Chapter 149: Gathering [2]

Leon’s hand was already pointing before his brain had finished processing the situation. His finger trembled slightly. He looked between Alden and Seris like he was watching a magic trick and trying to catch the moment it stopped making sense.

"Since when did this happen?" He swallowed. "You two aren’t messing with us right?"

Alden opened his mouth.

Seris cut in first.

"Messing with you?" she slid her gloved fingers down to Alden’s hand and laced them through his. Then she raised their joined hands into the warm chandelier light.

The matching silver rings caught the glow perfectly. Deep red stones sitting in the center of each band. Both of them. One on her hand and one on his.

Total silence fell over the group.

Leon stared at the rings.

Nicholas stared at the rings.

Roselle stared at the rings.

Claire stared at the rings.

It lasted about five full seconds where nobody made a single sound or movement and then Nicholas cracked first.

"This is actually real?!"

"You two actually got together?!" Roselle looked between them so fast her head nearly spun. "Wait when did this happen?! I didn’t see this coming AT ALL!"

Seris nodded calmly. "It’s quite recent. Yesterday actually."

Alden let out a quiet uncomfortable chuckle. ’Does she have to announce it with that much brutal efficiency?’

He glanced around at the nearby nobles who were already leaning toward each other whispering behind their hands. ’Great. Before the night is over, everyone will know the dead prince’s fiancée found a new guy.’

Claire had gone unusually quiet. She was looking at the matching rings with a still and careful expression.

Then her eyes moved to Alden’s face for a moment before she looked somewhere else. Something quiet and complicated sat behind her eyes that she chose not to say anything about.

Leon suddenly whipped around to face Roselle with the energy of a man who has been waiting months for this exact moment.

"I TOLD YOU!"

Roselle blinked. "Told me what?"

"I told you something was going on between them!" He pointed dramatically at Alden and Seris. "Remember?! I said they were acting suspicious!"

Roselle folded her arms. "That was one random guess you made because you saw them standing near each other once."

"And I was RIGHT!" Leon slapped a hand to his own chest proudly. "My instincts are absolutely immaculate!"

Roselle gave him the most patient smile. "Congratulations. You have successfully guessed one correct thing in your entire life."

"Hey! That makes me sound like an idiot!"

"Who said you’re not an idiot?" Roselle said with a wider smile.

Nicholas laughed. Alden shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips anyway. Some things about this group never changed, even with Leon at the Spire. He was glad for it.

Then a deep resonant chime rolled through the ceiling of the hall and the ambient chatter across the room dropped off immediately.

Darius stepped into the spotlight on the raised platform at the front. He scanned the crowd the way he always did before speaking.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." His voice filled the room cleanly. "To all the distinguished nobles honored guests and respected officials of both kingdoms. Welcome."

The last remaining murmurs died.

Leon straightened up beside Alden and his expression shifted. The laughing had gone. Something quieter and more focused had replaced it. "I should head up," he said. "It’s starting."

Nicholas gave him a firm nod. "Good luck."

Roselle smiled at him. "Don’t trip on the stage."

Leon grinned. "Have some faith in me." He gave them a quick wave and moved through the crowd toward the side stage where the other Spires were gathering.

Up front Darius’s expression had turned serious.

"We do not gather tonight merely for celebration."

He raised one hand and a massive translucent projection filled the air above the stage. Images that made the room go cold. Burning villages. People in chains. Battlefields covered in smoke. Rows and rows of unmarked graves beneath a dark sky.

The hall went tight. Guards gripped their sword hilts. Nobles scowled. Angry whispers moved through the crowd in waves.

Darius lowered his hand and the images dissolved into nothing.

"For generations our lands have bled because of their malice." His voice had dropped into something with real iron in it. "And now they have declared absolute war on us once again."

Nobody moved.

"But this time we will not merely defend." He looked out across the entire hall. "This war ends with us. We will fight with everything we have and bring an end to this cycle once and for all. For the generations who suffered before us. For the children who will inherit this world. For the future of humanity!"

He raised his fist.

The hall erupted. Nobles raised their goblets. Knights slammed fists to their chests. Even the most composed royals in the room were on their feet.

Darius let it go for a moment then raised his hands to bring the noise back down.

"To ensure our victory I Darius Thorne Headmaster of Astral Academy will personally enter the frontlines as supreme strategist." His sharp eyes moved across the cadets gathered below. "I expect absolute excellence from every student knight and cadet here tonight. Give this war everything you have."

He stepped back slightly and his tone changed.

"Now. Let us welcome those who stand at the very front of our younger generation."

The energy in the room shifted again. Something anticipatory.

"The Spires."

Ten figures stepped into the light one by one and the quiet that came with their arrival was a different kind of quiet than before. The pressure of them standing together on that stage was something even people who had never trained a day in their lives could feel.

"This year we welcome a new blade into their ranks." Darius turned slightly toward the far end of the lineup. "Please welcome the newest Spire from Astral Academy."

A dramatic beat.

"Leon Evercrest!"

Leon stepped out and took his place beside the others.

The applause was immediate and loud. Leon gave one slightly awkward wave and then clearly remembered where he was and who was watching and pulled himself together and stood tall with his shoulders back and his chin up.

From where Alden stood he could see the moment Leon spotted them in the crowd. The nervous expression softened into something genuine and warm. The real smile underneath all the performance. The one that said hey I actually made it.

Beside Alden Nicholas was clapping firmly. Roselle looked like she was about to cry which she would absolutely deny if anyone pointed it out.

"Look at him," she murmured.

Alden smiled.