Chapter 97: Night Gathering

Elara:

Ten minutes later, I stepped out of my bedroom wearing black loose trousers, black boots, a pale blue woolen top, and a warm black coat resting over my arm. I had fixed my hair in a side braid, leaving a few soft curls loose around my face.

Violet, who had been waiting impatiently in the living room, turned around to look at me before freezing completely. Her expression slowly changed.

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." She stared at me for another moment before shaking her head. "I hate you."

My brows pulled together. "That’s a little extreme." There was no hiding the small smile that made its way to my lips, knowing fully well she didn’t mean it at all.

Violet stared at me for full ten seconds before demanding, "How am I supposed to take you seriously when you look this pretty wearing the most ordinary outfit imaginable?"

A laugh nearly escaped me, but before I could answer, she stepped closer and studied my face. "No. You know what? This is unfair. You don’t even need to try."

"I assure you, I did try. It took me almost five minutes to decide which sweater to wear." I quickly corrected her. "And two more to decide how to style my hair."

She rolled her eyes before suddenly reaching into the pocket of her jacket and pulling out a small tube. I barely had enough time to recognize the red lip gloss before she caught my chin.

"Violet-"

"Don’t move." She ordered.

"What are you doing?"

"Improving perfection."

I stared at her, while she carefully brushed the gloss over my lips before stepping back with a satisfied smile. I quickly turned to the full-length mirror sitting agsinst the wall and looked at my reflection. The red wasn’t overly bright, but it gave my otherwise pale face a warmer touch.

I pressed my lips together before glancing at Violet. "Okay. I actually like it."

"Of course you do. I chose it." She hooked her arm through mine and began dragging me toward the door.

By the time we stepped out of the dormitory, night had fully settled over Moonveil Academy. The cold air immediately brushed against my exposed cheeks, and I pulled my coat closer around myself while Violet looked perfectly comfortable in a dark green short dress covered by a long coat.

The gathering was taking place near a stream hidden in the woods behind the academy. It was one of the many places students used whenever they wanted to gather without the professors constantly watching them. Most importantly, it was a gathering allowed by the administration, so I knew I wasn’t going to end up in trouble with the professors for joining it.

As we walked along the dimly lit path, I could already see faint flashes of colored magic in the distance between the trees. My stomach tightened slightly. I could still turn around. I could tell Violet that I had suddenly remembered an extremely important assignment. I could claim that Crazy had probably destroyed my dorm and needed my immediate attention. But then I remembered her words about hiding, and irritatingly enough, they made sense.

I had spent the past two weeks allowing fear to decide where I went and where I didn’t. I wasn’t going to keep doing that. Taking a slow breath, I tightened my grip around Violet’s arm and continued walking beside her toward the distant lights.

I had no idea what exactly was waiting for me near that stream, but for tonight, I decided that if trouble wanted to find Princess Argentis, it could at least wait until after I had tried having some fun.

- - -

The closer we got to the stream, the louder the sounds became. Music drifted through the trees, carried by the cold night wind, while bursts of colored magic occasionally lit up the darkness between the branches. Violet seemed to become more excited with every step, practically dragging me along while I tried not to look as though I was reconsidering every decision that had brought me here.

When we finally stepped through the last line of trees, I stopped for a moment and stared.

The gathering was far bigger than I had imagined. Hundreds of students had gathered around the wide stream, some sitting on large rocks along the water while others stood around tables covered with food and drinks.

Floating lanterns hovered above them, their magical flames changing colors every few seconds, and small glowing orbs drifted lazily over the surface of the water. Someone had even created a huge transparent canopy above the gathering to keep the cold wind and bats away while allowing the night sky to remain visible.

It was beautiful. More importantly, it didn’t look anything like the tense academy environment I had grown accustomed to. Here, people were laughing. Some were dancing. Others were practicing harmless little displays of magic that made the entire place feel almost festive.

"See?" Violet whispered triumphantly beside me. "You haven’t even been here for thirty seconds and you are already staring."

"I’m staring because it looks nice."

"Exactly. Which means I was right."

I just smiled and stepped farther into the gathering. My eyes automatically scanned the crowd, searching for familiar faces despite myself. Thankfully, I didn’t immediately see Liliana or any of her closest friends either. That alone made my shoulders loosen slightly. Then I noticed someone I absolutely hadn’t wanted to notice.

Reign Valemont stood on the opposite side of the stream with Alaric and Kairo, all three of them were surrounded by a small group of third-year students. Even from this distance, he had that same intimidating presence that seemed to make people unconsciously move aside for him.

My first instinct was to turn around and leave.

Violet must have noticed the sudden stiffness in my body because she followed my gaze and immediately sighed. "Don’t."

"I didn’t say anything." I tried to defend myself.

"You didn’t have to." She grabbed my arm before I could take even one step backward. "You are not leaving because he happens to be here."

"I wasn’t leaving."

"You were absolutely leaving."

"I was considering relocating."

"Same thing."

I gave her a flat look. "I hate when you are right."

"You should get used to it."

Before I could respond, a burst of laughter from the other side of the stream drew my attention again. Kairo had noticed us. His gray eyes met mine almost immediately, and that familiar crooked smile appeared on his lips. Unlike Reign, he didn’t stare at me as though he was trying to intimidate me. He simply raised his glass slightly in greeting. I hesitated before giving him the smallest nod in return.

Violet’s eyes immediately narrowed with amusement. "Interesting."

"Don’t."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face did."

She laughed under her breath and pulled me toward one of the tables. "Come on. Before I start asking questions you don’t want to answer."

I was grateful for the distraction. We spent the next several minutes sampling different foods and drinks while Violet introduced me to a few students from her year. Surprisingly, no one seemed particularly interested in treating me like some strange creature who had suddenly appeared in their world.

A few people stared, of course, but most of them were too busy enjoying themselves. One girl even complimented my hair, and I found myself having an actual conversation about hairstyles without once thinking about politics, royal families, or Reign Valemont. It felt strangely normal. Almost too normal.

I was beginning to understand why Violet had insisted I come.

"You are smiling," she suddenly pointed out.

I immediately stopped. "No, I’m not."

"You were."

"I wasn’t."

"Elara, I saw it."

"Then you imagined it."

She laughed and handed me a cup of something warm. "Drink this."

I sniffed it cautiously. "What’s in it?"

"Something harmless."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s a sweet winter drink. I promise."

I took a small sip and immediately tasted cinnamon, honey, and something fruity. "It’s good."

"I know." She looked pleased with herself. "You are actually enjoying yourself."

I glanced around the gathering again. "Maybe a little."

"That’s enough."

For the next half hour, I managed to forget that I was surrounded by people who could potentially turn me into a cautionary tale with a single spell. I even laughed when Violet nearly slipped on a wet rock beside the stream and had to catch herself using a tiny burst of wind magic. But eventually, my attention wandered toward the water. The stream reflected the floating lanterns above it, turning the dark surface into a ribbon of gold, blue, and violet.

I stepped away from the crowd for a moment, wanting some quiet after all the noise. The farther I walked, the quieter the music became. I stopped beside a large tree overlooking the stream and pulled my coat tighter around myself.

But if I thought trouble could really stay out of my way for long, then I should have known better.