Chapter 136 Common Room Aftermath

Chapter 136 Common Room Aftermath
POV: Luna
The next morning, the entire school was buzzing about the dining hall confrontation.
I couldn't walk ten feet without hearing whispers.
"Did you see Victoria threaten the princess?"
"Luna looked ready to fight."
"This is going to get ugly."
Nova and I headed to breakfast early, hoping to avoid the gossip.
No such luck.
The dining hall was already packed, everyone discussing yesterday's incident.
We grabbed food and found our friends.
"This is insane," Lyric said, scrolling through her tablet. "The whole school's talking about it."
"What are they saying?" I asked.
"That you're starting a war with Victoria's clan. That the princess is bringing danger to Silverwood. That the Council should intervene."
"Great. Just great."
Aria leaned forward. "I've been asking around about Victoria Thornheart. She's from an old bloodline. Ancient pack. Lots of political power."
"How much power?" Nova asked.
"Enough that even the faculty are careful around her. Her family has Council connections."
Sienna pulled out her notebook. "I've been sensing magical signatures around the princess. Dark ones. Predatory."
"How dark?" I asked.
"Dark enough to be dangerous. Someone's using magic to track her. Maybe even plan an attack."
"Can you trace it?"
"I'm trying. But it's sophisticated. Whoever's doing this knows how to hide their signature."
Lyric tapped her tablet. "I pulled up news articles about the Northern Wolf Kingdom. Apparently, there's major political tension right now."
She showed us the screen.
Headlines about succession disputes. Rumors of coup attempts. Accusations of corruption.
"This is worse than I thought," Nova said.
"It is." I looked at my friends. "We need to be prepared. Victoria's clan is one threat. But there might be others we haven't identified yet."
"What about Cole?" Sienna asked quietly.
Everyone looked at me.
"I don't know," I admitted. "He's hiding something. I just don't know what."
"Should we confront him?" Aria asked.
"Not yet. Not until we have proof."
"Proof of what?" Nova asked.
"That's the problem. I don't know what we're looking for."
Across the dining hall, I spotted Selene.
She was sitting alone again, eating breakfast while students gave her a wide berth.
She looked isolated. Vulnerable.
My protective instincts kicked in.
"I'm going to sit with her," I said.
"Is that allowed?" Nova asked. "The whole royal protocol thing?"
"I don't care. She shouldn't have to eat alone."
I grabbed my tray and walked over.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked.
Selene looked surprised. "You don't have to."
"I want to."
I sat down, and within seconds, my friends followed.
Nova plopped down beside Selene. "So, being a princess. Is it as glamorous as it sounds?"
Selene laughed. "Not remotely. It's mostly politics and protocol."
"Sounds boring."
"It is."
"Do you have a crown?" Lyric asked.
"Several. But I rarely wear them. They're heavy and give me headaches."
"What about a royal guard?" Aria asked.
Selene's expression darkened. "I did. They're all dead now."
Silence fell over the table.
"I'm sorry," Aria said quietly. "I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine. You didn't know." Selene pushed food around her plate. "The last attack. They came at night. Breached the palace defenses. My guards fought to give me time to escape."
"How many?" Nova asked.
"Twelve guards. All dead. And I couldn't save any of them."
I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "It's not your fault."
"Isn't it? They died protecting me. Because I'm valuable. Important." She looked up, violet eyes shining with unshed tears. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't. Wish I was just normal."
"Normal's overrated," I said. "Trust me."
"You say that, but you chose this life. I was born into it."
"And you're surviving it. That takes strength."
"Or stubbornness."
"Sometimes they're the same thing."
Selene smiled slightly. "Thank you. For sitting with me. You didn't have to."
"That's what friends do."
"We're friends?"
"Aren't we?"
"I suppose we are."
The conversation shifted to lighter topics. Classes. Training. Campus gossip.
For a few minutes, Selene looked almost happy. Like a normal girl instead of a princess.
But the moment didn't last.
Victoria and her clan appeared, moving through the dining hall like predators.
They stopped at our table.
"How touching," Victoria said. "The misfit pack adopts a princess."
"Go away, Victoria," I said.
"This is a public space. I'll go where I please."
Her followers spread out, surrounding our table.
Students were watching now. Waiting to see what would happen.
"You're making a mistake," Victoria continued. "Aligning yourself with her. The Northern Kingdom is collapsing. Anyone connected to it will fall too."
"That sounds like a threat," Aria said.
"Just friendly advice." Victoria's green eyes were cold. "But if you want to go down with a sinking ship, that's your choice."
"We've made our choice," I said. "Now make yours. Walk away. Or find out what happens when you threaten my pack."
Victoria laughed. "Your pack? Please. You're a bunch of misfits playing at being powerful. Real power comes from legacy. Bloodline. Things you'll never have."
"Power comes from loyalty," Nova shot back. "Something you wouldn't understand."
"Loyalty is weakness. It makes you predictable. Vulnerable."
"And isolation makes you alone," Selene said quietly. "When your legacy fails you, you'll have no one."
Victoria's expression hardened. "We'll see about that."
She turned and left, her clan following.
The dining hall erupted in whispers again.
"That definitely made things worse," Lyric observed.
"Probably," I agreed. "But I don't care. We're not backing down."
After breakfast, we had a few hours before classes.
I decided to do some investigating.
Liam had mentioned he was good at gathering intel. Maybe he could help.
I found him in the library, surrounded by books and notes.
"Hey," I said. "Busy?"
"Always. But never too busy for you." He grinned. "What's up?"
"I need information. About Victoria Thornheart and her clan."
"Ooh, going after the mean girls. I like it." He pulled out his tablet. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Who they are. What they want. Why they're targeting the princess."
"Give me an hour."
"You can find all that in an hour?"
"I told you. I work fast."
I left him to his research and went to find Selene.
She was in her suite, going through correspondence from her kingdom.
"How bad is it?" I asked, gesturing to the letters.
"Bad. The Council wants me home. My brother wants me to stay away. My father isn't responding at all."
"What do you want?"
"I want to wake up and find out this was all a nightmare. That my guards are alive. That I'm safe." She set down the letter. "But that's not reality, is it?"
"No. But we'll make a new reality. One where you're safe and the people threatening you are stopped."
"You're very optimistic."
"I have to be. Otherwise, I'd give up."
We spent the morning going over security protocols. Where she'd be safest. Who to trust. What to do in an emergency.
By lunch, I felt slightly more prepared.
But only slightly.
We headed to the dining hall together.
The whispering started the moment we entered.
Students parted to let us through, their expressions ranging from curious to hostile.
We found my friends and sat down.
"Liam finished his research," Nova said. "He wants to meet after lunch."
"Perfect."
We ate quickly, hyper-aware of the stares.
When we finished, we headed to the library.
Liam was waiting, looking pleased with himself.
"Okay," he said. "Victoria Thornheart. Age eighteen. Senior. From the Thornheart pack, one of the oldest and most powerful in the region."
"We knew that part," Aria said.
"Right. But here's what you didn't know. Victoria's older brother was engaged to marry Princess Selene's cousin. The engagement was broken off last year under mysterious circumstances."
Selene gasped. "I remember that. My cousin called off the wedding. Said she didn't trust the Thornhearts."
"Any idea why?" Liam asked.
"She wouldn't say. Just that she'd learned something that made marriage impossible."
"So Victoria has a grudge," I said. "Against Selene's family."
"Exactly. And there's more." Liam pulled up another file. "Three of the assassination attempts on Selene? They happened in territories controlled by families allied with the Thornhearts."
"That's not coincidence," Sienna said.
"Nope. I think Victoria's family is involved. Maybe even behind the attempts."
"We need proof," Aria said.
"I'm working on it. But in the meantime, watch your backs. Victoria and her clan are dangerous."
We left the library, minds racing with this new information.
If Victoria's family was trying to kill Selene, we were in more danger than I'd thought.
And we needed to be ready.
That evening, after classes, I was walking Selene back to her suite when we heard voices.
Angry voices.
We rounded a corner and found Victoria's clan cornering a younger student.
The girl looked terrified.
"Please," she was saying. "I didn't mean to—"
"You sat at our table," one of Victoria's followers said. "Without permission."
"I didn't know it was yours!"
"Ignorance isn't an excuse."
I stepped forward. "Leave her alone."
Victoria turned, smiling coldly. "Or what?"
"Or I'll make you."
"You really want to do this? Here? Now?"
"If I have to."
The hallway was empty. No witnesses. No faculty.
Just us.
Victoria's clan spread out, forming a semi-circle.
"Last chance, Eclipse. Walk away."
"Not happening."
Victoria's eyes flashed gold. She was about to shift.
Then Liam appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late! Did I miss the party?"
His sudden appearance broke the tension.
Victoria's clan hesitated, unsure how to handle the newcomer.
"Who are you?" Victoria demanded.
"Liam Castellan. New student. General chaos enthusiast." He moved to stand beside me. "And I'm going to have to ask you to back off. Before this gets ugly."
"You're outnumbered."
"Am I?" Liam grinned. "Because I count Luna, me, the princess, and that intense magical energy Luna's about to unleash. Seems pretty even to me."
He wasn't wrong. My Eclipse power was surging, ready to defend.
Victoria assessed the situation and apparently decided it wasn't worth it.
"This isn't over," she said.
"Looking forward to it," Liam replied cheerfully.
Victoria and her clan left.
The younger student ran off, mumbling thanks.
I turned to Liam. "How did you know we needed help?"
"I didn't. I was just walking by and heard voices." He shrugged. "Right place, right time."
"That was either incredible timing or incredible instinct."
"Probably both." He looked at Selene. "You okay, Your Highness?"
"Fine. Thank you for your assistance."
"Anytime. Protecting princesses is my new hobby."
Despite everything, I laughed.
Liam was chaos personified. But he was also proving to be exactly what we needed.
An ally who appeared when we least expected it.
And with the threats mounting, we'd need all the allies we could get.