Chapter 154 Chapter 154

Chapter 154 Chapter 154
Amber

Ellie paused, toothbrush halfway to her mouth, then pointed it at me like a weapon. “Then look so good that when he eventually shows up covered in other people’s blood, the first thing he thinks is ‘damn, I almost died for that.’ “
She said the last word a bit too dreamily and I forced my brain to not imagine that exact look on his face.
I opened my mouth again to argue but she glared at me.
“Now sit. And stop looking at me like I’m the villain in this story. I’m the fairy godmother with better taste and zero patience.”
She pushed me into the chair in front of the mirror and went to work like a woman possessed. I sat there, stifling a yawn, watching her work so hard on making me look good.
She twisted and pinned my hair, applied makeup and chose accessories without hesitation. 
“You’re enjoying this too much,” I muttered as she attacked my eyeliner.
“I am living my best life,” she replied without missing a beat. “You get to look like a dangerous, under-slept goddess, and I get to say ‘I told you so’ for the rest of the semester. Win-win.”
“I still think we should be in training gear.”
“And I still think you should stop arguing with the person holding the sharp makeup pencils near your eyes. Quiet. Let me work my magic.”
The entire time, my thoughts kept drifting to Damian and his silver eyes, his knuckles that were probably split open by now and the way he had looked at me only hours ago like I was something worth losing control for. 
Guilt sat heavy in my chest. He was out there somewhere, still fighting or preparing or bleeding, and I was sitting here getting painted into a version of myself that felt almost like a stranger.
When Ellie finally stepped back, I blinked at the mirror.
The girl staring back at me did not look like someone who had been dead to the world twenty minutes ago. 
She looked sharp, dangerous like she belonged in a room full of alphas and power plays. The dress hugged every curve of my body and the open back made me feel both exposed and strangely powerful.
Ellie grinned, already attacking her own face with the same ruthless skill. “Badass diva status: achieved. You’re welcome. Try not to trip over your own legs and ruin my masterpiece.”
“No promises,” I said. “This dress has a higher chance of causing an accident than the actual Hunt.”
By the time she finished her own transformation we were both standing by the door.
Ellie grabbed my hand. “Ready?”
“No.” I was still terrified of walking out wearing this dress.
“Perfect. That’s the spirit.”
She yanked the door open.
We stepped into the hallway and both of us gasped in pure, unfiltered shock.
In the half hour it had taken Ellie to turn me from a sleep-deprived raccoon into a gorgeous girl, the entire academy had transformed. 
Welcome banners in deep crimson and gold hung from every archway. Every light in the academy blazed at full power. Students poured out of dorms dressed in their absolute best wearing sequins, tailored jackets, and dresses that looked like they cost more than my entire wardrobe.
Not just the girls but all the boys were dressed impeccably, like we were all invited to some King’s grand coronation.
Nobody looked sleepy anymore. They looked hungry to please the four alphas and gain their favor.
Ellie let out a low whistle. “Okay. Either the principal has a secret event-planning army, or someone sold their soul for this setup because how did they manage to turn this gloomy academy into an elite club?”
“No idea” I shrugged as we joined the stream of students heading toward the open grounds. All around us, conversations buzzed like static.
“The alphas are arriving before the Hunt? That’s never happened. They always show up after, when the blood’s already been spilled”
I heard a girl whisper ecstatically.
“Maybe something’s wrong. Alphas don’t just appear early for fun” Her friend worried beside her.
I slowed just enough to catch a cluster of third-years fussing with each other’s collars near a pillar.
“I’m telling you,” a tall girl in a silver gown whispered, frantically adjusting her friend’s necklace, “they never come before the Hunt. Never. It’s tradition. They wait until the survivors are sorted and the rankings are public. Showing up early means something’s shifted.”
Her friend, a guy with carefully tousled hair and a sleek looking jacket, tugged at his cuffs. “Or it means one of them wants to make a statement. First impressions matter. If I look underdressed next to an Alpha I’m going to crawl into a hole and die.”
“You already look like you’re trying too hard,” the girl hissed. “Smile less. You look desperate.”
“I am desperate.”
Ellie snorted under her breath. “You can thank me now.”
“Thank you for dressing me up like cinderella, fairy godmother”
I scanned the crowd on instinct, searching for a familiar set of broad shoulders and silver eyes. 
I would be lying if I said some part of me didn’t want Damian to see me dressed like this instead of the usual training clothes and sweat dripping down my temples while I was covered in mud and dirt.
But there was no sign of Damian or a flash of pure black, my skin didn’t prickle with awareness like it usually did when he was around like my body sensed him even before I saw him.
Should I go to the fight club now? I hoped he wasn’t too injured.
I berated myself for choosing to sleep instead of going to check on him, pulled out my phone and typed quickly.
Me: Where are you?
There was no reply so I tried again.
Me: Are you okay? The alphas are arriving so come over quickly and wear something nice.
The message sat there, unread, and the knot in my chest tightened.
The open grounds had been completely overhauled in record break time. What was usually just a wide stretch of grass and training markers had become a giant open-air party space. 
Floating lights hovered above long tables stacked with crystal glasses and dark bottles. A hastily constructed stage dominated the far end, complete with a heavy velvet curtain and four massive screens were mounted behind the podium.
Students huddled close, eyes looking all around for any sign of the alphas’ arrival. It didn’t look like anybody was angry to have been woken up in the dead of the night and told to dress up because the air was thick with nerves, and barely contained excitement. 
But I only wondered what it would be like for Damian to arrive and see all the four alphas and the heirs stand together while he stood out like a sore thumb with no father to stand beside him, guide him on the way forward.
Was that the reason he wasn’t here?