Chapter 50 The Great Hall Confrontation
POV: Luna
The Great Hall is packed for dinner.
I'm sitting with Nova, Aria, Sienna, and Lyric at our usual table near the back. The noise is overwhelming. Hundreds of students talking, laughing, the clatter of plates and silverware echoing off the high ceiling.
I'm trying to focus on my food, but I can't shake the feeling that something's about to happen.
Darius has been too quiet since this morning. Too calm.
That's never a good sign.
"You okay?" Nova asks, nudging my arm. "You've been staring at that chicken for like five minutes."
"Just thinking."
"About Ryder?" She wiggles her eyebrows.
"Nova, stop."
"I'm just saying, you two were very—"
She's cut off by the sound of a chair scraping loudly against stone.
The entire hall goes quiet.
I look up and my stomach drops.
Darius is standing at his table near the front of the hall. His friends are grinning like they know exactly what's about to happen.
"I have a question for Miss Eclipse," Darius calls out, his voice carrying easily through the sudden silence.
Every head in the hall turns to look at me.
My mouth goes dry.
"Here we go," Aria mutters under her breath.
Darius walks slowly toward the center of the hall, making sure he has everyone's attention. He's enjoying this. The spectacle. The power.
"You've been here less than two months," he says, still looking directly at me. "And in that time, we've had more rogue attacks than we've had in the last two years combined."
Whispers start immediately. Students leaning toward each other, eyes darting between Darius and me.
"Rogue attacks started when you arrived," Darius continues. "Care to explain that coincidence?"
The whispers get louder. I can hear fragments of conversation.
"Is that true?"
"I hadn't thought about it..."
"What if she's attracting them somehow?"
My heart is pounding. This is exactly what he wanted. To publicly question me. To make everyone doubt me.
Nova grabs my hand under the table. "Don't let him get to you."
But it's too late. I'm already standing.
The hall goes quiet again as I face Darius across the crowded room.
"I don't control the rogues, Darius."
"No?" He tilts his head, all fake innocence. "Then why are they so interested in you specifically? Why did they attack you three nights ago? Why do they watch you from the forest?"
More gasps. More whispers.
Someone near the front says, "They're watching her?"
"She's a liability," someone else adds.
Darius's smile widens. "But they're interested in YOU. Which makes you a liability to everyone here. Every student. Every teacher. You're putting us all at risk just by being here."
The whispers turn into actual conversations now. People agreeing with him. Nodding.
My hands are shaking. Not from fear. From rage.
"That's enough."
Ryder's voice cuts through the noise like a blade.
He stands from the faculty table and walks toward us. His expression is thunderous.
"This isn't a trial, Kane. Sit down."
"Maybe it should be," Darius shoots back. He doesn't look at Ryder, keeps his eyes locked on me. "We have a right to know if one of our classmates is putting us in danger."
Ryder steps beside me. Close enough that our shoulders almost touch.
"I said sit down."
Darius finally looks at him. The two of them stare each other down, the tension so thick I can barely breathe.
Nobody moves. Nobody speaks.
The entire hall is watching this power struggle play out.
Then Darius smiles. "Of course, sir. Whatever you say."
But he doesn't sit. He looks back at me.
"Well, Eclipse? Got an answer for us? Or are you just going to hide behind your mentor?"
That does it.
I step forward, away from Ryder's protective presence.
"You want to know why they're targeting me?" My voice is louder than I intended, but I don't care anymore. "Fine. I'll tell you."
The hall is dead silent now.
"Because I'm the last of the Eclipse bloodline."
More gasps. I see Professor Cael stand up at the faculty table, his expression alarmed.
But I keep going.
"The Eclipse line has power. Old power. The kind that rogues and dark creatures want to either control or destroy. So yeah, Darius, they're interested in me. They want me dead or turned into their puppet."
I take another step toward him.
"So yes, I'm a target. But I'm also your best chance at stopping them. Because I'm learning to control this power. I'm learning to fight. And when they come back, and they will come back, you're going to need someone who understands what they want."
The silence stretches.
Then someone in the back starts clapping.
Slowly, others join in. Not everyone. Not even half the hall. But enough.
Darius's smile falters slightly.
"Miss Eclipse."
Professor Cael's voice rings out across the hall.
I turn to look at him. His expression is grave.
"Come with me. The Headmaster wants to see you. Now."
My stomach drops again.
"But—"
"Now, Miss Eclipse."
I glance at my friends. Nova looks terrified. Aria is gripping the table so hard her knuckles are white.
Ryder catches my eye and gives a slight nod. Go. It'll be okay.
I hope he's right.
I walk toward Professor Cael, every eye in the hall following me. The whispers start up again as soon as I pass.
"Did you hear what she said?"
"Eclipse bloodline?"
"I've never heard of that..."
"My dad mentioned them once. Said they were dangerous."
Professor Cael doesn't say anything as we leave the Great Hall. He just walks quickly through the corridors, his robes billowing behind him.
I have to almost jog to keep up.
"Am I in trouble?" I finally ask.
"That remains to be seen."
"I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be Eclipse. I didn't ask for rogues to target me."
"I know." His voice softens slightly. "But claiming your bloodline publicly like that has consequences, Luna. The Headmaster needs to speak with you about what happens next."
We reach the Headmaster's office. The door is already open, like he was expecting us.
Headmaster Sterling sits behind his massive desk, his ancient eyes studying me as I enter.
"Sit," he says simply.
I sit.
Professor Cael closes the door and stands beside it like a guard.
The Headmaster steeples his fingers and looks at me for a long moment.
"So," he finally says. "The last Eclipse reveals herself."