Yvaine stirred.
Her head ached a little and her legs, weak. She slowly opened her eyes but winced as the light was too bright.
Then—two faces.
Two pairs of eyes stared down at her.
One pair warm brown.
Zully.
The other green. Unfamiliar.
"You're alive!" Zully squealed and before Yvaine could say anything, she was hugging her already.
"Thank the goddess. You've been out for most of the day. It's almost dinner time."
Yvaine winced. "What... happened?"
"You fainted. In magic class. Blood and all. It was wild."
She turned her gaze to the boy beside Zully.
Blonde hair, soft curls. Skin like morning light. And ears—pointed, unmistakably fae. He held a single rose in his hand.
Zully noticed her confusion. "Oh—uh—sorry. This is Elyan. He's my friend."
The boy smiled gently and handed her the rose.
"A pleasure to meet you, Yvaine," he said, voice light and smooth. "Where flames lie unlit, the wind waits patiently to whisper them awake."
Yvaine blinked. "…What?"
Zully rolled her eyes. "He's a Fae born sage. Reads too many weird books. Talks in riddles."
Yvaine gave a small, nervous chuckle and looked down at the rose. It was a soft red, the petals cool in her fingers. It didn't make sense, but somehow, it felt thoughtful.
The infirmary nurse walked in, scribbling something on a board.
"Ah, you're up," she said. "Nothing serious. Just a bit of aura suppression, though I've never seen it knock anyone out like that."
Yvaine didn't respond. Just nodded.
"Anyway, you're free to go. Try not to collapse again."
And with that, she walked off.
Zully stood. "Let's go. I'm starving. Veylor should be waiting."
"Veylor?" Yvaine asked.
"Another friend."
Yvaine's mouth formed a soft "oh."
Elyan offered her his arm for support. Sweet.
"Thanks." She smiled as she took it.
The three of them walked out of the infirmary
Yvaine didn't say much. Her mind was still back in that classroom.
That boy. Lucien?
Those eyes.
She looked down on her chest.. her badge was yet to show.
They were halfway to the dining hall when Yvaine said it casually, like she wasn't still thinking about it.
"That Lucien guy… why did he do that to me?"
Zully snorted. "Lucien is a Silver Wolf, girl. And a pampered one."
Elyan rolled his eyes. "More like a jerk. Silver Wolves are jerks. They use their suppression every chance they get. Sometimes I feel like strangling them with vines."
Yvaine laughed at that. It made her chest feel a little lighter.
The dining hall was loud. Smelled like roasted meats, magic herbs, bread, something sweet she couldn't place.
She noticed the way everyone sat in groups.
One corner—Silver Wolves. Their silver badges flashed when they moved. All of them looked like they ran the world.
Another corner—Frosthowl wolves. They had white and blue accents, quiet but sharp.
Then Blood Fangs, with red badges and cocky grins. Stormfur. Emberwolves. Duskwolves. Shadowwolves.
Even their badges looked like battle.
"The common wolves sit away," Zully whispered. "And witches, seers, fae. We keep to our side."
"School hierarchy?" Yvaine muttered.
"Exactly," Zully said, leading them to a table by the window.
A guy was already there, head bent over a sketchpad. Brown skin, curly hair, focused.
"Veylor!" Zully squealed.
He looked up—and Yvaine blinked.
His eyes.
White. No pupils. Just glowing white.
Then, a blink—and they turned grey.
"Zully! Elyan!" He stood and hugged them both.
Zully squeezed his arm. "Ooh, you got bigger!"
"I've got something to show you," he said, grabbing the sketchpad. "Been working on it since the ride here."
"Hey, bro. Meet Yvaine," Elyan said. "She's new."
Veylor turned to her—and froze.
Yvaine raised a brow. "Hi. Nice to meet you."
She offered her hand.
He didn't take it. Just stared.
Okay, rude.
"Vey?" Zully said.
"It's… it's you."
Yvaine frowned. "I'm sorry, what? Me?"
He held up the sketchpad.
Her mouth parted.
It was her.
Not just a sketch. A full drawing. Her face. Her hair. Her eyes.
She'd never met him before.
"How…?"
"I saw you. In a vision," Veylor said quietly. "I never knew you'd be here. But I saw you."
Yvaine just stared. First a Silver Wolf knocked her out. Now some guy had visions of her before she even arrived?
He must've seen the look on her face.
"I'm a seer," he added quickly. "But I don't speak the visions. I draw them."
"Okay…" Yvaine said slowly, her mind doing loops.
"I'm hungry," Elyan cut in.
"Alright, alright." Zully waved them to sit. "Veylor, you can tell Yvie all about your vision-lovey-sketches later."
They sat. The food appeared like magic—because it was. Plates shimmered into place.
Dumplings! Ugh! She hated dumplings.
"Has anyone seen Nyxara?" Veylor asked, picking up a fork.
"You mean your crush?" Zully teased.
Veylor flushed. "No! I just—she's been gone since this morning."
"Mmhm," Zully said, grinning as she stabbed a dumpling.
Yvaine sat back, quietly watching them all.
A witch.
A fae born sage.
A seer.
And her.
Whatever she was. Or wasn't.
They were almost done eating when the noise in the hall started to change. Students murmuring, heads turning.
Yvaine looked around, confused.
Then someone shouted, "The badges are appearing!"
Her heart skipped.
Zully gasped. "Look, yours is coming!" She clapped, excited.
"I hope you're a witch. I hope you're a witch," she said again, eyes wide.
Yvaine tried to smile. "I'm a Theolux, Zully. I'm supposed to be a wolf."
But even she didn't believe her own words.
More students screamed. Clapped. Cheered.
"Y-your badge, Yvaine…" Veylor pointed at her chest.
She looked down.
Blank.
Just a smooth, plain badge. No color. No glow. Nothing.
Her stomach dropped.
"Um… I think there's been a mistake," Zully said quickly. "We'll go see Principal Myrrin, right now."
No, Zully.
There was no mistake.
She was wolfless.
But Yvaine didn't say that.
A cold laugh came from behind.
They turned.
Lucien. And two other Silver Wolves.
"There's nothing wrong with the system, little witch," Lucien said, eyes locked on Yvaine. "Your friend has no abilities."
His voice made her skin crawl.
"Hey everyone!" one of his friends yelled. "Someone doesn't have abilities!"
Laughter broke out. Some looked at her. Some just looked away.
"I am a Theolux," Yvaine said, trying to sound strong. "There must have been a mistake."
Lucien stepped forward, smirking. "Theolux, huh? Then where's your silver hair? Or your blue? Theolux bloodline's a mix of Silver Wolves and Frosthowls. You? You must be adopted."
"Go away, Lucien. We don't want trouble," Elyan said sharply.
Lucien tilted his head. "And what are you gonna do? Grow flowers from your ears? Fly away on pixie dust?"
One of the wolves laughed hard. "Maybe he'll cry vines at us!"
More laughter.
Yvaine clenched her fists under the table.
Elyan stood up. "Okay, that's it—"
The wall vines twitched. Moved.
But then it hit.
Like a silent wave.
All four of them—Yvaine, Zully, Elyan, Veylor—crashed to their knees.
Aura suppression.
Yvaine gasped. Her head rang. Again.
And just like before, she felt something warm dripping.
She touched her nose.
Blood.
Lucien and his wolves laughed.
The others?
Some were still laughing.
Some just stared.
Or maybe they were scared too.
"Please… stop!" Zully begged.
Lucien crouched. Right in front of Yvaine.
"You sure do bleed easy," he said softly. "You're Theolux, right? Go on, show me some fangs."
Yvaine gritted her teeth, but everything was spinning.
Then—
"The only fangs you'll be seeing," a voice said,flat." are the ones I'll put in your stupid neck if you don't let go."
Lucien turned.
Everyone did.
A pale-skinned girl stood behind him.
Wearing a male uniform.
Short, messy hair.
Eyes sharp.
She opened her blazer slightly.
Knives.
Lots of them.
"Or do I use these instead?" she asked, voice flat.
Lucien stood.
His face unreadable.
"Pathetic," he muttered. "Come on, let's go."
The Silver Wolves turned and walked off like they didn't just throw half the table to the floor.
Zully finally exhaled. "Thank you, Nyx."
Nyx didn't smile. Just helped each of them up.
"You should get that nosebleed some ice," she said to Yvaine.
Yvaine nodded, still shaking a little.
This school was insane.