CHAPTER 117: THEIR CRUELTY DOESN’T DEFINE ME

{Elira}

~**^**~

That night even after our study session had ended and we had returned to our dorm room, my roommates and I were still quiet in a way that felt heavy, without the usual tired chatter.

I sat on my bed, knees pulled close, staring at the faint scuff marks on the floorboards. The Council’s voices still echoed in my mind, sharp and smug, each laugh replaying until my chest ached.

A part of me wanted to tell Zenon, Lennon, Rennon. To reach for them in the bond and pour out my anger and shame, let them hold the weight I couldn’t set down alone.

But the thought of dragging them into this — of giving Regina even more threads to twist — made my stomach tighten.

I wanted the brothers to hear of it, yes. I wanted them to demand answers, to see through the cruelty. But I wasn’t ready to place this burden at their feet. Not while I could still carry it.

"Elira," Nari’s voice broke the silence, sharp with leftover fury. She paced by her bed, her hands slicing the air as she spoke. "We can’t just let this abuse of power slide. We should report the council members to one of the professors. Let someone higher up see what they are doing."

Tamryn, already dressed in her nightshirt, sat on her bed with her arms folded. "Nothing will be done," she said flatly, like she knew the system too well. "The Council shields themselves too well that Professors look the other way."

Juniper gave a snort from her bed. "Then let the world look the other way. Nari, post it on your blog. Put their names out there, what they’re doing. That will sting worse than any complaint."

"No." My head snapped up immediately. And all four of them looked at me, surprised by the firmness in my tone.

I drew a breath, trying to soften it. "Nari’s blog wasn’t created for gossip or scandal. It’s about beauty, moments, life at ESA. If this goes up there, it will ruin her work and her voice. And I won’t let the Council take that too."

I would never let Nari’s hard work and dedication go to waste because of me.

Nari bit her lip, clearly torn. Juniper just muttered something under her breath and flopped back onto her pillow.

It was Cambria who spoke next, her voice quiet but full of longing. "If only the Moon’s Whisper Blog returned. That was the one place where truth had power. Where people listened. If that blog carried Elira’s story, justice would follow."

Silence settled again, the weight of her words hanging like incense smoke.

"Yes," Nari murmured softly. "The Moon’s Whisper..."

Juniper exhaled, staring at the ceiling. "If only."

---

The room quieted gradually as my roommates slipped into their bunks, the weight of the day finally pressing their bodies into rest.

Nari curled under her blanket, still muttering about professors who never acted. Cambria whispered a goodnight before switching off her lamp. Even Juniper’s steady breathing began to rise and fall, slow and even.

But I couldn’t sleep.

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling above my bunk, my chest tight and my eyes stinging.

The power and the cruelty of the Student Council refused to leave my head, and more annoyingly, their smirks. They kept me wild awake.

’Why me?’ I thought bitterly to myself. ’Why always me?’

As soon as I started to wallow in self bitterness, I felt a soft ripple at the edges of my mind, like a touch against still water.

"Elira."

Selene’s voice, calm and steady, threaded with quiet strength.

My breath caught in my throat. "Selene?"

"Yes," she whispered, warmth spreading through me like a cloak against the cold. "I have been watching, listening and hurting with you."

I swallowed hard, blinking up at the dark. "Those people humiliated me. They treated me like dirt. And now this... punishment. A whole week meant to shame me."

Selene’s tone sharpened with a protective edge. "Let them try. They think they hold power because they sit on velvet chairs and eat sugared sweets. But they are cowards, hiding behind titles. Their cruelty does not define you."

My lips trembled. "But it feels like it does. Everyone stares at me... whispers about me. Like I don’t belong here—like I’m a lost course."

Definitely by everyone, I didn’t mean my roommates.

A small pause followed, then Selene’s voice wrapped around me firmer, steadier.

"Elira. You belong here more than they ever will. Because you do not need titles to have worth. You do not need cruelty to have strength. You endure. And that is something they will never understand."

My chest ached, but the burn behind my eyes eased. For the first time that day, I let out a shaky laugh, small but real. "You make it sound easy."

"It’s not easy," Selene said softly. "But possible. And tomorrow, when you step into that kitchen... you will walk in not as their servant, but as the girl who refused to break."

Silence settled again, but this time, it was gentler and warmer.

I curled onto my side, clutching the blanket close. The sting of humiliation still lingered, but Selene’s words anchored me.

For the first time since stepping into the Council chamber today, I felt... steady.

And as my eyes finally drifted shut, I carried one thought with me into sleep:

’The members of the Student Council can laugh and sneer all they want, but I will endure.’

***

The alarm on my phone buzzed faintly in the dark, dragging me from the arms of sleep. And when I checked the time, it was 5:00 a.m.

That time was too early for any student at ESA, and definitely too early for me. But today wasn’t like other days.

Today, while the rest of the school still slept warm and safe in their beds, I had to begin the first day of my punishment.

Kitchen duty.

The word alone still felt bitter on my tongue.

I slipped out from under my blanket quietly, careful not to disturb the others. Then I walked into the bathroom to freshen up. And after I was done, I stepped back into the room. But before I could even reach my uniform hanging by the wall, a voice stirred from the darkness.

"Elira?"

It was Cambria, sitting up on her bunk, her hair loose over her shoulders. Then Juniper rolled over, blinking groggily, and Nari’s voice came next, groaning.

"What time is it? Why are you moving around like a thief?"

My stomach dropped. "Go back to sleep. It’s too early."

But the moment I said it, Tamryn was already pulling on her robe, her movements calm but decisive. Cambria swung her legs down from the bunk. Nari tossed off her blanket with a dramatic huff.

Within minutes, the four of them were quickly moving around the room, washing their faces, combing their hair, tugging on their crisp ESA uniforms.

"You don’t need to—" I started, my eyes following their movements, but Nari cut me off, snapping her hair tie into place.

"Like hell we don’t. You think we’re going to let you walk into that kitchen alone? Not happening."

I had thought they were joking yesterday when they said I wouldn’t go through this alone. Still, I tried again. "You will lose sleep, you will be exhausted—"

Juniper smirked faintly, adjusting her blazer. "We’re already exhausted. One hour less sleep won’t kill us."

"And," Nari added loudly, "I’d rather be tired than let those pompous council brats think you’re alone in this."

As she shoved her books into her backpack, she muttered curses under her breath. "Kaelis the spoiled princess... Thorne with his stupid iron face... Soraya the razor tongue... Regina the snake..." She listed each one with venom, spitting their names like a curse.

Juniper pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh. Walls have ears."

"I don’t care if they do!" Nari shot back. "Let them hear. Let them know I think they are all nothing but a bunch of power-drunk hypocrites!"

The room bristled with her fire. For a second, it almost made me smile.

"Nari, I really think it’s enough," I said softly, stepping in between them, clutching my neatly folded apron in my hands.

My chest tightened as I looked at them all—sleepy-eyed but stubborn, already lacing shoes and fastening buttons. "Thank you girls, for doing this with me."

Cambria gave me a warm look as she slipped her satchel strap over her shoulder. "We’re friends, Elira. That’s what friends do."

The word struck me harder than any insult the Student Council had thrown yesterday. Friends.

I let it turn over in my mind, tasting the sound of it. Friends, not dorm mates. Friends, like the way I had once said about them to the brothers in our group chat.

The smile that spread across my lips wasn’t forced. For the first time since the announcement yesterday, it was real.

’From today,’ I told myself, ’Cambria, Nari, Juniper, Tamryn are not just the girls I share a room with. They are my friends.’

And with that thought warming me, I picked up my bag, opened the door, and stepped into the cool hallway.

Together, the five of us walked out—united against whatever waited in the kitchens.