The Academy had never looked more alive.
Silken banners floated in the twilight breeze. Golden lanterns hung from every spire, casting soft light over marble arches and enchanted glass. Music drifted through the air like a spell, sweet and lilting. Students and faculty alike gathered beneath the stars in carefully chosen attire, their faces hidden behind ornate masks.
But Evelyn saw everything.
She stood near the center courtyard, cloaked in a midnight-blue gown that shimmered with runes. A silver half-mask veiled her identity, but her eyes—sharp, watchful—missed nothing. Her heart still beat to the rhythm of Alexander's kiss.
He hadn't said the words. But he didn't need to.
She'd chosen him.
And now... the world would answer back.
"You look like a queen," a voice murmured from behind.
Evelyn turned slightly.
Caelan stood there, in formal black with his own mask concealing most of his face—except his eyes. Kind. Steady. Hurting. But still standing beside her.
"I told you I'm not running away," he said. "And I meant it."
She smiled faintly. "Thank you."
But even as they stood together, her attention drifted—drawn by something colder in the air. A shift. A scent of something wrong beneath the perfume and laughter.
Then she saw her.
Isabella.
Draped in crimson silk. Her mask gold and feathered. Laughing too brightly, too easily, as she danced between groups.
But Evelyn saw the tightness in her shoulders.
The calculated glances.
The moment her hand briefly passed something to a hooded figure at the edge of the crowd.
Evelyn's stomach turned.
"She's going to make a move," Evelyn whispered.
"Tonight?" Caelan asked.
"Yes. This festival isn't just celebration—it's distraction."
A familiar warmth pressed to her back.
Alexander.
"Then we don't let her finish what she's started," he murmured near her ear. "We end it tonight."
She turned toward him. "Together?"
He gave a faint nod. "Always."
Somewhere in the distance, a gong sounded—announcing the arrival of the Headmaster and the ceremonial lighting of the Skyfire Lanterns.
The crowd began to move, eyes raised to the heavens.
But Evelyn, Alexander, and Caelan weren't watching the sky.
They were watching Isabella.
And Isabella?
She was already slipping away.
Smiling beneath her mask as the final act began.