Chapter 99: Please Don’t Tell Anyone

Aina

Aina made her way through the thick, restless sea of students, keeping her head low as she navigated toward the clearing where Team Fang had gathered.

Today is the final day, Aina thought, her stomach doing frantic, acrobatic flips beneath her tunic. If we survive this, I am officially retiring home free.

She approached the front edge of the grand viewing area, where massive, towering leaderboards had been magically projected above the water. Aina squinted up at the glowing scores, her eyes scanning the ranks. At the top sat Team Silvercrest, Team Boar, and Team Rose holding the podium spots. None of those top three teams belonged to a team from Moonside Academy; they were all foreign academies. Sitting securely at number four was the Iron Hearts, Princess Molly’s formidable team.

And then... dead last at number zero was Team Fang. A collective murmur of shock rippled through the surrounding crowds as students pointed and whispered at the embarrassing zero next to the royal princes’ names.

Aina finally slid into position beside her teammates. She was noticeably late, having spent an extra ten minutes meticulously applying her suppressive masking cream to lock down any lingering trace of jasmine heat. The moment she arrived, Vance whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, look who finally decided to show up," Vance drawled, crossing his arms.

Aina blinked at him. That’s weird, she thought, a sudden wave of relief washing over her. With him having this much snarky attitude, it can only mean one thing, Malric hasn’t said anything. She glanced over at Malric, whose jaw was clenched so tight he looked ready to shatter glass. He stood completely silent, looking utterly distraught and lost in his own dark world.

All chatter abruptly died down as every eye in the clearing turned toward the main lake podium, where Headmaster Roiner stood tall and imposing.

"Today is the final day of this competition," Roiner’s deep, velvety voice boomed across the water, carrying an effortless, commanding weight that silenced the entire valley. "Your absolute final opportunity to claim victory. There is still hope for those resting at the bottom... and plenty of time for those at the top to lose everything."

Roiner raised his right hand, and behind him, a group of senior instructors stepped forward, each carrying heavy, leather-bound sacks.

"There will be a total of fifty rounds," Roiner announced, his crimson eyes sweeping over the rows of tense students. "Each round will span precisely five minutes. You will be provided with a sack of glass spheres. Each sphere weighs and represents ten to ten thousand points, depending on colour. These points stay with your personal inventory. If your sack of spheres is forcefully removed from you during a one-on-one team combat round and claimed by another team, those points become theirs."

He paused, letting the brutal stakes sink in.

"The rules are simple. Unlike the previous trials, you are fully permitted to shift into your wolf forms or remain in human form during this combat round. Violence is expected, and minor injury is permissible, though we do not recommend taking it to extremes. The moment the whistle blows to end a round, you must cease all attacks instantly. Excessive, unprovoked violence will result in immediate disqualification and expulsion."

Roiner’s gaze hardened. "If a player taps out, you must withdraw your attack immediately. And if a team loses every single point in their possession, they are automatically eliminated from the tournament. May the competition begin."

With a dramatic sweep of his hand, Roiner turned around.

From the center of the glass-like lake, the water suddenly began to churn and violently shake. A massive, circular stone platform rose steadily from the depths, locking into place just above the surface of the water, connected to the mainland by a long, narrow stone pathway.

While the rest of the crowd cheered and scrambled to check the random match pairings, Aina grabbed Malric’s sleeve and yanked him hard toward the edge of the crowd. "We need to talk," Aina hissed.

Malric tried to wrench his arm away, his eyes blazing with lingering fury. "No, we do not."

"Yes, we do!" Aina snapped back, pulling him behind a thick cluster of weeping willows out of earshot. She crossed her arms, glaring up at him. "I know you saw everything this morning in the cabin."

Malric stared at her, his chest heaving. "Why didn’t you tell me?!"

Aina blinked, taken aback. "What?"

"Why didn’t you tell me that you are the girl in the purple dress?!" Malric demanded, his voice cracking with a raw, agonizing frustration that caught Aina completely off guard. "Why didn’t you tell me you are my fated mate?! We have spent so long searching for you... and you were right here the entire time!"

Aina scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. "I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, Malric! Gee, where could I possibly have found the time?! You were too busy making my life an absolute living hell!"

"And I apologize for that!" Malric shot back, stepping closer, his blue eyes flashing. "But you knew from day one! You had to have known the very first day we met! That was more than a month ago, and you didn’t say a single word! How come Roiner gets to know it, but I couldn’t?!"

"Oh, come on!" Aina argued, rolling her eyes. "You’re being completely impossible! We don’t like each other at all! You didn’t like me, and I certainly didn’t like you—"

"I never said I didn’t like you," Malric interrupted sharply. Aina stopped dead. "Yes, you did! You hated me from day one when I slapped you!"

Malric’s face flushed slightly, his jaw clenching as he looked away. "Fine. Yes... I didn’t like you at first. I admit it. But I don’t like anyone, Aina. I don’t like anyone outside of my brothers. It should have been obvious! There was nothing special about you at the start, and you made a thoroughly terrible first impression!"

"Well, so did you!" Aina fired back, her own temper flaring. "It is completely clear that the Goddess made a massive mistake here with you and me! It was an accident! You are supposed to be with someone like... like Savannah!"

Malric froze, his brows shooting up. "Savannah?"

"Yes!" Aina insisted, crossing her arms defensively. "So please, just leave the matter alone. I am begging you to drop it."

Malric stared at her, his expression twisting with disbelief. "You’re only saying this now... you’re only even talking to me because you don’t want me to expose that you’re a girl, and that you’re probably not even Travis Whitelock, aren’t you?" He took a step closer, his voice softening into a painful, desperate plea. "Can you at least do me the basic honor of telling me your real name?"

Aina paused, looking into his troubled eyes. A sudden wave of guilt pricked at her chest, but she hardened her expression. "No." She shook her head. "And I don’t understand why you’re trying to make me feel bad. I would have told you the truth ages ago if you and your brothers weren’t such giant jerks when we first met. I couldn’t trust you!"

"But you could trust Roiner?" Malric spat out, bitterness poisoning his tone.

"Yes," Aina answered honestly.

Malric’s face drained of color. "You even bonded with him..."

"Yes, I did," Aina whispered, holding her ground. "And I love him. I truly do."

Malric stared at her for a long, agonizing moment, the fight completely draining out of his shoulders. His voice came out small and broken. "So... there’s really no room for me at all?"

"No," Aina said softly, her heart aching just a fraction. "And I would deeply prefer it if you did not pursue this matter any further... and please, do not tell your brothers." Malric straightened his spine, his pride snapping back into place like a steel trap. "I do not keep secrets from my brothers."

"Well, you are going to have to," Aina pleaded, her eyes wide. "Please, Malric." Before Malric could reply, Vance’s voice echoed loudly from across the clearing, cutting through the tension. "Hey! Malric! Get over here, the first team match is starting! Stop talking to that loser!"

Vance strode over, grabbing Malric roughly by the arm and pulling him away. Malric didn’t look back, keeping his silence as Vance dragged him back toward the group. Aina let out a long, shaky breath, turning around to rejoin the spectators.