Chapter 35: The Wrong Name on the Slip
Evaline:
A chill licked down my spine as I watched him make his way through the central arena, stopping at the raised officials’ platform, nodding to a few of the instructors gathered there.
I barely registered the murmurs of students around me, their excited whispers, dreamy sighs, or awestruck stares. The girls in the crowd were clinging to each other and gushing like he was a prince from a fantasy novel.
But for me, he was no fantasy. He was a nightmare.
I was thankful for the cap pulled low over my brow, and the mask I had dug out this morning for no particular reason. I hadn’t worn them since my first day here as I wanted to blend in like every other applicant. But something in my gut had told me to cover up today. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was luck. Or maybe some part of me had sensed this was going to be the most important day yet.
Even so, could a piece of cloth really hide me from him?
My eyes quickly darted to Alpha Kieran. He was standing tall on the opposite side of the platform, speaking with two senior instructors. Calm. Composed. As if this was just another ordinary test.
But something about seeing him... made my chest loosen just a little.
It was relief.
A strange sense of security washed over me the moment I spotted him. He was the man who had brought me here and wanted to me to make it through the exam.
He didn’t look at me. Not even once. His gaze was fixed on whatever conversation he was having with the others. But the more I looked at his calm demeanor, the more I started hearing that cruel voice in the very back of my head.