“B-but…you can’t do this.”

  The tears that fell from Ceres’ eyes were silent and heavy. I could almost see all the unspoken words they carried, all the emotions that could barely be heard from her voice.

  “I’m not doing anything. You guys failed, so you are out—it’s as simply as that.”

  As I grabbed my shirt, my heart continued to race, its beating vicious and rapid.

  Ceres stepped forward until her feet stopped right in front of Belenus, and for the first time since I had known the girl, there was pure outrage pouring from her voice.

  “They cheated! You know this, professor, you saw!”

  Her claims were met with conceited glares and malicious sneers. Yet Belenus Kairon did not react, he didn’t even blink.

  “This was an unofficial race, made solely to evaluate the advancements of the Reinforcement Class. You shouldn’t expect every single regulation to be applied.”

  The tears that had fallen before with a quiet yet mournful grace started reflecting the burn in her eyes, while her words became as sharp as chilling blades.

  “What if it had been us then?! Would you have said the same?” In that moment, Ceres managed to do something not even I had achieved.

  She left Belenus Kairon speechless.

  And the reason Professor Bel froze and widened his eyes was likely the same reason I did the same. Not because we didn’t know how Ergos actually valued its students—what it demanded from them—or because we were shocked about someone pointing that out.

  But because it was Ceres.

  She bit her lip before opening her mouth again, yet before she could speak, a hand fell on her shoulder.

  “…it’s fine, Ceres.”

  Elowen’s left eye was already starting to swell, the cut on his mouth still bleeding.

  Ten seconds.

  That was the maximum amount of time a rider could be away from his mount during a race. Not a second more. And apart from the time limit, any riders who voluntarily dismounted their dragons within eight meters of the finishing line would be disqualified from the race on the spot.

  Though I hadn’t seen it, Elowen’s face was all I needed to get a grasp of what had happened.

  Ceres turned to him—her cheeks flushed, her tears falling, her words crying.

  “Wennie, you deserve to be here.”

  In the end, two students passed. Two of them failed.

  Our nameless colleague got the last place. They only waited for Belenus to confirm himself before dragging themselves out of the glade, not even bothering to take their dragon along.

  Ceres and Cornelius made it to third place. Styx crossed the finishing line in fifth.

  Elowen ended in seventh.

  The boy shook his head, still facing the ground. “It’s fine, Ceres. I wasn’t good enough, so I failed. That’s all—”

  Ceres pulled Elowen into a tight embrace, closing her eyes shut as she whispered to him in a sorrowful voice.

  “This is not fine, Wennie…this is not fine at all.”

  Whatever was holding the boy together broke with her words. Elowen’s hands gripped her tighter as his legs gave in, his knees touching the ground as he buried his face on Ceres’ shoulder and sobbed.

  For a split second, my heart faltered. Yet whatever I was feeling by watching them was replaced by anger the moment I saw the sophomores glaring at Elowen with sadistic grins. With Ergos’ coat-of-arms sewn into their uniforms.

  They were different from us. They were all part of Ergos’ treasure, enrolled as official students from day one. Students who never needed Ergos’ pity and pretense of benevolence. And until Ergos saw us in the same light, it would never evaluate us the same way.

  “Vex…”

  Ceres’ voice pulled me back, made me turn her way to meet her gaze.

  I realized right then that it was the first time I had ever seen her cry.

  “Is there nothing you can do? Nothing we can do?”

  My gaze shifted to Belenus, his eye already on mine. The man had his arms crossed, his stance calm. As if he were waiting. Anticipating my next words, my next actions. Yet what was he expecting me to do?

  You and I know far too well…

  “…there’s nothing that can be done. Sorry.”

  Because Elowen was right. He had not been good enough for Ergos, so he failed.

  Belenus let out a dry, weak laugh as something shone in his smile. Mockery? Irony? I couldn’t tell this time.

  “The two of you who passed, congratulations. You’ve finally graduated from recyclable trash to something Ergos can actually use.” Before any of us could say or react, the man turned his back to us, walking away with a wave. “You better arrive earlier tomorrow! And don’t forget to return any equipment you rented.”

  Professor Bel went toward the sophomores. The students flocked around him like flies, their mouths opening as they shot him one question after another. Not her, though.

  Alantra Harris removed the saddle of her dragon with slow, controlled movements—almost as if she was doing it subconsciously. Our eyes met only once before she left, yet not before a gentle breeze carried over that sickling sweet, intoxicating fragrance.

  As my stomach revolted, the world around me began to get darker, my consciousness starting to fade. I bit my own tongue, letting the sharp pain course through my body just enough to clear out my vision. To give me enough grace to leave that place with my own legs.

  I passed beside Elowen and Ceres. Even with her whispering kind words to comfort him, his tears continued to fall. For a brief second, I considered if there was anything I could say. Anything else I could offer him to pay him back for all the things he provided us.

  “…it’s not over, you know.”

  It took a few seconds for Elowen’s eyes to finally meet mine. And even when they did, he barely managed to utter a response.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ergos may be the best academy there is, but it’s not the only one. If you really want to race, just apply to another one. And get accepted this time. You have a lot of potential, even without Ergos.”

  I didn’t wait for him to respond that time. Because I was far too exhausted to share anything else, and there was hardly any strength left in my body. Because I still had to take Styx and I home, and prepare things for a new day—a new beginning. A new challenge.

  And also, because the hope that started brewing in his eyes made me too uncomfortable and unsettled.

  For it made it seem like I was doing the same as Ceres.

  And that thought made me not only restless, but annoyed.

  Somehow, I got home. At some moments, I really believed I wouldn’t be able to.

  Yet what puzzled me the most was not how I managed to get back to the estate when I was practically sleeping while standing, or how I could still have coherent thoughts. What truly bemused me was how my body was cursing at me, and I still couldn’t fall asleep.

  For the past months, I almost had to sew my eyes open to study, and now I can’t sleep?

  After shifting in my bed for at least forty minutes, I let out a sigh and stood up. With every step I took, pain ran through my body, making me regret for half a second not passing by the infirmary before leaving. For some reason, I ended up outside.

  The sky was clear, showing all the stars I could never catch a glimpse of while living underground. A view I had grown used to seeing every night, and that still somehow managed to steal my breath. Never once did I imagine the sight of mere stars would be enough to make me feel envious—even if briefly—of the people from the upper city.

  “Still…they sure are beautiful,” I muttered under my breath, despite myself.

  Then, a chill.

  One that forced me to turn around—a gaze that compelled me to shift my own.

  Resting on top of a tree branch, Styx’s eyes glowed fiercely with a beauty that mirrored the starry sky. Yet were it not for his eyes, the dragon would disappear in the night as if he were part of its shadows, his wings folded close to his body.

  “I was only going to order more winter flowers if we ended in fourth! So you better not come complaining to me now.”

  My voice was carried out by a gentle, warm breeze. And though Styx did nothing at first, with one quick movement he was gliding in my direction, landing right in front of me.

  My muscles froze for a second as I wondered if he was actually going to harass me until I conceded and got him his damned flowers. But as time passed, all Styx did was stare at me. No growling, to tail maneuvers, just…his eyes. Looking deeply into mine.

  Then he laid down on the grass, stretching his wings a few times before folding them again.

  The silence between us prevailed for some time until I decided to sit down, resting my back on the dragon. Though Styx had a cold core, the coolness of his body was refreshing, something that made my muscles relax and my heart feel at ease.

  “…we did it.”

  I continued to stare at the sky—at the hundred stars that shone upon us. And though every corner of my body ached, I felt…

  Weightless.

  At peace, almost.

  “It took me four months what people like Emrys achieved in a single try, yet…we did it. I’m officially enrolled at Ergos Academy.” There was no reaction from Styx. All I could hear was his breathing, his lungs filling and emptying themselves in a slow, constant rhythm. “Guess I need to contact your previous owner and share the news, right? I need to start paying them, after all.”

  Once again, the black dragon remained silent. Still. As if he, too, was simply enjoying the quiet night.

  Then my thoughts began to wander, taking me back to past days from forgotten times. Days I would never be able to revisit, or live through again.

  A time when there was no sky above me. When my eyes always looked below, at my riders, my races, my riches. A time when the mask that concealed my face was my symbol of power—of all the things I had conquered throughout my life. A proof of the trials I faced and won.

  Jackal’s mask would forever be lost to me…

  …yet as Vex, I was finally getting back on my feet.

  At last, I could say I achieved something with my own hands.

  “Do you miss your old life?” For a second, I couldn’t say if I was asking that question to Styx or myself. And before I could think about a reply, I turned to the dragon. Met his piercing violet eyes. “Racing with your previous owner, winning competitions, appearing on the news—do you miss it?”

  Styx stared at me for a few long seconds before shifting his gaze toward the sky. When a breeze brushed past us, the dragon closed his eyes, as if he were appreciating its warm touch. Then, a hum.

  No, not a hum.

  A chant.

  Something low, powerful, guttural. A sound that came from Styx himself, so deep within him it resonated with my flesh and bones, making them tremble. Yet even with its raw power and depth, it was not menacing. Nor furious, much less ferocious.

  It was melancholic.

  Nostalgic, even.

  A chant that sounded like a sorrowful wail, something so distant and lost in time as it ached to be back to where it belonged, yet it was a place that existed no more. A time long gone. However, there was something else in that chant. A note, as faint and subtle as it was, carrying a sound that, while still wistful, was also expectant.

  Hopeful.

  And in that moment, I got not only Styx’s reply to my question, but my own.

  “…I see.”

  And for some reason, my eyelids became heavy. My mind, quiet. As I closed my eyes, still gazing at the stars, Styx’s chant continued to echo throughout the night.

  And for some reason, I felt not only safe but content.

  As if the mask I had been carrying with me all those years wasn’t so special, after all.

  As if there was still hope for Vex to be happy without it.