CHAPTER 116: THE PUNISHMENT

{Elira}

~**^**~

The laughter that followed was soft, but it burned worse than fire. It dug under my skin until my nails bit into my palms.

My breath came tight, but I didn’t look down. Not this time.

Kaelis reclined back into her chair, swirling the rim of her teacup as though she held court and not a school office.

"You stand here, Elira Shaw, denying our authority, refusing to respect our summons, accusing us of... playing games?" Her voice dripped sugar, but her eyes glittered sharp.

"That’s exactly what you’re doing," I muttered before I could stop myself.

For a second, silence fell.

Then Soraya barked a sharp laugh, cold and joyless. "Listen to her. The little Omega has claws."

"Claws that will get her clipped," Thorne added, his coin flicking higher, catching light before disappearing into his palm.

"Enough," Kaelis said lightly, though the air thickened with her authority. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, and smiled a smile that was far too sweet. "If you cannot respect this Council, then you will learn respect another way."

Every nerve in my body tensed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Regina shifted languidly, her voice smooth as velvet. "Disciplinary action, bitch. Nothing more, nothing less."

My stomach lurched at the word bitch but none of the others seemed to catch the weight of it.

Kaelis’s voice cut sharp again. "For one week, Elira Shaw will serve with the cafeteria kitchen staff. Cleaning, scrubbing and hauling."

"Or," Soraya interrupted, her lips curling into a smirk, "perhaps something more fitting. The washrooms. Third-year classrooms. The filthiest ones."

The laughter returned—Caleb’s lazy chuckle, Thorne’s amused snort, even Nyra’s lips twitching faintly.

Heat flooded my face, this time not from shame but from raw fury. "This is humiliation." I snapped.

And for what? Over something I didn’t do? An accusation laid on me because they couldn’t find any valuable reason to indict and punish me?

Kaelis tilted her head, her curls shimmering under the chandelier light. "Call it what you like. But it will only do you good if you consider it a... lesson."

I felt my chest rising and falling too quickly, my pulse pounding against my temples.

The second-year boy beside me shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing. Maybe silence was safer for him. Maybe that was what they wanted from me, too.

But I wasn’t going to give it to them. Not even this time.

"You think cleaning floors or scrubbing trays will break me?" I asked, my voice trembling with fury but loud enough to carry across the room. "Then you don’t know me at all."

A ripple of silence followed, then Caleb smirked, licking sugar from his thumb. "Oh, I think we know exactly what you are."

My fists clenched tighter. Inside, confusion twisted with rage. Why? Why go this far?

Their lies about the secretary, their pettiness, their glee—it wasn’t about rules. It was never about rules.

It was about Regina. And about making sure the past Elira Shaw never forgot her ’place.’

I lifted my chin, refusing to let my voice break. "If this is your punishment, fine. I will endure it. But don’t think for a second that it makes you powerful. It only shows how weak you really are."

Kaelis’s smile faltered—just a flicker—but then returned, sharp as glass. "Dismissed."

The word cracked like a whip. And though my insides were shaking, I turned, stiff-backed, and walked out.

Because if they wanted me broken, they would have to try much harder than this.

---

The grand doors closed behind me with a weighty thud, sealing away the cruel laughter that still rang in my ears.

For a moment, I stood frozen in the polished corridor, my pulse hammering in my throat. My fists were still curled so tight my nails bit crescents into my palms.

"Elira!"

Cambria’s voice cut through the haze. She and the others hurried toward me from where they’d been waiting on the benches outside.

Cambria grabbed my hands instantly, eyes flashing. "What did they say? What did they do to you?"

I forced myself to breathe, my chest heaving as if I’d run a mile. "They... punished me." My voice cracked, bitter and sharp.

"What?" Juniper demanded, stepping closer, her brows knitted.

"They said I disrespected them by not answering the first summon," I explained quickly, anger seeping into every word. "I told them I went to the office, that I spoke with the secretary, but they twisted everything... They called me a liar."

Nari’s eyes darkened. "That’s absurd. You did go. We were all with you at the cafeteria, even reminded you about it—you went straight away."

"I know." My throat tightened, my hands trembling in Cambria’s grip. "But they don’t care. They just wanted..." My words faltered. "...to humiliate me."

"What’s the punishment?" Tamryn’s voice was calm, but her gaze was steel.

My stomach twisted as I forced the words out. "They want me in the cafeteria kitchen for a whole week, scrubbing, hauling and cleaning. Or worse—" I swallowed. "The washrooms in the third-year classrooms."

Nari gasped, outrage flaring bright. "They can’t do that! You’re not a servant! That’s— that’s abuse of power!"

Juniper cursed under her breath. "Drunk on power, the lot of them. Exactly what I said."

Cambria’s lips pressed tight, her usual gentleness hardening into anger. "How dare they take away your dignity like that?"

I shook my head, blinking fast against the burn in my eyes. "I... I told them it wouldn’t break me regardless." My voice trembled but I forced it steady. "I won’t let it."

Nari then squeezed my hands tighter, her voice fierce. "And you won’t face it alone. We will be there, every single day. If they think they can shame you, they will have to look at all of us while they try."

The knot in my chest loosened, just a little. Their faces surrounded me—angry, protective, unshaken. And though the humiliation still stung like fire under my skin, the warmth of their presence dulled its edge.

For a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to exhale. To believe that maybe, just maybe, I could survive this week without breaking.