Chapter 158 The last betrayal

Chapter 158 The last betrayal
Zara

The academy didn’t feel like the same place I’d left behind.

Stone walls that had once gleamed with polished banners and the proud history of warriors were now blackened at the edges, cracked from the heat of dragon fire that still haunted the marble floors. The chandelier that once glittered in the ballroom hung in pieces, its crystal remains swept into piles along the corners like shards of broken hope. Even the air was different—dusty, with an unease that couldn’t be scrubbed away no matter how much rebuilding the staff tried to do.

A week. That’s all it had been since the fire, since Atlas’s treachery and my own body betraying me by revealing what I really was. A week since the fight that had nearly killed Jace, exposed my Lycan to the entire school, and left my name branded on every whispering tongue. A week since Aunty May had ripped the last veil of lies from me and told me I was Mira Blackwood.

A week, and nothing was the same.

Students trickled back in small groups, some with their parents, others clutching bags and letters from home that gave them “permission” to return. Not everyone was coming back—some were pulled out permanently, others told to wait until it was “safe again.” That word—safe—echoed bitterly in my chest. When has it ever been safe?

I gripped the strap of my satchel tighter, pushing past scaffolding where workers hammered planks into place. My boots echoed on the marble, the halls emptier than I’d ever seen them. Fewer voices, fewer scents, fewer eyes staring—though the ones that remained cut sharper than knives. They all knew. They’d all seen. My fire, my fur, my form. The whispers chased me like shadows.

“Is that her?”

“The white Lycan?”

“No—dragon. She burned the hall.”

“I heard she’s cursed.”

“I heard she’s Blackwood’s daughter.”

I kept my chin high even though my stomach turned. I had promised myself in that week of exile that I wouldn’t shrink anymore, no matter how much their stares dug at me. If they wanted to look, let them look. If they wanted to fear me, let them. I wasn’t afraid of my reflection anymore.

But then I saw her.

Talia.

Standing at the far end of the corridor, half-hidden in the alcove where light streamed through a cracked stained-glass window. Her hair wasn’t curled in its usual perfection. It fell limp around her face, strands clinging to her damp cheek as though she’d been crying. For once, there was no sly smile, no self-satisfied gleam in her eyes. Instead, her gaze locked on me with a rawness I hadn’t expected—pleading.

My feet faltered. For a heartbeat, I thought about walking straight past her, pretending she was nothing but another ghost of this place. But the way she stepped forward, wringing her hands, whispering my name—it snagged me.

“Zara, wait. Please.”

The sound of her voice was thin, trembling, almost human. Almost.

I turned sharply on my heel and chose another hallway. I wasn’t ready for this. Not from her.

But she hurried after me, footsteps quick, breath uneven. “Please, just listen. I—I didn’t know what Atlas was planning. I never wanted Kai to die. I never wanted you to—”

That name. Kai. My chest tightened, fury roaring back to life like dry kindling to a spark.

I stopped. Slowly. Deliberately. And when I turned to face her, my voice was low but sharp enough to cut glass.

“You didn’t want? You didn’t want, Talia? Don’t insult me. You were there. You played your part.”

Her eyes widened. “No, I—he manipulated me. You know how he is. Atlas… he promised—”

“Promised you what? That you’d get to be the queen at his side while he burned the rest of us alive?” I took a step closer, and she flinched. “You didn’t look very manipulated when you were smiling in my face, pretending to be my friend, while you were screwing him behind my back. You didn’t look very manipulated when you whispered to me about loyalty, all the while helping him bury Kai in the ground.”

Talia’s lips trembled, her hands twisting together. “I was stupid. I thought… I thought he loved me. I thought I mattered. He said he’d choose me.”

I laughed, cold and sharp, though it tasted bitter on my tongue. “Then congratulations, Talia. You and I have something in common—we both believed in monsters. The difference is, I learned my lesson.”

Her face crumpled. “Zara, please—if you could just forgive me—”

“Forgive you?” My voice rose, my power prickling beneath my skin until I saw a flicker of white fur at the edges of my vision. I clenched my fists to stop the shift. “You think you can plead your way back in? You helped destroy everything. You stood by while Atlas poisoned this school, while he tainted Jace, while he ripped Kai’s life from him. And now you think a few tears will wash the blood off your hands?”

Her breathing turned ragged. Desperation shone in her eyes. “I didn’t mean for him to die! I swear on the goddess, I didn’t know Atlas would—”

“Shut up!” The word cracked from my throat like thunder. Students froze around us, their whispers rising, forming a circle of murmured judgment. I could feel them watching, weighing.

And then a new voice cut through.

“Enough.”

Principal Kieran’s boots struck the marble as he approached, his presence commanding silence. His expression was carved, grim lines deepening at the corners of his mouth. He looked first at Talia, then at me, then at the gathered crowd.

“I’ve heard enough excuses. The council has deliberated. Talia—” his voice was unyielding “—you are hereby expelled from this academy. Effective immediately.”

Gasps rippled through the students. Talia’s face went pale, her knees buckling. “No—no, please, you can’t—”

Kieran’s gaze was merciless. “You were complicit in Kai’s death. You aided Atlas in his crimes. This school will not harbor traitors.”

Talia dropped to her knees, sobbing, clawing at the hem of his coat. “Please, I have nowhere else—”

He shook her off. His voice strong. “You chose your path. Now you will walk it alone.”

I stood there, heart pounding, chest heaving, as the guards stepped forward. Talia’s eyes darted to mine, wide and wild, begging. For one flicker, I thought of the girl who had once laughed beside me in class, who had braided my hair before the autumn festival. But that girl was gone.

I met her gaze with steady fire. “You didn’t feel sorry when you betrayed me. Don’t start now.”

The guards hauled her up, her screams echoing off as they dragged her down the hall. The sound faded until only silence remained—thick, suffocating, and final.

The students scattered, murmurs rising like a storm. Some looked at me with awe, others with fear, others with something sharper—envy, maybe, or hate. But I didn’t care. 

And then I felt it. A familiar warmth at my side, quiet but grounding. Jace. He hadn’t said a word, hadn’t interfered, just stood there with that silent loyalty that said more than speeches ever could. His hand brushed mine, not quite holding, but steady enough that the storm inside me finally began to ease.

For the first time in days, I lifted my chin and breathed easier.

The last betrayal was done.