Chapter 154 After the fire

Chapter 154 After the fire
Zara

The world returned in fragments.

A ringing in my ears. The weight of my own body pressing me down into something too soft to be real. The scratch of linen sheets against my skin. Then light, pale and unforgiving, seeping through my eyelids until I forced them open with a groan.

White.

Everywhere. White walls, white curtains, the sharp smell of antiseptic burning the back of my throat. The infirmary.

My chest rose sharply as the memories slammed back—the ballroom, the fire, Atlas’s laugh,  Jace’s wolf and mine colliding with Atlas’s blackness. The sound of chains.

And my own bones breaking. My own fur igniting in moonlight.

A gasp tore out of me. I bolted upright—too fast. Pain lanced through my ribs, my spine, my skull. My body buckled, and I fell back into the pillow, groaning.

“Easy.”

The voice was low, steady, achingly familiar.

Jace.

I turned my head with effort. He was sitting at the side of my bed, hunched forward, his elbows braced on his knees. His eyes—those storm-cloud eyes that never gave anything away—were fixed entirely on me, shadowed by exhaustion.

“You’re awake,” he said, softer now, like he wasn’t sure if I’d slip away again.

I tried to swallow. My throat was sandpaper. “How… how long?”

He rubbed a hand down his face, the faintest exhale slipping between his lips. “A day. Maybe a little more. You collapsed after…” His gaze flicked away, jaw tightening. “After everything.”

Everything. The word carried too much weight.

I turned my face toward the ceiling, but the silence outside the infirmary betrayed me. Whispers curled under the door, hushed voices layered with fear, awe, disbelief.

“…saw her eyes—like silver fire—”

“…not just a wolf, something else—”

“…half-dragon, what else could that have been?”

“…I swear she nearly burned Atlas alive—”

My chest tightened. I gripped the sheets until my knuckles whitened, staring hard at the ceiling so I wouldn’t have to see Jace’s face.

“They all saw me,” I whispered, the words tasting like ash.

He didn’t answer right away. I heard him shift, the chair creaking under his weight. “Yeah,” he said finally. His voice was flat, unreadable. “They saw.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Silverbehind my eyelids, fire threading through veins, scales shimmering down my spine—Atlas’s smirk as if this was what he wanted, to strip me bare before them all.

My stomach twisted.

“What… what do they think I am?” I asked, even though the answer already pressed against me like a blade.

Jace leaned forward, close enough that I felt the warmth of his presence bleed through the cold sterile air. His voice lowered, rough. “Does it matter what they think?”

I snapped my gaze to him then, anger sparking even through the pain. “Of course it matters. They saw me shift into something that wasn’t supposed to exist. Do you hear them? They’re afraid. They’re—”

“Alive,” he cut in sharply. His eyes met mine with force. “They’re alive because of you.”

The words stopped me.

“You faced Atlas when no one else could,” he said, his jaw tightening, voice clipped but burning with conviction. “If they’re whispering now, it’s because they don’t know how to process what they saw. But they’re breathing. They’re walking. They’ll go home to their families. Because you fought for them.”

My chest ached. For a second, I didn’t know if I wanted to scream at him or let the heat in his words anchor me.

But the whispers outside only grew louder, and closer. Footsteps shuffled, then retreated, like students couldn’t help lingering near the infirmary door to feed their curiosity.

A monster behind the curtain. A freak. A curse.

My hands trembled as I curled them into fists. The door opened before I could unravel further.

Principal Kieran stepped in, his robes as pristine as always, though the faint soot stains on his cuffs betrayed how much he had been working to contain the aftermath. His sharp eyes swept over me, assessing, calculating, then softening just enough to register relief.

“You’re awake,” he said.

I pushed myself up slightly, wincing. “Barely.”

Jace shifted beside me, like he wanted to put himself between us, but Kieran lifted a hand in a placating gesture.

“The Academy is secure,” he said, voice carrying the authority of someone who needed to reassure more than just me. “The rogue wolves have been dealt with. Atlas is under heavy restraint, guarded day and night. Classes will be suspended until we restore the grounds.”

I nodded numbly, but the whispers outside didn’t stop, not even for him. Kieran’s gaze flicked toward the door before returning to me.

“You’ve become the subject of… speculation,” he admitted, choosing the word carefully. “And fear. Rumors are running unchecked. You need guidance now, more than ever.”

I laughed, brittle and humorless. “Guidance? Is that what you call it? They think I’m cursed.”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “Cursed, gifted, chosen—it depends on who you ask. But they all agree on one thing: you are not ordinary. And ordinary rules no longer apply to you.”

The words sat heavy in the pit of my stomach.

Kieran’s tone softened, almost paternal in a way I had never heard from him. “I will send for your guardian. She will be here within the day. It’s time you had answers.”

Guardian.

My breath caught. “Aunty May?”

Kieran nodded. “She has kept more from you than you realize. And I will not let the Academy tear you apart for what you are. She must stand beside you now.”

The room tilted. My mind raced. My throat closed up.

Jace’s hand brushed mine beneath the sheet, tentative, and grounding. I looked down, startled, then up into his eyes. Storm-gray, unreadable, but steady. He didn’t flinch at me the way the others had.

That steadiness nearly undid me.

Kieran straightened. “Rest while you can. The eyes of the Academy are on you now. When May arrives, you will need your strength.”

He turned, sweeping from the room with the same authority he had brought in. The door shut behind him.