The grand hall of the Academy was alive with noise from the students.
The walls were lined with banners representing each dominion; a constant reminder that this was a school of power and a battlefield for dominance.
Students moved through the hall in packs, preening, posturing, and radiating superiority. Warriors towered over their smaller classmates, taut muscles flexing beneath their fitted tunics, fangs glinting as they shared inside jokes.
Vampires glided smoothly, their crimson and golden eyes flicking over peers like hunters assessing prey.
The mages could be seen displaying cool magic, some flicking fire with their fingers, some hovering over the ground.
During the chaos, the head master, Mr. Thalvion, walked in with three other staff members behind him. He planted himself on the pulpit, the staff on his right hand glowing faintly.
"Silence Aetherials!" His voice thundered, commanding respect and authority. At once the display of power seized and all the students gathered around to hear whatever announcement he was about to make.
"As you all know, the human girls will be joining us…" Thalvion began only to be cut short by a laugh.
Like an invigilator, his eyes, hidden behind a pair of old glasses, moved till they found the source of the distraction. Against the far wall, a ginge was pinned to the wall under a 6 ft 2, in a fitted black long-sleeve shirt and trousers.
The guy was teasing her neck with his tongue, both of them completely uninterested and uninvolved in Thalvion's announcement.
"THARION SYLVARAN! Brenna Hart!" Thalvion's voice rose. "Join the others right this minute!" He commanded.
Tharion peeled his lips away slowly, turning to Thalvion with a smirk, and wiping a stray drop of saliva with his thumb. His broad shoulders, defined arms, and tapered waist made the dark clothing tailored his appearance perfectly.
"Headmaster Thalvion," he drawled, his voice dripping with arrogance. "We can hear you from here. Besides, we already know you are about to give us one of your boring announcements," he turned back to the girl pinned to the wall, moving his hands under her skirt. "Some of us have better things to do."
Some of the students gasped, some widened their eyes in shock. It's been three weeks since they all got into the Aetherion Royal Academy and Tharion had been a nuisance from day one, with most of the other students fearing him because of his great strength and ruthless combat skills.
"How dare you!" Thalvion exploded. "Not up to a month here but you've caused so much nuisance and disrespected the authorities of this academy. I've had enough, today, you will not go unpunished."
Even that didn't seem to bother Tharion, he pulled out his finger from under the girl's skirt and turned to Thalvion, sucking it in a provocative and disgusting manner. "Sorry, what were you saying again?"
Such disrespect and disregard!
Thalvion's chest fumed, even his eyes reddened, at once, his order came. "For your constant insolence, Tharion Sylvaran, you will not participate in the next two trial contests."
For the first time ever, something seemed to get to Tharion. He dropped the girl and his legs moved forward with a sudden speed. "What? No way! You can't do that! Do you even have any idea of what that will cost our dominion? We will fall behind on the board rank."
Thalvion's eyes searched around before returning to Tharion. "It will cost nothing. We have many other strong Alphas."
Tharion's jaw clenched hard.
The Aetherion Royal Academy is different from your typical academy setting. In this Academy, the men are here to fight for the throne of the Aetherion kingdom.
They use a point system to determine the winners after any contest, training and other activities. Everyone understood the point system. Winning contests kept their names on the ranking board and losing points could send them spiraling into obscurity.
Tharion was the strongest from his dominion, though on the board, which displayed the score of every student, he was in second place, a vampire above him with a few points.
Not joining the next two contests meant falling behind.
"You can't do this. I'm the strongest Alpha in our dominion," Tharion growled, pushing further. His comment made several warriors of his dominion snarl low.
He didn't fail to notice the movements. With a smug expression on his face, he turned to one of them. "What? Wanna fight me?"
The guy he was referring to, immediately looked away and Tharion smirked. "Yeah, I thought as much. Keep snarling, it's all you are good for."
"Silence, Tharion or you will leave me no choice than to add to your punishment," Thalvion threatened.
Tharion's mouth opened to speak but he closed them immediately, understanding what was at stake.
The headmaster scoffed and turned back to the audience, picking up from where he stopped, "The human girls will be joining us tonight. Of course they are here for your use but we have rules regarding them, since they are also academy property."
The students listened in silence as Thalvion explained further.
"First rule," he stated. "No one kills a human without my authorization. You want one dead, you come to me. Otherwise, you keep them breathing. We don't tolerate unnecessary losses."
A few wolves stiffened; a couple of vampires looked annoyed.
"Second rule. Do not maim them. If you damage a human to the point they can no longer function, you will replace what you destroyed, and trust that you won't enjoy how."
He moved on with a sharper voice.
"Third rule. Vampires are not allowed to turn humans. No biting them into your lineage. For the mages, you are not allowed to use dark spells to twist their nature, no blood-binding rituals. Humans remain human. Anyone caught altering that will be dealt with immediately."
Then came the final blow. "Lastly, no public torture during peak academy hours. If you absolutely must indulge yourselves, use the designated chambers. I'm not having screams interrupt trainings."
His eyes swept the crowd. "Follow the rules, and you keep your privileges. Break them and you make it easier to reduce number of competitors. No matter how indestructible you believe you are, in this Academy going against the rules could cost you yo—-."
Just then, a violent gust of wind tore through the hall, cutting him mid-sentence. Everyone's head ducked instinctively.
From above, descending on a floating broomstick was a broad-shouldered man with sea-glass blue- green eyes and sharp, aristocratic features. His shirt clung to a sculpted chest and defined arms, half-unbuttoned as if he'd gotten dressed mid-flight.
"AERYN AETHERIS!" Thalvion yelled in annoyance. "Get down! NO AERIAL TRANSPORT INSIDE THE HALL!"
Stray strands of Aeryn's brownish-dark hair whipped across his face as he executed a perfect mid-air spin before landing with effortless grace.
Without blinking, he flicked two fingers at once, causing Thalvion to freeze; his body became stiff and his jaw half-open.
The students burst into laughter while the staff members exchanged horrified looks.
It didn't take seconds for Thalvion's staff to crack, destroying the spell. He staggered forward and his face darkened with outrage. "Aeryn! I'll let you off this time. One more stunt and I won't hesitate."
Aeryn tilted his head, bored as hell. "Instead of doing all that talking, go ahead and do your worst."
Thalvion heard it and couldn't let it slide. "Aeryn Aetheris," he said coldly, "your next contest will earn you only half your points."
The wizard shrugged, not giving a care in the world about the points. "You can take all the damn points, that's if I even merit any."
Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, he added. "Don't forget to go fuck yourself, Thalvion."
The hall EXPLODED. The student were chuckling and giggling, some muttered in disbelief.
Aeryn pushed off the ground, his broom lifting beneath him. Without hesitation, he soared straight out through a high-arched window.
Thalvion's face twisted in fury, especially because he was being laughed at. His blazing eyes moved to them. "And what are you all laughing about?"
The intelligent ones shut their mouth the moment Thalvion yelled out the question, while a few continued to whisper and laugh.
Thalvion needed scapegoats, so his eyes scanned for them and four faces stood out to him. A guy near the back whose lips were still twitching, and two mage girls pretending to cough to hide their giggles.
Thalvion's staff lifted swiftly and precisely. "You," he snapped, the glowing tip locking onto the boy. "Five points gone."
One staff member touched a hovering sigil, confirming the point deductions as they updated on the hall's banners. Across the grand hall, a massive obsidian board known as the RANKING BOARD came to life, m glowing names of students imprinted on it. Five points immediately vanished from the boy's total, his name sliding down one rank.
The headmaster looked toward the girls and pointed sharply at each. "And both of you have three points deducted."
Gasps erupted. This wasn't a group punishment, it was targeted humiliation. The hall fell silent, everyone suddenly remembering exactly who ran this academy.
Thalvion lifted his chin, "Ladies!" he boomed, "do not forget you need to top the rank too because whoever ascends the throne takes the strongest woman as their queen..."
Silence swallowed the room whole, as he looked around one last time, daring someone to test him. No one moved.
"Enjoy the rest of your evening!"
With a final hum of power through his staff, he turned sharply and stormed out of the hall.