Chapter 42: Hidden Schemes

The training ground still hummed with residual heat as midday reached its peak. Sweat gleamed on shoulders, dust clung to skin, and yet no one complained. Routine moved like a silent pulse through the students. Focused. Drilled. Quiet.

Until the air changed.

Not in temperature or sound—but in pressure.

Like a heavy cloth draped over the back of the neck. Heads turned subtly, some shivered. A presence approached. The kind that didn't belong in places of honest effort. The kind that smiled when others bled.

Elias Dunheart had arrived.

He walked with polished ease, as if the world bent slightly to accommodate his stride. Gold-threaded robes shimmered faintly beneath his open coat, and two rings gleamed on his right hand. Not too many to appear gaudy, but enough to show he didn't care for humility.

He paused at the edge of the ground, eyes sweeping across the students like one inspecting market goods.

Then he saw Dawn.

His smile curled.

"I see the academy has a new overseer," Elias said, voice silk-wrapped steel.

Dawn didn't move from where he stood beside Luna. His posture didn't shift, his breath didn't catch. He simply turned, slowly, to meet the intruder's eyes.

Gray meeting gold. Calm against smug.

Elias clicked his tongue and walked closer, each step deliberate. "You've been busy. Whipping the masses into shape. Quite the transformation. Almost... militaristic."

Dawn said nothing.

Luna raised a brow, studying Elias, unsure if he was being complimentary or derisive. With him, it was never clear.

"You must be proud," Elias continued. "Beating a few brats and taking the moral high ground. And of course, Cedric. He's been... quieter. What did you do to him, exactly?"

"Ask him," Dawn said simply.

That irked Elias. Not because of what was said, but because of how. No tension. No crack. No emotion. Just steel wrapped in calm breath.

He stepped closer again, now within reach. Luna, though composed, took half a step to the side, subtly inserting herself.

"Quite the honor guard you have," Elias said lightly, eyes flicking to her. "Though I suppose it makes sense. After all, opposites attract."

That earned a glance from Luna. "Meaning?"

He offered a half-bow, lips poised. "Nothing at all, Your Grace. Just admiring your taste in company."

She frowned but said nothing. The way he smiled—it unsettled her. Not overtly, but like music played slightly out of tune. Something was wrong and yet she couldn't point where.

"But truly, Dawn," Elias went on, turning back to him. "You've done well. Really. Most students would've cracked. Folded. Or begged for instructor intervention. But not you. You took the pain. Turned it into something useful. That's rare. Commendable."

Silence again.

But Elias was watching closely. Not for words. For twitching fingers. A clenched jaw. Anything.

Nothing came.

So he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.

"Still… You must've known Cedric's punishment would reach me eventually. And now that it has, I came to see for myself the kind of man who broke one of mine."

Luna's eyes sharpened. "Yours?"

Elias laughed. "Figure of speech."

His golden eyes settled back on Dawn. "But don't worry. I won't touch you. That would be… inelegant. And unwise."

The implication hung in the air. He wouldn't touch Dawn.

But others? That wasn't off the table.

Luna stepped forward, voice firm. "Is this a warning, Dunheart?"

Elias turned to her, feigning innocence. "Oh no, Princess. This is a courtesy. A visit. Nothing more. Although…"

His smile twisted.

"There is an upcoming event. The joint exploration. You've heard of it, haven't you?"

Neither Dawn nor Luna spoke.

Elias licked his teeth, pleased to finally have brought something into the conversation that felt like leverage.

"It'll be held beyond the academy's reach. No instructors. No interventions. Just students. And what they choose to do with the freedom given to them."

He let that sit.

Then turned to leave.

No drama. No parting shot. Just a single look over his shoulder.

"I hope your training pays off, Overseer."

He walked away, hands tucked into his sleeves, frustration stitched tightly into every footstep. The calm had been impenetrable. His barbs had found no target. His words—useless.

He hadn't tested Dawn.

He'd failed.

And he hated it.

Luna exhaled slowly. "What an oily bastard."

Dawn said nothing.

She studied his face. No tightness in the jaw. No fire in the eyes. Just that same unsettling calm. She didn't know whether to be impressed or worried.

"He'll try something," she said quietly.

"I know."

"And if he does, I'll be there."

Dawn turned. His gaze met hers fully this time. "Thank you. We'll be ready."

She almost smiled. "That sounded very polite and very rehearsed."

"Maybe it was."

A pause.

Then she added, "You know you don't have to do this alone, right?"

Dawn looked out toward the students still drilling.

Then toward the pillar he had stood on earlier.

His voice, when it came, was distant.

"I've never been alone."

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