Our three protagonists looked like wild beasts.

  The guard stammered when he heard Kael’s quip, thinking to himself:

  How could this kid still be joking after six days out in the wild, surely in constant danger?

  I don’t understand…

  Heavy footsteps echoed on the steps of the Acropolis. The sun still shone high in the sky. More guards were approaching, accompanied by Voilards. Their long robes fluttered in the wind.

  A man with an austere bearing stepped forward. He wore a full but neatly kept beard. He stood at the center of the group of guards descending the steps. His gaze assessed everything around him. His presence commanded respect. Kael swallowed instinctively.

  The man wore a full suit of silver plate armor. On his breastplate was the Soléandre crest: a nine-branched sun struck at its center. A long white cape flowed behind him.

  When he reached Althéa, he dropped to one knee respectfully and said in a firm voice:

  “Princess, it is a relief to see you safe and sound. We were informed of an anomaly at the Institute. When we learned of your disappearance, we departed at once.”

  He did not look Althéa in the eyes. His eyelids remained lowered, as if ashamed of his failure. Althéa fixed him with the gaze of a ruler toward a subject—firm, but without disrespect.

  “Captain Adonis, yes. Indeed. And I would like answers. My companions as well.”

  Lucanis nodded respectfully.

  Kael, on the other hand, added in a sarcastic tone:

  “Yeah. It’d be nice to know why we were left alone in the middle of a canyon with a Class-S…”

  The captain lifted his head, startled, eyes wide.

  “A Class-S? There were only a few Class-Three creatures near the training area. Too far away to pose any danger to Trame Bearers…”

  He noticed Althéa watching him and lowered his gaze again.

  “How did you survive a Class-S encounter?”

  Althéa did not answer. She simply asked:

  “Where is Dean Ford? He is the one who owes us explanations.”

  The captain replied, his tone heavier:

  “He has been arrested to answer for certain irregularities.”

  Althéa clicked her tongue, irritated.

  “And where is he, exactly?”

  “Still inside the Dawn Acropolis. He is to be transferred to the palace to stand before the Royal Council.”

  Without another word, Althéa surged up the steps at a brisk pace. Lucanis and Kael were right on her heels. The guards parted as she passed.

  She crossed the great open doors of the Dawn Acropolis. The massive doors—rarely opened—spoke of the urgency of the situation. The Dean stood there, shackled, surrounded by several guards. His head was bowed. His white tunic was still immaculate.

  Althéa advanced with firm steps, her commanding tone echoing through the empty hall. All the students had been evacuated. The only sound left was the sharp clack of her boots against stone.

  “Release Dean Ford.”

  One of the guards replied:

  “We have orders from the king.”

  “Release him,” she repeated.

  There was no room for debate in her voice. The guards finally obeyed.

  Dean Ford’s eyes widened when he saw the young Trame Bearers.

  “Trame Bearer Althéa, Trame Bearer Lucanis, Trame Bearer Kael… I am relieved to see you safe and sound. What happened?”

  Althéa opened her mouth to answer—but a set of fast, heavy footsteps cut her off. All three of them turned.

  Velara was striding straight toward them.

  She stopped in front of Althéa. Did not kneel. And said, a crooked smile on her lips:

  “New haircut? It suits you pretty well. You look fierce in that fur. You sure you’re still a princess?”

  She glanced at Lucanis and Kael.

  “Well, now that I know the princess is fine…”

  She let the sentence hang—then grabbed Kael and Lucanis by the collars, lifting each of them with one hand. As if they weighed nothing.

  Both boys struggled, uselessly. The grip of the platinum-blonde woman did not falter.

  “So tell me…” she went on.

  “Who the hell are you two idiots?”

  Althéa ordered Velara to release them.

  “Put them down. Now.”

  But Velara didn’t obey. She looked back at the two boys, as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

  “I’ll say this one last time,” Velara growled.

  “Who are these two?”

  Lucanis kept struggling without answering, furious. Kael—his face smeared with blood—was struggling too, but his strangled voice finally broke through, weak and shaking:

  “Fuck… I’m really starting to get sick… of being treated like a sack of potatoes…”

  “Velara. Put them down,” Althéa insisted, more firmly.

  When Velara still didn’t react, Althéa said coldly:

  “They’re called Lucanis… and Kael.”

  Silence.

  “Lucanis is the heir of House Velcrann.”

  She paused. Her gaze slid to Kael, still hanging in the air.

  “And Kael… well…”

  “Kael is Kael.”

  Everyone stared at her.

  Velara tilted her head slightly, visibly caught off guard. An awkward silence followed.

  Still half-strangled, Kael muttered dryly:

  “You couldn’t… come up with anything better? Seriously?”

  Velara sighed, a crooked smirk tugging at her lips. She loosened her grip. Both boys collapsed to the ground, gasping, breathless.

  Velara crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.

  “Alright. Then you’re going to explain what happened over those six days.”

  “And more importantly—why, when I arrive, there’s a corpse with his face lying right in front of the entrance.”

  She jerked her thumb toward Kael without even looking at him.

  The Dean, now freed from his chains, stepped in calmly:

  “I believe it would be more appropriate to discuss this in my office.”

  Kael, still on the floor, was rubbing his neck with a grimace.

  “I’m inclined to agree with him,” he said.

  “And… could we maybe also get some water and food? Because, you know, you did leave us in a monster-filled canyon—for six days—just in case you’d forgotten.”

  He delivered it with all the sarcasm he had left.

  Lucanis, still dignified despite the pain, straightened while rubbing his own neck.

  “A meal would indeed… be most welcome.”

  Velara assessed them both, arms still crossed, then shrugged.

  The Dean nodded.

  “Have three full meals brought to my office.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  And they all set off, leaving the great hall behind as they headed toward the Dean’s quarters.

  They arrived in the Dean’s office.

  The room was mostly unchanged, save for a few details: the door had been replaced, and so had the desk itself. On the sun-drenched terrace, a long table had been set up.

  The three young Trame Bearers sat side by side, facing the Dean and Velara.

  None of them could sit still. Their eyes kept drifting back toward the office entrance—impatient, tense… hungry.

  When the servants finally crossed the threshold, arms laden with steaming trays, Lucanis and Kael began salivating instantly. Velara would have sworn Althéa did too, despite her royal composure.

  They fell upon the food as if they hadn’t eaten in a week—which wasn’t far from the truth.

  Kael, true to himself, ate like a pig. Lucanis had completely forgotten his manners and was no more refined. Althéa, for her part, tried to maintain at least a shred of decorum… but she wasn’t far from following their example.

  The Dean set his cutlery down, wiped his fingers on a cloth, then spoke:

  “Tell me, Trame Bearers… what happened to you during those six days?”

  Kael looked up from his plate, mouth still half full.

  “Well, as for me… I got teleported into a canyon. Pretty disoriented at first—I wasn’t expecting to be alone. I walked around a bit… and then I ran into a Lycaon. Class-Three. I nearly pissed myself, not gonna lie.”

  The Dean’s face went pale instantly.

  Kael went on, unfazed:

  “After that, I kept moving… and ran into this big guy here.”

  He jerked his thumb toward Lucanis. The latter kept eating, impassive.

  “At first, I didn’t think we’d get along,” Kael added. “He threatened me with his sword and said I was more animal than man…”

  Velara burst out laughing.

  “Given how you eat, he wasn’t far off.”

  Lucanis raised an eyebrow, then continued more seriously:

  “After that, we were chased by three Lycaons.”

  The Dean’s eyes widened, his voice trembling:

  “Three…?”

  Lucanis nodded slowly, took a sip of water, then went on:

  “We fled to the edge of the canyon. There was a lake below. We didn’t have a choice… we had to jump.”

  “Yeah, except you’re forgetting to mention that I had to push you!” Kael protested indignantly.

  “Because someone doesn’t know how to swim!”

  Velara burst out laughing again. Even the Dean allowed himself a small, reluctant smile.

  Lucanis shrugged.

  “I would’ve jumped anyway…”

  “Yeah, sure,” Kael muttered.

  Lucanis went on, unfazed:

  “Night was falling. We set up camp and slept under the stars. The next morning, we resumed our journey through the forest, looking for other students.”

  Kael chimed in:

  “Yeah, and we crossed this amazing meadow too. Seriously. Beautiful meadow.”

  Lucanis continued without reacting:

  “We found signs of passage. And smoke. A fire had been lit.”

  “Well, calling it a fire is generous,” Kael added with a mocking grin.

  “It was more than decent,” Althéa shot back, pride clear in her voice.

  Lucanis carried on:

  “And that’s when we spotted the princess—engaged in combat with a Class-Four.”

  “A ‘combat’ is putting it mildly,” Althéa cut in immediately.

  “I dealt with it quickly.”

  Velara adopted a falsely pompous tone, mimicking Althéa with a sly smile:

  “But of course, Princess… we have absolutely no doubts.”

  Althéa shot her a dark look but didn’t rise to the bait. Her tone turned serious again:

  “So we made each other’s acquaintance. Lucanis was very courteous. Respectful of my rank.”

  She paused briefly.

  “As for Kael… he openly challenged me the moment he laid eyes on me.”

  Kael, mouth still full, looked up, bristling:

  “Hey! You’re forgetting to mention that you were staring at me like you wanted to turn me into your personal pet!”

  “And I’m the one who killed the Class-Four, by the way! Your back was turned!”

  Althéa raised her voice, jumping to her feet:

  “You never would have finished it if I hadn’t stunned it first!”

  Kael stood up as well, ready to snap back.

  “You’re always boasting!” Althéa shouted.

  “It would have gutted you if you’d been alone!”

  They were now standing forehead to forehead, the tension crackling like static.

  The Dean tried to intervene awkwardly, his voice unsure:

  “Uh… a little self-control, please…”

  Velara burst out laughing, a tear at the corner of her eye.

  Lucanis rose calmly, placed one hand on each of their shoulders, and forced them back into their seats without a word. They complied reluctantly and went back to eating.

  Althéa continued, calmer now:

  “After that, we started putting together a plan. We didn’t know exactly where we were, but we did know we were being hunted by Class-Threes.”

  Velara straightened slightly. Her gaze hardened, attentive.

  “So we decided to head back toward the canyon,” Althéa went on.

  The Dean frowned.

  “Why return there?”

  Lucanis spoke up, setting his fork down with measured calm:

  “Because it was better to hunt them before they found us. To use surprise to our advantage.”

  He paused.

  “And from the canyon’s heights, we would’ve had a view over the entire valley. Strategic. But… things didn’t go as planned.”

  “It completely went to hell,” Kael added without looking up from his plate.

  “So we moved on,” Althéa continued.

  “On the way, we came across a clearing. And there… we found a human body.”

  Both the Dean and Velara raised an eyebrow.

  “A skeleton,” she corrected.

  “A sword driven straight through its chest. Not far from it, there was a cabin.”

  Kael took a sip of water.

  “A creepy cabin, actually. At the edge of a forest. But we figured it was worth checking out. Maybe a human. Or better—an instructor.”

  He shook his head, disillusioned.

  “What we found… wasn’t that. Trust me.”

  Lucanis picked up the thread:

  “The cabin was in ruins, but it had been occupied recently. Kael found a parchment. Some kind of confession.”

  Kael added, still chewing:

  “The guy in the cabin had killed his friend. Sword straight through the chest.”

  He grimaced slightly.

  “Pretty ugly story.”

  He shrugged.

  “And I don’t know what got into us… but we went down into the basement.”

  He paused, staring into nothing.

  “Fuck. What a stupid idea…”

  He fell silent. Then, slowly, both he and Althéa turned to look at Lucanis.

  Lucanis, unfazed, rolled his eyes and sighed.

  Then he spoke, perfectly calm:

  “It’s true that, on the surface, it wasn’t a good idea… but in the end, going down there was the right call.”

  The Dean straightened slightly, intrigued.

  “And what did you find down there?”

  Velara leaned in as well, her curiosity sharpening her gaze.

  Althéa continued:

  “The cellar was dark. But we managed to find some torches.”

  “Find is a strong word,” Kael cut in, offended. “I had to tear my uniform apart to get them to work.”

  Althéa crossed her arms.

  “Stop acting like a child.”

  Kael ground his teeth and went back to his plate, visibly sulking.

  Lucanis went on, impassive:

  “At the back of the cellar, there was a small circular room. And a man. Dying. He passed away moments later—from blood loss.”

  Althéa lowered her voice slightly.

  “We won’t lie… we were terrified. Who—or what—could have done something like that?”

  “Hold on,” Kael protested, raising his hands.

  “You were the ones who were terrified! If I hadn’t kept my cool and tested my theory, we’d probably be dead right now!”

  Velara tilted her head, intrigued.

  “What theory?”

  Kael straightened proudly, tapping his chest.

  “Well, you see, I suspected there was a Lycaon in the cellar. And I also figured it was blind.”

  “So, since I’m the only one who knows how to move without making any noise, I went into the circular room. And bingo—there was a Lycaon waiting for us.”

  “Hanging from the ceiling. Like a huge, disgusting spider.”

  “I got out fast to warn the others.”

  Lucanis continued, his voice grave:

  “Except that this Lycaon wasn’t like the ones from the day before.

  This one had black fur. Thick. And a strange posture.”

  The Dean frowned.

  “And what happened next?”

  Althéa lifted her chin proudly.

  “So… we devised a strategy.”

  Lucanis cut her off without even looking at her.

  “Althéa. Don’t play proud. Say it.”

  She let out an annoyed breath, crossed her arms, and muttered:

  “Fine… Kael came up with the strategy.”

  Velara smiled, intrigued.

  “How so?”

  Lucanis explained:

  “We exploited its blindness. And the fact that it recognized the natural sounds humans make. Not just noise—but rhythm. Vibrations. Patterns.”

  Kael placed a hand on his chest, puffed up with pride.

  “With absolute courage—and I choose my words carefully—I served as bait.”

  “I forced it down from the ceiling. Then Althéa and Lucanis lured it into the adjacent corridor, to restrict its movements.”

  Lucanis added calmly, still chewing:

  “We severed its Achilles tendons.”

  Althéa picked up the thread:

  “A clean cut. Precise.”

  Silence fell around the table.

  Then Kael blurted out, feigning outrage:

  “What a liar!”

  Lucanis continued, a faint smile tugging at his lips:

  “Indeed, the princess was wielding a rather poor-quality sword. Severely worn.”

  “When it came time to cut the tendon, the blade couldn’t even slice properly.”

  “She had to resort to something a bit more… brutal.”

  Kael, his mouth still full, added:

  “A real slaughter. She sawed through that poor creature’s leg like a butcher cutting a beef rib.”

  Althéa turned her head away, offended.

  “Maybe… but it worked. And we brought it down, didn’t we?”

  Kael opened his mouth, ready to fire back, but Althéa shot him a murderous look and continued more quickly:

  “Don’t you dare say you’re the one who killed it.

  If Lucanis and I hadn’t risked our lives, you would never have managed to finish it off.”

  “And I’m being generous, because you didn’t even do it on purpose! You were aiming for its flank—I still don’t know how you managed to drive your weapon into its eye!”

  She frowned, her gaze dropping to Kael’s hand.

  “And your Needle-Blade? Where is it?”

  Kael looked down, confused.

  His hand was empty.

  Althéa shot to her feet and smacked him sharply on the back of the head.

  “Your weapon. In your hand. All the time. I’ve already told you!”

  Kael obeyed immediately, face red with embarrassment, muttering something unintelligible.

  From that point on, Kael ate with one hand, the other gripping his Needle-Blade, just as Althéa had demanded.

  Velara and the Dean watched him, baffled.

  The cold, composed young woman they had known a week earlier now looked like some kind of unforgiving instructor—authoritative, rigid… almost military.

  Velara curved a faint, amused smile.

  The Dean, meanwhile, stammered:

  “You… you killed a Class-Three while being Latents? But… how is that even possible?”

  All three youths shrugged in unison, as if it were nothing remarkable.

  “And then?” the Dean asked, eyes wide.

  Lucanis answered in his usual calm tone:

  “We skinned the creature. Took its fur. To avoid freezing to death during the night.”

  The Dean narrowed his eyes.

  “Wait… that fur… is that what you’re literally wearing on your backs right now?”

  Kael opened his mouth, a satisfied grin spreading across his face:

  “Well yes, actually, I’m the one who—”

  He didn’t get to finish.

  Velara had already jumped to her feet, moving in to inspect their cloaks more closely.

  “Oh yeah… very classy. Very savage.”

  She turned toward Althéa with a teasing smile.

  “I’m surprised, Princess. I always thought you were a delicate young lady…”

  Then she went back to her seat, clearly amused.

  Lucanis continued:

  “We set up a camp nearby for the night. And the next day… we climbed the canyon cliff.”

  None of the three mentioned the incident that had occurred just before the ascent.

  The Dean, shocked:

  “You climbed the cliff? Without any equipment?”

  Althéa answered absently, as if lost in a memory:

  “Yes… Kael went up first. To scout the best route.”

  She paused.

  Images resurfaced in her mind—Kael, panting, his lean, athletic body stretched by effort, muscles taut, sweat glistening on his skin, chestnut hair whipping in the wind… and that fierce look in his eyes. That raw, unyielding will to survive.

  She murmured, almost without realizing it:

  “It was beautiful…”

  Everyone stared at Althéa.

  Kael, meanwhile, kept eating as if nothing had happened—

  but inside his head, one thought kept looping.

  Wait—what? What did she just say?

  Lucanis sighed, but continued without comment.

  “After that, we camped again—this time in a rocky outcrop, still within the canyon.”

  He glanced slightly toward Althéa.

  “And that’s when the princess had… a brilliant insight.”

  Althéa lifted her chin, confidence returning.

  “Everything about that creature felt wrong.

  Based on what the boys had described… I eventually understood.”

  She paused.

  “It wasn’t a Class-Three.”

  Silence.

  “It was a Class-S.”

  And the room froze.