throat, and I felt the distinct, iron-like taste of copper pooling under my tongue. I forced myself to swallow the blood down, keeping my face entirely blank, entirely stoic, masking the excruciating pain ripping through my veins.

"If the sacred traditions of this academy are so fragile that a single 'no' breaks them, Vivienne," I said, my voice echoing back through the hall with a calm, freezing clarity that cut right through the laughter, "then maybe you should spend less time worrying about my destiny and more time worrying about your own. Because last time I checked, Cassian still hasn't asked you to sit next to him by choice."

The dining hall went entirely dead silent. A few students in the back actually gasped.

Vivienne’s face turned an ugly, mottled red. She slammed her glass down onto the mahogany table, the red liquid splashing over the white linen cloth. "You low-born whore—"

"That is enough."

The heavy, booming voice didn't come from the student tables.

Gideon stepped into the dining hall from the faculty entrance, his massive, imposing frame instantly commanding the attention of the room. His cold, scarred hands were folded behind his back, and his tactical security gear gleamed under the magical sconces. His sharp eyes swept over the student body, pausing briefly on Vivienne before locking onto me.

"The introductory assembly is about to begin. Sit down and clear the aisles," Gideon commanded, his tone completely flat and unyielding.

The elite students immediately quieted down, Vivienne reluctantly sliding back into her seat with a venomous glare aimed directly at my throat. Chloe pulled me down onto a bench at the nearest back table, her chest heaving as she stared at me in absolute shock.

"Holy shit, Eva," Chloe whispered, her eyes wide. "You're insane. You literally just declared war on the entire aristocracy."

"They started the war three months ago," I murmured, my eyes drifting toward the high faculty dais at the very front of the hall.

A heavy, suffocating shift in the atmospheric pressure rolled through the room, making the air feel thick and electric. The double doors behind the faculty dais opened, and Alistair Vance walked out.

He wore another impeccable, tailored dark suit, his massive, broad-shouldered frame dominating the space as he took his place behind the high headmaster's podium. His dark hair was neatly styled, and his aristocratic face was a flawless, frozen mask of absolute authority. As he adjusted his microphone, his piercing, amber-golden eyes slowly swept across the sea of hundreds of students.

For a single, breathless second, his gaze cut through the shadows of the back row and locked directly onto mine.

My heart gave a hard, erratic thud against my ribs. The memory of his large hand pressing into my hip, his dark, commanding scent, and the sheer dominance of his kiss last night flared in my mind. He didn't blink, his amber eyes holding mine with a freezing, silent intensity before he smoothly looked away, turning his attention to his notes.

"Welcome to a new semester at Lunar Ridge Academy," Alistair’s deep, gravelly baritone echoed through the speakers, vibrating straight through the stone floorboards. "This institution is built on discipline, order, and absolute compliance with the rules. Any student, regardless of their lineage or status, who disrupts the peace of this campus will face immediate, severe consequences."

Beside me, my phone buzzed softly in my pocket.

I kept my eyes fixed on the powerful Principal at the podium as I reached into my jeans and subtly unlocked the screen beneath the table. It was a private message from the internal campus network, sent from an encrypted administrative routing address.

The message was brief, cold, and entirely commanding.

“The restricted vault key has been activated for 8:00 PM. Do not be late, Miss Cross. I do not tolerate sloppy execution from my staff.”

A slow, calculated smirk touched the corners of my lips as I locked the screen. Cassian and Vivienne thought they were trapping me in a corner. They had no idea I was already stepping onto the board where their king resided.