Chapter 304: Dinner is Served[1]

House Ravenwood was one of the more formidable minor Houses within the Brotherhood.

As the lead car glided past the edge of the plaza, the rear window rolled down a few inches.

Inside the dark interior, a young man with silver-trimmed dark hair and a sharp, aristocratic profile glanced out at the assembled students.

His eyes swept over the crowd with cold, disinterest lingering for a brief second on Xander Gray, then on Talia Varas, before continuing on toward the private sector.

​He didn’t even acknowledge Lucian.

He simply watched the black car disappear around the bend of the paved drive, his expression remaining completely unreadable.

​"Well," Xander said, breaking the silence with a dry, quiet laugh as he adjusted his jacket collar.

"The neighbors are moving in. We should probably go clean the blood off our training gear before the Headmaster calls an all-hands assembly."

"Don’t break any more ribs today, Lucian," Talia said, turning on her heel.

"I won’t," Lucian replied flatly.

​Talia offered a small, quiet nod before walking toward the administrative wing, her black coat cutting a clean path through the dispersing crowd of students.

Xander watched her go, then clapped a heavy hand onto Lucian’s shoulder. "Dinner at six? They’re serving beef tonight. My treat."

Lucian looked down at Xander’s hand on his shoulder, then back up at the older youth’s face. For a brief moment, the cold distant fog in his eyes seemed to thin.

"Only if you’re paying," Lucian said quietly.

​"I’m always paying," Xander grinned, letting go. "Go get cleaned up, Ash."

​

Lucian turned and began walking toward his dormitory block, his hands tucked back into his pockets.

The academy was bustling with life—laughter, low conversations about the arriving delegations, the hum of security drones overhead, and the crisp autumn wind carrying the scent of pine down from the surrounding mountains.

He passed an old wooden bench near the path, one where three seats were carved into the centre of the Academy’s green labyrinth.

One for him, one for Emily, and one that had been occupied nearly every afternoon by a boy with messy dark hair.

Lucian didn’t stop to look at it. He refused to linger.

He simply kept his eyes on the path ahead, his footsteps remaining light, silent, and steady. Carrying him through the quiet storm gathering over Pyreptar Academy.

*****

The dining hall in the west administrative quadrangle was structured like an exclusive high end restaurant.

High, vaulted ceilings made of polished dark oak were supported by sleek black steel pillars, and expansive smart-glass windows overlooked the lower, illuminated botanical gardens of Pyreptar Academy.

Below, blue solar lanterns lined the stone walkways, flickering softly through the rising mountain mist.

Inside, the atmosphere was warm and humming with the low murmur of conversation, the faint clink of expensive cutlery, and the ambient glow of recessed lighting along the dark wood flooring.

Small, hovering service drones glided seamlessly between tables, carrying silver trays, while human waitstaff in crisp dark waisters saw to the private booths along the back wall.

Xander Gray sat alone in a curved booth near the rear corner window, resting his elbows on the dark wood surface.

He had already unbuttoned the top two buttons of his collar and loosened his tie, looking entirely relaxed despite the faint tightness around his right knee.

He was scrolling idly through a digital tablet, flicking past security schedules and arrival notifications for the Veilrend Games, when he caught sight of a figure stepping through the glass double doors at the main entrance.

​Lucian Ash stood at the threshold for a brief second, his hands tucked deep into his coat pockets.

Xander raised a hand, catching his eye across the busy room.

"Ash. Over here."

​Lucian turned, his gaze locking onto Xander, and walked over. He slid into the booth opposite Xander without a sound.

You’re late," Xander said, setting his tablet down on the table.

"I thought you were going to stop by the infirmary to get those ribs wrapped."

"They’re fine," Lucian replied flatly.

"I didn’t need the medical staff asking questions about off schedule sparring."

​Xander snorted softly, leaning back against the leather cushion.

"Off-schedule? You tried to take my leg home with you, Lucian. I’m going to be limping until tomorrow morning."

​"You blocked the heel hook," Lucian noted, his voice low and even.

"And then you drove your forearm into my sternum. You didn’t hold back either."

"Because if I held back, you would have actually broken it," Xander said, a faint, genuine grin.

Xander watched him quietly for a brief moment.

"Well," Xander said smoothly, tossing a leather-bound menu across the table toward him, "you survived a spar with a Novice. Reward yourself."

"The beef tenderloin is on me tonight. The student council president’s discount still works on the administrative meal vouchers until the end of the month."

"You aren’t the president anymore," Lucian pointed out dryly.

​"The system doesn’t know that yet," Xander replied with a wink. "And the kitchen staff likes me better than the new board. Don’t ruin my leverage."

​Before Lucian could respond, a heavy, familiar voice boomed faintly from the hallway outside the dining room doors, growing louder as the footsteps approached.

​"—tell you, it’s a scam, Kelia. Three small slices of bread and a leaf of parsley isn’t an appetizer, it’s an insult to my digestive system. They’re charging four credits for a bowl of soup that wouldn’t fill a tea cup."

"It’s meant to refine your palate, not feed an army, Cassius," a calm, measured female voice answered smoothly.

"My palate is fine. My stomach is empty. There’s a difference."

The double doors swung open, and Cassius Wulfric strode into the dining hall, looking as physically imposing as ever in a dark grey jacket stretched tight across his broad shoulders.

His thick dreadlocks were pulled loosely back from his face, several shorter locks falling naturally around his forehead and temples.

A few had come loose, giving his otherwise imposing appearance a slightly careless edge.

Walking beside him was Kelia, her dark hair falling in neat, soft waves around her face, her expression completely unbothered by his theatrical complaining.

​Cassius caught sight of Xander and Lucian and immediately altered his course, sliding into the booth next to Xander while Kelia sat down next to Lucian.

​"Tell me you’ve already ordered," Cassius said without greeting, grabbing the digital menu tablet from the edge of the table and swiping through the display with a savage tenacity.

"I just stood in the check-in queue for fifteen minutes behind two pompous Ravenwood pricks who spent ten of those minutes debating the colour of their uniform cloaks. I almost threw both of them into the fountain."

"You stood in line for four minutes," Kelia corrected softly, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him with an amused curve to her lips.

"And you ate a bag of dried fruit while complaining about the wait."

​"Dried fruit isn’t real food, Kelia. It’s dehydrated sadness."

Cassius looked over at Lucian, his blunt, expressive face instantly relaxing into a broad grin.

"Hey, Lucian. Look at you! Out of the dorms before nine. Did Gray drag you out by your collar, or did you actually realize you need protein to survive?"

​"He paid," Lucian said, a faint, barely noticeable smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

​"Damn right he paid," Cassius laughed, slapping a heavy hand on the table that made the water glasses rattle slightly.

"He’s a Novice. We should order the whole right side of the menu."

"Try it and I’ll make you pay for your own side orders," Xander said easily, though he signaled a nearby service drone over to their table anyway.

"How are the A-2 dorms handling the security lockdown?"

​"Terribly," Cassius grumbled, tapping three separate steak options on the screen.

"Drones flying past the windows every twenty minutes. Some independent delegation moved into the west block, and their guard dogs keep barking at the automated trash collectors. It’s a circus."

​"It’s security for the Veilrend Games," Kelia said, reaching over to push Cassius’s hand away from ordering a fourth side dish.

"The Headmaster is locking down the lower facilities because of the sheer number of Great Houses and independent factions arriving this week. It’s standard procedure."

​"Standard procedure is annoying," Cassius muttered, though he yielded the tablet to her.

​A few minutes later, the dining hall doors clicked open again.

Amanda Gardner stepped inside, her uniform crisp and unwrinkled, her hair secured in a tight, professional braid.

She was holding a thin slate device, her eyes scanning a document until a sharp, mocking voice from behind her made her pause mid-step.

"—and as I told the proctor," Anthony was saying as he followed a pace behind her, his hands tucked loosely into his trousers, his sharp grey eyes scanning the room with effortless arrogance, "if the written exam doesn’t account for mental perception shifts, then the exam is flawed, not my answer."