The ballroom had transformed.
Gone were the glittering, carefree party vibes.
Now, the air was thick, almost suffocating, buzzing with an undercurrent of danger.
Rows of velvet chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle around a raised platform.
Spotlights lit the stage, casting eerie shadows across the marble floor.
A massive black-and-gold banner hung behind it, bearing a single word in ornate lettering:
SELECTION.
---
Elian slid into a seat near the back, keeping his head down, his black card tucked safely into his jacket.
All around him, students whispered anxiously.
"They said last year two people got expelled after the Selection."
"I heard someone had to sell their car to stay."
"Is Liliana choosing again?"
"I hope I'm not picked…"
The fear was tangible.
Elian gritted his teeth.
He hated this — hated being in the dark while everyone else played a game he didn't even understand.
But he stayed silent. Observing. Learning.
---
A hush fell over the room as Liliana stepped onto the stage.
She looked different now — cold, untouchable.
Gone was the flirty socialite.
In her place stood a queen.
She wore a blood-red satin gown that clung to her curves and a matching choker around her slender neck.
Her dark hair cascaded down her back in loose waves, and her makeup was darker, sharper — a predator's mask.
Behind her stood six other seniors, including Sebastian Vance, all exuding an intimidating aura.
Liliana lifted a crystal goblet filled with crimson liquid.
"Welcome," she purred into the microphone, her voice silky and cruel.
"Tonight, as tradition demands, we shall select five new initiates."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Elian's fingers tightened into fists.
Initiates?
Into what?
---
Liliana smiled, a slow, wicked smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"You have all been given opportunities," she continued.
"Some of you have squandered them. Some have proven… interesting."
She sipped from the goblet, then set it down with a deliberate clink.
"The rules are simple," she said. "If your name is called, you step forward. If you refuse..."
Her smile widened.
"...well. We all remember Marissa, don't we?"
A collective shudder ran through the room.
---
One by one, she called out names.
Three seniors.
One junior girl from Elian's Literature class — pale and trembling.
And then—
"Elian Moreau."
Silence.
All heads turned.
Elian felt every pair of eyes stab into him like knives.
He rose slowly, carefully masking the ice in his veins with a smirk.
As he walked down the center aisle toward the stage, he caught a flash of movement at the corner of his eye.
Sebastian was grinning.
But it wasn't a friendly grin.
It was the grin of a wolf who just found fresh meat.
---
Elian stepped onto the stage, joining the other four students, standing stiffly under the blazing spotlights.
Liliana approached him last, her heels clicking ominously against the polished marble.
She leaned in close, her perfume wrapping around him like a noose.
"You should have stayed small, Elian," she whispered.
"Small things survive longer."
He met her gaze, unwavering.
"I guess I'm not very good at being small."
Liliana laughed — a sound like breaking glass.
"Perfect," she said softly, almost tenderly.
"Then you'll be very fun to break."
---
The next part was chaos.
Suddenly, the music blared — a dark, pounding beat that shook the floor.
The other seniors swarmed forward, handing each initiate an envelope sealed with black wax.
"Your first task," Liliana announced to the crowd, raising her goblet again.
"You have 72 hours."
She didn't say what the task was.
Didn't have to.
The initiates would either succeed… or be destroyed.
Simple.
Savage.
The crowd roared with excitement as if blood had already been spilled.
---
Elian clutched the envelope tightly as he left the stage, heart hammering.
He didn't need to open it yet to know — whatever was inside would tear apart the weak.
But he wasn't weak.
Not anymore.
As he pushed through the crowd, he heard Sebastian's voice behind him, low and amused:
"Run, little rabbit.
The wolves are coming."
---
Outside, the cold night air slapped his face.
He ripped open the envelope under the sickly yellow light of a streetlamp.
Inside, written in sharp, blood-red ink:
> "Your Task:
Destroy someone more powerful than you —
without being caught."
Elian stared at the words.
And for the first time in a long while...
He smiled.
---