The classroom buzzed as students filed in, voices rising in easy chatter. Eli followed Emris through the door, clutching his books tighter than he needed to.
"Relax" Emris said with a smirk. "No one's going to bite."
They slid into two seats beside each other near the middle row. Eli noticed something immediately.. the teacher's desk was empty.
"Where's the teacher?" he asked, setting down his bag.
Emris leaned back, arms crossed loosely over his chest. "Not here today. Which means…" He stretched the word like it was obvious. "…we've got ourselves a free period."
Eli blinked. A free period this early in the semester? Kingston Academy really wasn't ordinary.
The chatter of the class swirled around them, laughter and whispers filling the air. Eli turned toward Emris, curiosity tugging at him. "How do you know so much? About the elites, the titles… all of it."
Emris shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips as he sank deeper into his chair. "I've been here long enough to see it all play out. Long enough to know that titles aren't just rumors they're survival guides. Watch, listen, keep your head down. That's how you learn."
Eli studied him, wondering how much of Emris's confidence was earned through observation and how much was bravado. But before he could press further—
BANG.
The sound rattled the hallway outside, sharp enough to silence the room. Heads jerked up, conversations cut off mid-sentence. A few students gasped, the unease rolling through the classroom like a ripple in still water.
"What was that?" Eli whispered, his chest tightening.
Emris's smile faded. He stood slowly, his movements careful, deliberate. "Come on" he said quietly, tilting his head toward the door.
They weren't alone. Chairs screeched across the floor as the class rushed toward the doorway, curiosity and dread pulling them in equal measure. Eli followed, the press of bodies crowding him as everyone spilled into the hallway.
The scene hit him instantly.
Just outside the classroom, against the row of polished lockers, a boy was pinned hard his back slammed flat against the metal. Hovering over him was someone Eli didn't recognize yet, but he knew immediately who it had to be.
Tall, broad-shouldered, his skin a warm tan that caught the harsh fluorescent lights. His dark hair was cropped close, and both his ears glittered with piercings cold, sharp accents against the cruel aura rolling off him in waves. His uniform clung to him in a way that made his frame look heavier, more dangerous. His eyes, dark and merciless, locked on the boy like a predator pinning prey.
The hallway had gone silent except for the ragged breaths of the student trapped beneath his arm.
Emris's voice was low, sharp with warning as he leaned closer to Eli. "That." he said quietly, "is Jax. The Executioner."
Eli's stomach dropped.
And in that frozen moment, all he could do was watch as Jax pressed closer, the lockers groaning under the boy's weight.