Chapter 43 Ivory Solstice

Chapter 43 Ivory Solstice

ARDEN

It was here.

The Ivory Solstice.

s

The day I had dreaded from the moment Tessa first introduced the concept to me. The day when the fantasy of neutrality ended, and everyone had to make ba /bdecision–alight with a faction or be left to the mercy of chaos.

I hadn’t left my dorm much the past week, slipping in and out of bsses /blike ba /bbshadow/b, working shifts in near silence at the Evermore café. Rowan stopped by every shift with his bsunny /bcharm band /bflowery words. Elias made his presence bknown /bwith a smirk and a riddle I never asked for. Jaxon hovered, tense and growling at anyone who so much as looked my way, and Cade… bCade /bremained distant,

Except for that day when he shattered my walls only to ask for something that hollowed me out.

Do you bthink/b, if I break my leg. I won’t have to go?” I muttered as I sat on the edge of my bed, tugging ab through my

hair.

Tessa nced at me from the mirrorb, /balready in her gown–sleek, navy, and far more morous than mine. “You could try. But I think Mr. Winters would just have the med team wheel you in with a bow tied around your cast.”

I gave a weakugh, cing theb down and staring at the dress on the hanger.

It was simple. Ivory chiffon, sleeveless with a modest neckline band /ba hem that brushed just above bmy /bknees. I bought it months ago on a whim and left it in the back of my closet.

“You look very pretty, Tessa bsaid/b, suddenly behind me. Her hands rested on my shoulders as I stood.

“You too,” I murmured, offering ba /bfaint bsmile/b. “Are you ready? Do you already have a bfaction /bin mind?”

“No,” she admitted. “But I’ll be bwith /byou. You’re my only friend bhere/b.”

She touched my bhand /blightly. “Owen will probably choose where the two of us will go. too.”

-You are both going before me,

“I know,” she whispered.

remember?” I muttered. “It’s in alphabetical order. You’ll have to choose first.”

“Then…” She took a breath, and her eyes grew firm with resolve. “I’ll pick the safest faction.

bWhen /bwe arrived at the hall, everything felt too much.

Extravagant chandeliers hung from carved ceilings. bStrings /bof moonlight shimmered through crystal panes. The floor sparkled beneath our feet like freshly fallen snow. And bnearly /beveryone bturned /btoward me the moment I stepped through the grand doors.

Like prey entering the den, bwhispers /brose like wind through reeds.

“The still hasn’t chosen, right?

“I ho do you think the pick

I heard the’s been avoiding them all she’s ying the hard game.”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run back into the night and rip this dress bapart /b

But instead, I smiled at no one. I kept any head held high and walked forward with Tessa’s arm looped around mine.

Everyer of dur ballroom glistened like something out of a fairy tale–but I wasn’t the princess. bI /bwas the dragon’s hoard. A coveted parte bating /batop the tallest tower.

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Chapter 43 Ivory Solstice

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The factions were balready /bstationed in their designated corners: North, South, East, and West. Each one with their banners braised /band their bAlpha /bfigureheads bstanding /bbproud/b. bRowan /bnear the South, fingers btapping /bbhis /bbss /bof champagne. Elias lounged against the East table, casual and amused. Jaxon stood rigid in the West, his gaze a storm locked on me. bAnd /bCade was barely visible, half–shadowed in the North corner, arms folded, silent.

And I-

I needed air.

“I’m going to step outside,” I told Tessa.

111e with-

“No,” I interrupted gently. “I bjust /bneed a moment”

She nodded, bworry /bin her eyes, but didn’t stop me.

I stepped past the velvet curtains and onto the terrace, where the night was cool, and the stars dared to blink. My breath came easier out here. I leaned against the railing, gripping it with trembling fingers.

I wasn’t ready. Not for this. Not for bwhat /bbit /bbmeant /bto be imed or baligned /bor chosen.

Before I couldplete the thought, ba /bbhand /bclosed gently around my wrist

I stiffened, spinning around, only toe face to face with Jaxon.

His eyes were dark, burning, and hungry.

“You’re choosing me,” he said.

It wasn’t a question but ba /bmand.

I opened my mouth to tell him off that out of any of the Alphas, he was the one I was least likely to choose.

But he didn’t give me the chance.

He took two bsteps /bforward, closing the space between us, and ced his rough, possessive hands on either side of my face.

Then, he began kissing me bagainst /bthe stone wall of the academy.

I hated it.

Not because it bwas /bharsh or rough or beven /bsurprising. But because he kissed me like he bhad /bthe right. Like I was already his.

And the worst part was I felt ba /bwhisper of warmth bloom binside /bme.

Stupid. Stupid bond.

When he pulled bback/bb, /bhis blips /bbbrushed /bagainst my check, and I could still feel the ghost of his smirk as he bsaid /bsoftly, “This is how I make byou /bfeel, Arden.”

I turned my face away, bashamed /bof the heat in my bskin/b.

He tilted his head Remember, I’m your first love. No matter how much you fight it. it’s still me.

He pressed a final kiss to my temple, then walked off, back toward the bhall/b, leaving me standing there like I was made of leftover pieces.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and forced myself back into the hall just as the headmaster braised /bhis voice over the gathering crowd.

Mr. Winters atrod at the grand podium in his silver–trimmed robes, arms open like a benevolent god presiding over

gurut day

Wee, students, to this year’s Ivory Solstice,” he began, his voice booming across the ballroom. The night byou /ball

1:13 AM bc /bbc /b

Chapter 43 Ivory Solstice

+5 Froe

Coins

officially enter the factions of our system. The foundation of our future governance, of peace and structure, begins with you.”

bBehind /bhim stood four towering columns–each carved with a different emblem, representing the factions. In front of them bsat /bfour bss /bboxes, crystal–clear band /bglowing faintly from within.

“The factions are here not to divide,” he continued, “but to connect. Unity in diversity. Coboration through structure. We believe bthat /bby choosing the Alpha that resonates with your values, your strengths, and your instincts, we create bbnce /bband /bpeace.

He gestured to bthe /bboxes.

“You must ce your original badge–your neutral crest–inside one of these. When you do, you will be handed your new badge marked with the symbol of your faction. Choose wisely, for this decision determines the shape of your next two years. How you live. Who you learn beside. And who bwill /bprotect byou/b”

My fingers curled around the neutral badge pinned to my chest. The small gold emblem with no mark.

Names began to be called.

Owen Alvar.”

He stepped forward, running his fingers bthrough /bhis dark hair before approaching the boxes. His beyes /bdarted to the East–bhis /bhome.

I held my breath.

He bit his lip before he dropped his badge into the North box.

A murmur rippled through the crow.

Owen simply epted his new badge, gave a short nod, and walked back, sitting next to Tessa and me without saying anything.

Names continued to be called out until it was bTessa’s /bturn.

“Tessa Fay.”

bMy /bheart caught in my throat.

She looked bback /bat me. For a moment, I thought she’d choose South. It was her faction, after all.

However, she didn’t move toward it.

bShe /bwalked to the North bas /bwell. just like Owen, and dropped in her badge.

Why?

I turned to where Rowan was band /bbsaw /bhim appearing bored bout /bof his mind andpletely uninterested.

She looked at me bas /bbshe /breturned, her eyes soft but determined.

“Trisa_” I whispered.

She just strailed, reassuring me about a decision I haven’t even made yet.

More names followed.

The majority close their original factions, with some strays here and there,

me was called, I was so sure she’d follow Jason in the West

But to everyone shock, she walked right past the West and straight to the North

What the hell is going on.” I whispered to myself, fingers shaking slightly

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Chapter 43 Ivory Solstice

I stood still as more names echoed through the room, none of them

mine

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I wished it would nevere, but to my dismay, my name was still called.

Arden Stone.”

Silence fell, every head turned, and every gazended on me.

I took one step forward. Then another.

The hush that fell across the room was deafening. I could feel their eyes, the hundred silent judgments with expectations bthick /bin the air.

This was the moment they’d all been waiting for

The girl who hadn’t chosen.

The girl, they said, was still pure.

Whispers bhad /bbfloated /bball /bweek. bThat /bI bwas /bb“/bholding out.” bThat /bI bwas /b“bying /bbhard /bto get For bwhat/b? For whom?

That whoever I chose tonight… would im more than just my faction

They’d im me,

My heartbeat mmed bagainst /bmy ribs, but I kept walking. I passed rows of students with their fresh faction emblems glowing on their cors. I passed Owen, who looked at me with concern. I passed Tessa, whose brows furrowed gently. I passed Jaxon, arms folded, lips curled with confidence like he already knew bwhat /bbI /bwas about to do.

The four True Alphas sat at the front like kings waiting for their queen, waiting to see bwhich /bkingdom I’d hand myself to.

I reached the boxes, my neutra! badge burning against my chest.

This choice would seal

ny fate

my

But I didn’te here to be sealed.

to prove I could do it alone.

I came here to prove I didn’t need a protector to have bworth/b. I came here to

My fingers gripped the badge.

The murmurs started again, and I took a deep bbreath/b.

Then slowly. I pulled the badge from my cor.

1 held it up for everyone to see.

And dropped it—not into a box, but onto the polished marble floor.

dattered like thunder

“I will not be choosing.” I said, bmy /bvoice clear