CHAPTER 88: ARTSY

Finally, it was time.

The Artistic Showcase. The test where bullshit was not just encouraged but practically required.

Aegis stood with the other participants in the staging area behind the main platform. Professor Loralei floated three feet off the ground, hovering over them with her floating hair in a way that would have looked cool if it didn’t hurt Aegis’s neck to have to crane back to look at her.

She was still technically on leave, for whatever reason, but she came back briefly for these tests.

"My darlings!" Loralei’s voice rang out dramatic as always, like she’d just discovered emotions were real yesterday and decided to use all of them at once every time she said anything. "Today, we abandon the safety of prepared performances!"

Aegis’s eyes widened.

[Oh no.]

She’d had a whole plan made up, but apparently, Professor Loralei wanted to take those plans and throw them out the window personally.

"You will be paired randomly! You will receive a prompt! You will have thirty seconds to prepare! Then—magic!"

Someone behind Aegis groaned. Aegis had to actively restrain herself from making the same sound.

"Improvisation is the truest art!" Loralei spun in the air, robes billowing. "It reveals the soul! It exposes the heart! It shows us who you really are when stripped of preparation and polish!"

[It shows us who’s about to embarrass themselves into next week.]

"I will now announce the pairings!"

A scroll materialized in Loralei’s hands, unfurling down to the floor and then some. She began reading names with the enthusiasm of someone announcing lottery winners to people who desperately needed money.

"Sophie Starcaller and Princess Talia Stone!"

Sophie actually squeaked. Talia’s face went through several emotions before settling on resignation.

Aegis was amused, though.

[My little sis and Talia? Oh, this is gonna be good.]

"Your prompt: Siblings reuniting after ten years of war! Take thirty seconds to come up with something and then begin."

They walked onto the stage together. Sophie whispered something that made Talia’s eye twitch, but when they turned to face the audience, something shifted.

Sophie ran forward, arms outstretched.

"Sister!"

Talia caught her, spinning her around with genuine emotion bleeding through.

"You’re alive. Gods above, you’re actually alive."

"I thought—when the castle fell—"

"Shh. I’m here now. We’re both here."

They held each other, and for a moment, Aegis forgot they’d just met this semester.

Sophie, to her credit, was crying actual tears. Talia’s voice cracked when she spoke about the battles she’d fought to get here. They moved around each other with the easy familiarity of people who’d shared a lifetime.

The judges were transfixed.

When they finished, embracing one final time, the applause was immediate and thunderous.

[So I guess Sophie can act? Did I write that at any point? Probably. I don’t remember, though.]

More pairs went up. Some crashed and burned spectacularly. One duo forgot they were supposed to be lovers, not enemies, halfway through. Another pair just stood there staring at each other until Loralei mercifully called time.

"Darius Goldspire and Liora Vale!"

Instantly, Aegis glanced at Talia. Talia’s hands clenched into fists.

"Your prompt: Star-crossed lovers on their wedding day!"

Darius took Liora’s hand with the kind of charm that took a lot of practice in front of a mirror to build. She let him, though her smile looked like it had been painted onto her face.

"My love," Darius said, gazing into her eyes, "after everything we’ve overcome—"

"The war, the families who tried to keep us apart," Liora continued, her voice sweet but mechanical.

They went through the motions. Darius was technically perfect, hitting every beat, every gesture well. Liora matched him, professional and polished. But Aegis could tell there was no spark there. No chemistry. They looked like very attractive mannequins programmed to simulate romance.

Still, the judges nodded appreciatively. Clearly, their individual performances were good enough to pass, even if their romance wasn’t believable.

Talia’s knuckles were white all the same, though.

"Aegis Starcaller and Serilla Frost!"

[Fuck.]

Serilla appeared beside her, materialized out of the crowd like she’d been waiting for exactly this moment. Her pink hair fell over one shoulder. Her smile promised terrible things.

"Well, well," she purred. "Isn’t this interesting?"

"Your prompt: A seduction in the royal gardens at midnight!"

They walked onto the stage together. Aegis opened her mouth to suggest they plan something, anything, but Serilla was already moving.

"Your Majesty," Serilla’s voice dropped an octave, became something that slithered up Aegis’s spine. "You shouldn’t be here."

[Okay. No prep? Fine. I guess we’re doing this.]

Aegis straightened, falling into the role of royalty like putting on a comfortable coat.

"I go where I please in my own gardens."

"Even when you know I’m waiting?"

"Especially then."

Serilla circled her, each step deliberate, predatory.

"Your spouse would disapprove."

"My spouse is in the northern territories. Fighting a war I never wanted."

"Leaving you all alone." Serilla stopped directly behind her, close enough that Aegis could feel her breath. "How terribly... lonely you must be."

The crowd had gone silent.

Aegis turned slowly, maintaining eye contact.

"Loneliness is a choice. I choose my company carefully."

"And yet here you are. With me. The ambassador from your enemy’s court."

"Are you my enemy?"

Serilla’s hand came up, fingers ghosting along Aegis’s jaw without quite touching.

"That depends entirely on how tonight ends."

[... This is way too intense for a school performance.]

But Aegis leaned into it, catching Serilla’s wrist, holding it between them. She was getting a perfect score, no matter what it took.

"Then let me make my position clear."

She pulled Serilla closer. The crowd gasped.

"I didn’t come here for politics," Aegis said. "I didn’t come here for alliances or treaties or any of the games our courts play."

"Then why did you come?"

"You know why."

They were so close now. Close enough that Aegis could see the flecks of blue in Serilla’s eyes. Close enough to count her eyelashes. Close enough that when Serilla wet her lips, Aegis felt the ghost of moisture on her own.

"Say it," Serilla whispered.

"I came for you."

Their lips were a breath apart. The tension in the arena could have been bottled and sold as an aphrodisiac. Someone in the crowd actually whimpered.

Then Loralei’s voice shattered the moment.

"TIME!"

They stepped apart. The crowd exploded. Actual screaming. Someone threw flowers. Someone else might have fainted.

The judges were on their feet, applauding like they’d just witnessed history.

And Serilla...

Serilla blew Aegis a kiss as she sauntered off the stage.

Aegis sighed.

[What the fuck just happened?]

Aegis made it back to the waiting area on unsteady legs. Her heart was doing things that probably weren’t medically advisable.

"That was..." Sophie appeared at her elbow. "I mean, holy shit, sis."

"Language."

"You almost kissed her!"

"It was just acting."

"That wasn’t acting. That was foreplay with an audience."

"Sophie—"

"I’m just saying, if you don’t fuck her, I might!"

[I need to have a serious conversation with my made-up little sister about boundaries.]

The rest of the performances blurred together. Aegis wasn’t really watching. She could still feel the phantom pressure of Serilla’s almost-kiss. Could still smell her perfume. Something floral with an undertone of danger.

When the last pair finished, Dean Whitmore took the stage one final time.

"The results will be posted within the hour. Those in the bottom ten percent will have twenty-four hours to vacate the premises."

The crowd dispersed slowly, everyone discussing what they’d seen. Who’d done well. Who’d failed. Who’d nearly fornicated on stage in front of the entire academy.

Aegis found a quiet corner and slumped against the wall.

[I did it. All three tests. I’d like to think I did well in all of them.]

"Hey."

Aegis looked up. Liora stood there, fidgeting with her sleeve.

"You were incredible up there."

"Thanks. You and Darius were good too."

Liora made a face.

"We were adequate. You and Serilla were..." She trailed off, cheeks pink.

"It was just improvisation."

"Right. Improvisation."

They stood there awkwardly. Liora opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again.

"Talia’s jealous."

"Of Darius?"

"Of Serilla."

[What?]

"She shouldn’t be. It was just—"

"Acting. Right. Except Serilla doesn’t act. She takes what she wants and makes it look easy."

Before Aegis could respond, Liora walked away, leaving her with that particularly uncomfortable thought.

An hour later, the results were posted.

Aegis pushed through the crowd, Sophie and Scarlett flanking her like very enthusiastic bodyguards. The rankings were displayed on a massive magical board, names shifting and settling into place.

She started from the bottom, looking for her name among those who’d failed.

Not there.

She moved up. Through the middle rankings where most students clustered.

Still not there.

Higher. Into the top twenty where the nobles dominated.

Higher still.

And there, at number four, just below Talia, Darius, and some noble she didn’t recognize:

4. Aegis Starcaller

[Fourth... Damn. I guess I’ll take it, but I don’t want to settle for anything less than the top.]

"FUCK YEAH!" Scarlett shouted, lifting Aegis off the ground in a hug that rearranged several ribs.

"Can’t. Breathe."

"Breathing’s for quitters!"

Sophie was bouncing like someone had replaced her bones with springs. "Top five! You’re in the top five!"

Even Lune, who’d appeared from nowhere as she did, looked pleased. "Congratulations."

Aegis grinned.

She’d done it. Survived all three tests. Secured her position. And she hadn’t even had to use any forbidden shadow magic.

[Though that thing with Serilla...]

She pushed the thought away. That was a problem for future Aegis.

Right now, she just wanted to collapse in bed and sleep for about a week.

She’d earned it.