Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Chapter 98

The opening duel complete, the first official program of the showcase began: the potions and alchemy demonstrations.

The arena had been transformed once again. Long tables were arranged in neat rows across the sand, each equipped with cauldrons, vials, burners, and an array of ingredients that gleamed in the morning light. Students from both academies took their positions, their faces masks of concentration. The spectators leaned forward in their seats, eager to see what the realm’s finest young alchemists could create.

At the front of the arena, a panel of judges sat at a raised table. Four of them were respected alchemists and scholars from across the Seven Packs, Master Aldric among them, his weathered face unreadable. But the fifth and highest judge sat in the royal box itself, beside the King. Lord Eldritch, Corvin’s father, was a stern, silver-haired Alpha with his son’s sharp eyes and an expression that suggested he had never been impressed by anything in his life.

The rules were simple. Each student would brew a potion of their choice within the allotted time. The potions would be judged on complexity, effectiveness, and presentation. And for the final verdict, each student would present their work to Lord Eldritch himself.

The demonstrations began.

A Silvermoon student named Mira Voss—Lyra’s younger sister was among the first to present. She brewed a healing salve that could close wounds in seconds, demonstrating its effectiveness on a small cut she made on her own palm. The crowd gasped as the skin knit together before their eyes. The judges nodded appreciatively.

A Shadowmoon student named Kael Ironfang followed with a strength-enhancing elixir. He drank it himself and proceeded to lift a massive stone weight that would have been impossible for an ordinary wolf. The crowd cheered. Lord Eldritch’s expression remained unchanged.

Nina Dobrev of Silvermoon brewed a truth serum so potent that a single drop on the tongue compelled her volunteer a willing Silvermoon instructor to confess his deepest secret. "I once ate an entire cake meant for the headmistress’s birthday, I didn’t mean to but I just wanted to taste it because it was looking delicious," the instructor admitted, his face red with embarrassment. The arena roared with laughter. Even Lord Eldritch’s lips twitched.

Mavron Cornrow of Shadowmoon created a fire-resistant coating that he applied to his own arm before thrusting it into an open flame. The crowd gasped, then applauded wildly as he withdrew his arm completely unharmed.

And then it was Corvin’s turn.

He stepped up to his table with the calm confidence of someone who had been preparing for this moment his entire life. His dark hair was pulled back, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his whiskey-dark eyes focused and intent. Before him lay an array of ingredients that made the other competitors’ tables look sparse, moonflower petals, powdered silver, crushed nightshade, vials of lunar essence, and a dozen other components that only a master alchemist would recognize.

"Corvin Eldritch of Shadowmoon Academy," the announcer called. "Brewing a potion of his own design."

A hush fell over the crowd. Corvin’s reputation preceded him. The Serpent. The prodigy. The son of the greatest alchemist in the Seven Packs.

He began to work.

His movements were fluid and precise, each ingredient measured with exacting care. He heated the cauldron to exactly the right temperature, added the moonflower petals in three precise stages, and stirred the mixture with a glass rod that glowed faintly with embedded lunar magic. The liquid inside the cauldron shifted colors silver to gold to deep, luminescent violet.

In the stands, Nyra was on her feet before she realized she had stood up.

"Come on, Corvin! You can do this! You’re going to win!" Her voice rang out across the arena, bright and fierce and utterly unashamed.

Corvin didn’t look up from his work. But a small smile curved the corner of his lips.

"Go, Eldritch!" Finn shouted, joining Nyra. "Make us proud!"

"Shadowmoon! Shadowmoon!" Marek’s deep voice joined the chant, and soon the entire Shadowmoon section was roaring.

In the royal box, Soren watched the display with a complicated expression. He was proud of Corvin truly, he was. They had been friends since childhood, and whatever rivalry existed between them, he had never doubted Corvin’s brilliance. But Nyra’s voice had been the loudest. The first to rise. The fiercest in her support.

She’s cheering for him, Kael observed. Not us.

She’s cheering for her friend. Her mate. He’s part of the bond too.

Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

No. But we support him anyway.

Soren cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Eldritch! Show them what you’re made of!"

Corvin’s hands paused for just a moment. Then he resumed his work, his smile widening.

The potion took nearly twenty minutes to complete. When it was finished, Corvin poured the shimmering violet liquid into a crystal vial and held it up to the light. It glowed with an inner radiance, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

"This," he announced, his voice carrying across the silent arena, "is a Lunar Restoration Elixir. It can heal wounds that wolfsbane has corrupted, restore strength to a wolf who has been drained by dark magic, and neutralize poisons that would otherwise be fatal. It is brewed from moonflower petals harvested under a full moon, lunar essence collected at the winter solstice, and thirteen other ingredients that I will not disclose."

He walked to the royal box and presented the vial to his father. Lord Eldritch took it with steady hands, examined it closely, and held it up to the light. For a long moment, he was silent.

Then, very slowly, he nodded.

"Well done," he said, and those two words from a man who had never praised anyone were worth more than a standing ovation.

While the judges deliberated, the arena was treated to a display of entertainment.

The Silvermoon girls took the stage first, their white and silver gowns flowing around them like water. They moved in perfect synchronization, their dance a blend of classical grace and wolfish power. They leaped and spun and wove between each other in patterns that told a story the tale of the Moon Goddess descending to earth, blessing the first wolves with her light. The music swelled, and the dancers formed a circle, their arms raised to the sky as silver glitter rained down around them.

Then the Shadowmoon boys joined them.

They were not dancers not in the traditional sense. They were stuntmen, their movements bold and powerful. They lifted the Silvermoon girls into the air, tossed them spinning, caught them with effortless strength. The girls balanced on their shoulders, leaped from their hands, twisted through the air with breathtaking grace. It was a display of trust and coordination and sheer physical prowess that left the audience gasping.

For the finale, the dancers formed a living sculpture the Silvermoon girls raised high on the shoulders of the Shadowmoon boys, their arms intertwined to form a crown, their gowns flowing down like the rays of the moon. The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

When the dancers had cleared the arena and the judges had finished their deliberations, the MC, a silver-haired instructor named Madam Este stepped onto the platform with a sealed envelope in her hand.

"Students, dignitaries, Your Majesties," she announced. "The judges have reached their decision for the potions and alchemy exhibition."

A hush fell over the arena.

"In third place... Mavron Cornrow of Shadowmoon Academy!"

The Shadowmoon section cheered as Mavron stepped forward to receive his ribbon. He grinned and waved to the crowd, clearly pleased.

"In second place... Nina Dobrev of Silvermoon Academy!"

The Silvermoon girls applauded enthusiastically as Nina accepted her ribbon with a graceful curtsy.

Madam Este paused, letting the tension build. The silence stretched. Nyra gripped the edge of her seat, her heart pounding. Please. Please. Please.

"And in first place, with a unanimous decision from the judges and the highest commendation from Lord Eldritch himself... Corvin Eldritch of Shadowmoon Academy!"

The arena exploded.

Nyra screamed a wordless, triumphant sound that was swallowed by the roar of the crowd. Finn was jumping up and down. Marek was clapping so hard his hands must have been stinging. Jasper had actually smiled a real, genuine smile that transformed his usually stoic face.

"Corvin! Corvin! Corvin!" The Shadowmoon students chanted his name like a battle cry.

Corvin walked to the royal box with the same calm composure he always displayed, but Nyra could see the pride in his eyes. He bowed to the King, accepted the first-place ribbon from his father, and turned to face the crowd.

His eyes found Nyra in the stands. She was still on her feet, still cheering, her silver hair catching the sunlight. And when their gazes met, she smiled a brilliant, unrestrained smile that made his heart stutter in his chest.

He raised his ribbon in acknowledgment, and the crowd roared again.

Shadowmoon had won the first event. But the showcase was far from over.