Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Chapter 36: Accusations

Elara:

The objects hanging around me began trembling all at once. I didn’t know what triggered it, but the moment that strange warmth inside me surged again, every book, cup, phone, lamp, and decorative object suspended in the corridor jerked violently through the air.

Someone screamed. Another student ducked as a book shot past his head and slammed into the opposite wall hard enough to crack the wood. The cup that had been floating near me suddenly shattered against the floor, sending pieces of glass skidding across the tiles.

"Stop!" I cried, though I had absolutely no idea who I was speaking to. "Stop!"

I wasn’t controlling any of this. I couldn’t even control the warmth inside my own body, let alone the dozens of objects flying around me. Yet the more frightened I became, the stronger everything seemed to react.

A metal chair tore itself from someone’s room and flew across the hallway. Students began scrambling backward, some using their own magic to shield themselves while others simply ran. The entire corridor erupted into chaos. Then one of the floating objects - a heavy stone planter - shot directly toward a group of students.

I didn’t even think. I threw my hands forward, and the warmth inside me exploded. The planter changed direction in midair, crashing into the wall instead of the students. The impact was so powerful that pieces of stone scattered across the floor.

Everyone froze for half a second before another surge sent several objects flying in completely different directions.

"Enough!" A powerful voice thundered through the corridor.

A figure appeared at the far end, and a wave of magic swept through the entire hallway. Every object suspended in the air dropped simultaneously. Books hit the floor. Phones landed against the tiles. Metal objects clattered. The last remaining lamp crashed onto the carpet with a dull thud. And the warmth inside my body disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving me gasping and gripping the doorway for support.

I stood there completely stunned, staring at the destruction surrounding me. My heart hammered against my ribs, but my mind was strangely empty. I couldn’t understand what had just happened.

A professor hurried toward us, his expression stern as he surveyed the corridor.

"Everyone stay where you are." His command immediately stopped the remaining whispers.

I looked down at my hands, turning them over as though I might somehow find an explanation written across my palms. Nothing. They looked exactly as they always had.

"I didn’t..." I began, but a sharp voice cut through mine.

"She did it."

My head snapped up. Liliana stood among the students, her blonde hair perfectly arranged despite the chaos around her. Her eyes were fixed on me with something dangerously close to satisfaction. "The Princess did this."

A murmur spread through the crowd.

"She lost control."

"I knew she was dangerous."

"They said she had no magic."

"Maybe she was pretending."

"She almost hit those students."

One accusation became another, and within seconds the corridor filled with voices condemning me as though everyone had already decided what had happened.

I stared at them, unable to believe how quickly the story had changed. A few hours ago, I had been the powerless groundling princess who supposedly didn’t belong in advanced elemental studies. Now, somehow, I had become a dangerous magical threat capable of attacking an entire corridor.

"She should be expelled."

"What if someone had died?"

"She’s unstable."

"She’s going to hurt someone sooner or later."

Their words came from every direction, yet strangely, I didn’t feel the urge to scream. Maybe I’d simply become too exhausted to waste my breath defending myself against people who had already chosen their verdict.

Then my gaze shifted past the crowd, and I saw them - Reign and Alaric. The duo stood beside Liliana several meters away, watching the scene unfold. Neither looked frightened nor confused. Instead, there was something in their expressions that immediately caught my attention. A faint glint of satisfaction. Victory. It was subtle enough that someone else might have missed it. But I didn’t.

My stomach tightened as I realized this was their game. I didn’t know how they had done it, and I certainly didn’t understand why my magic had suddenly erupted, but I knew one thing with absolute certainty. They were enjoying this far too much.

I slowly turned toward the professor. "My magic is sealed." My voice remained surprisingly calm. "You already confirmed that during my assessment. I couldn’t have deliberately caused this."

"That doesn’t mean you weren’t responsible," someone immediately called from behind me.

"We all saw it!" another shouted.

I looked around at the students. "You saw objects flying." I paused. "You didn’t see me controlling them."

Nobody answered.

I glanced around the corridor, instinctively searching for cameras. There were none. Of course there weren’t. This wasn’t Florida anymore.

"Is there no way to see what happened before the professor arrived?" I asked. "Some kind of magical recording? A ward? A memory imprint?"

Surely a world with time manipulation and memory weaving had something better than relying on a dozen frightened witnesses.

"There has to be a way to find out what actually happened." I pressed. Because there was no way I was going to let these magical brats paint me as the villain.

A familiar voice answered from behind the crowd.

"There is."

Everyone turned as Lorien Moonveil walked calmly into the corridor. The reaction was immediate. Students straightened. Conversations died. Even the professor stepped aside.

Lorien didn’t acknowledge any of them. His blue eyes settled on the destruction around us before his gaze finally found mine. For a fleeting second, something unreadable passed through his expression. Then he raised one hand and a faint blue glow appeared around his fingers. The air seemed to shift, and for several seconds he remained completely still, his eyes fixed on something none of us could see. When he finally lowered his hand, his expression had changed.

"The academy ward malfunctioned."

Silence.

I stared at him. "What?"

His gaze swept over the crowd. "There was a fluctuation in the protective ward surrounding this section of the dormitory. It caused a temporary disturbance in the ambient magical field. That is what triggered the incident."

Nobody spoke. Even the professor looked uncertain. I could see it clearly on his face. He didn’t believe it. Neither did the students. But nobody dared challenge the Headmaster.

Apparently, nobody except me.

"You expect me to believe that?" I asked.

The corridor went dead silent. Dozens of heads turned toward me as though I’d just announced that I’d murdered the Headmaster.

Lorien’s eyes returned to mine, and I didn’t look away.

"Because I don’t," I continued calmly. "You just told everyone that I wasn’t responsible without actually explaining what happened. That’s convenient, but it doesn’t make it true."

A dozen horrified gasps filled the hallway. Someone actually whispered, "She challenged the Headmaster."

I ignored them. "If there’s a magical way to determine what happened, then show us. Don’t just give everyone another explanation and expect them to accept it because you are the Headmaster."

Lorien stared at me for a long moment.

Then, instead of answering, he turned toward the students and issued his order. "Everyone return to your dormitories."

No argument followed. The students immediately began dispersing, murmuring among themselves as they disappeared down the corridors. The professor followed after giving me one last uncertain glance. Liliana went too, though not before throwing me a poisonous look.

Soon, only four people remained - Lorien, me, Reign, and Alaric.

The two men walked toward us slowly. Reign’s eyes were fixed on me, and there was that same irritating arrogance on his face. He stopped a few feet away before looking toward Lorien. Then his gaze returned to me.

"You should learn to control your powers, Argentis."

I stared at him.

He smiled faintly as he added, "Losing control like that is dangerous. And you won’t always have Lorien around to save you."