I watched Hopsander, now shrunk back to his normal size, lying on the ground, motionless.

  Blood pooled around him, soaking into the cracked stone. I couldn’t look away. There was this . . . dead buzz in my ears like I’d been dunked underwater. My heart hammered in my chest, but everything else felt numb.

  ‘We have to do something, Erik!’ Fern’s voice sounded frantic.

  I heard a low growl in my throat—the chimera in my bloodstream, itching to burst forth. My hands shook. I wanted to rush at Noah and tear into him, to make him pay. But I couldn’t lose my head, not yet. I glanced to my sides and saw my friends all waiting on me to give the signal. All the teachers around us crouched, cuffs cut, and like the others . . . waiting for me.

  “Hopsander—” Galina’s voice trembled with rage. She stumbled forward, her scorpion’s stinger already arching over her shoulder. Waelid, wings crackling with spinning phoenix flames, let out a piercing shriek of his own. They both lunged at Noah, who hovered with casual arrogance above Hopsander’s body.

  Noah flicked his hand. Thin, gleaming strands of golden chain burst from the floor. They wrapped around Galina’s arms, pinning them to her sides and halting her in her tracks; another set whipped around Waelid’s torso, yanking him so hard he lost his balance midair and crashed to the ground.

  “Pathetic,” Noah muttered. He didn’t even bother to look at them. With another quick gesture, more golden strands snaked over Hopsander’s body, dragging it toward the circle at the center of the warehouse floor. My stomach turned at the thought of him desecrating Hopsander’s remains like that—like a piece of trash he planned to toss aside.

  Piqah, Jiho, and Jako weren’t far behind though. They tried to rush in from the side, but the black-hooded man and the elven girl were already moving to intercept them. Everything exploded in an instant. The elven girl shrieked and hurled a bolt of lightning that splintered across Piqah’s broad, gorilla-like shoulders. Piqah roared, ignoring the pain, and hammered the elven girl with a massive fist. The impact sent her skidding across the floor, her jaw dislocated as she tried to get up, clutching her chin.

  “Ow . . . You worthless—” she hissed, words slurring. Lotrick, face pale, flew over and mended her twisted jaw with a quick flash of magic. The girl cursed again and spat blood, while Piqah snarled at her. Before the girl could unleash more lightning, golden chain spells from Noah seized Piqah and clamped her mouth shut, silencing her furious roar.

  Within moments, all the upperclassmen were pinned under golden restraints. The house leaders, even Waelid, who had reached level three, were taken out in the space of a few heartbeats. My gut twisted into a tighter knot than it already was in.

  I looked back to my friends. Mel’s eyes burned with angry tears; she looked ready to charge out there herself, but I could see her knuckles clutching her dagger in one hand and her axe in the other, waiting for my signal. We slowly huddled together, our heads barely above the smoke line, while the freed professors crouched around us—battered, stunned, but unbound.

  Some of the teachers were openly sobbing. Others clenched their teeth, eyes wet with rage. But all of them stayed down—still pretending to be chained—just as we’d instructed.

  Noah floated above the upperclassmen.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “So, these are the best Cinder recruits the academy has?” Noah’s voice carried easily in the hush of shock. “I’m honestly disappointed. I mean, which one of you is Waelid? The one who supposedly slew the Guardian we sent to your trial?” He eyed Waelid’s phoenix-infused limbs with a lazy smirk. “You messed up my plan, you know? Though I must say, I was very impressed when Mourncrest gave that report.”

  Waelid let out a choked snarl. “You . . . you set that thing on us?! Why? You . . . you made me . . .” He twisted against the chains. Noah just snorted and flipped his hands over, tightening the chains.

  Noah floated to the center of the circle, and the hooded man, the elven girl, and Lotrick stepped to the edges—except the side near me. That worked in my favor.

  He murmured an incantation. The runes sparked, flashed . . . then fizzled out.

  He tried again. Nothing.

  A crease formed on Noah’s brow. “What the . . . ?”

  I stood, heart hammering, forcing a smirk. “Having circle trouble, little bro?” My throat tightened thinking of Hopsander, but the words made me feel braver. “Didn’t our D&D sessions teach you anything? Ritual circles only work if they’re complete.”

  I opened my hand, revealing the chunk of stone I’d just pried out. It glowed weakly now that it was separated from its main circle.

  Noah’s gaze flicked to the ruined floor behind me.

  “What—?” The black-hooded man stepped forward, but Noah halted him with a hand.

  Then he vanished.

  Reappearing in front of me faster than I could blink, he grabbed my collar. Over his shoulder, he snapped his fingers.

  Lotrick floated over, calm. No emotion. A cold sweat shot up my back. Fern tensed.

  “You said the one with green hair and ominous soul energy was the real problem,” Noah said, voice flat. “This him?”

  Lotrick swallowed thickly. “Indeed, Master Starbringer. The other twin soul.” His voice was quiet, almost ashamed.

  Noah clicked his tongue. “Doesn’t seem so special. But we can’t have two twin souls out here running around.” He dropped me at Lotrick’s feet like garbage. “Kill him.”

  Lotrick paled. “But, sir, wouldn’t it be wiser to take him back? To study him? At Celestium, you mentioned—”

  “Landaluce, are you disobeying me?” Noah’s voice chilled. “I changed my mind. Now do it.”

  Lotrick trembled, eyes flicking between me and Noah.

  Ice shot through my veins. I scrambled up. “Noah, you little shit, you’re not even curious why I called you brother?” My jaw clenched. “You don’t want to know how I followed you through that fucking portal? Don’t look away. It’s me. Erik.”

  Noah’s gaze snapped to mine. Something shifted—then his body shimmered.

  In a blink, he returned inches from my face, inspecting me. Then he laughed—a cruel, hollow sound that hit like a slap.

  “You’re telling me you’re my—ahem, I mean Noah’s older brother?” A dark smirk curled his lip. “Gods, I left that cesspool five years ago. And you actually followed me? Ended up in the body of one of my students’ brothers? Fate’s a comedian.”

  My chest burned. “That’s it? You’re just going to treat me like I don’t exist?” My voice cracked.

  Noah’s smile vanished. “Listen closely, Erik. I am not your brother. The little bastard you knew hasn’t seen the light of day in ten years. I treated you like trash on purpose so you’d finally get the hint and stay away for YOUR own good. But no—you had to chase me. And now look at you.”

  He sneered. “You thought you were following your brother? Hah. You haven’t seen the real Noah in over five years. He’s dead to you. Brothers don’t mean a thing. You should’ve given up. Now you’ll die for nothing.”

  Heat surged through me, my chimera side rattling in my bones, begging to be unleashed. I inhaled sharply, steadying myself. “You say you’re not Noah? Fine. Then listen to this.” My fists curled. “Family doesn’t give up on each other. Even when you’re a raging asshole.”

  He blinked, then snorted. “Family?” Golden chains burst from his sleeves, hoisting me into the air. “Family is circumstance. Give me a break.”

  A scalding wave burned away my hesitation. “I was worried you’d say that. But you did clarify one thing.”

  My body contorted—scales, fur, wings bursting free. A roar vibrated in my chest. “You said he’s dead to me.Which means he’s still alive.”

  Noah’s eyes flashed.

  I spread my wings, forcing my transformation faster. And the chains around me shattered.

  I hit the ground and roared:

  “Now!”