Page 72 of Fated for Dawn

The chief spoke up again. “We’ll organize escorts for the younger students and anyone vulnerable. We won’t leave anyone unprotected.”

The dean nodded, relief flickering across his weary face. “Good. This transition must happen as swiftly and safely as possible.”

The rest of the day was a blur of chaos. Students streamed out of dorms, lugging overstuffed suitcases and exchanging hurried goodbyes. Once buzzing with the usual rhythm of classes and study sessions, now the Academy felt unrecognizable.

By sunset, only a handful of students remained. I found myself outside the dorms where Maggie, Felix, and Aurora stood. They were some of the last to leave, and their goodbyes felt heavier than I was ready for.

“Promise you’ll text?” Maggie asked, her voice thick with emotion.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

Felix pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, his usual humor absent as he whispered, “Be careful, Evelyn.”

Aurora pressed her forehead to mine, her voice soft but steady. “Look after Raven and Dad, okay?”

“I will,” I promised.

And just like that, Arcanum Academy officially became our headquarters for taking down Eris.

29

Evelyn

“It won’t kill you,” Chad said, flashing his goofy grin.

“Well, that’s encouraging,” I said with a huff.

Rafe stepped closer. “Evelyn, this is part of who you are; there’s no need to be frightened.”

The courtyard sunlight caught in his hair, making it look like he actually had a halo.

He probably does.

I crossed my arms, feeling the tension knot my shoulders. “Reassuring.” I sighed.

It was time to unleash the beast.

Literally.

I paced back and forth in the courtyard, muttering to myself while Rafe and Chad watched from the steps.

“I don’t even know what it is!” I exclaimed, spinning toward them. “What if it’s a cockatrice? Like…a giant killer chicken. That’s not exactly intimidating.”

Chad laughed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “A killer chicken? Yeah, that’ll send Eris running for the hills.”

Ignoring him, I turned to Rafe, who stood silently with his arms crossed, his wings tucked neatly behind him. “Or worse! What if I’m a nuckelavee? You know, a skinless horse with a rider stuck on its back. A nightmare centaur with two faces!TWO FACES!”

Chad almost fell off the step, laughing. “Please, can we get a nightmare chicken-horse combo? That’d be epic.”

“Not helping!” I snapped, pointing at him before grabbing a fistful of my hair. “But theabsolute worst—what if I’m a freakinggorgon? Like, full-on snake hair. Do you know how traumatizing that would be? I’d never recover, Chad. Never.”

Rafe finally spoke, his voice calm and even. “Evelyn, I think you’re overthinking this.”

“I’mnotoverthinking!” I groaned, throwing myself onto the grass and dramatically covering my face with my hands. “This is officially the worst day of my life.”

Rafe’s soft laugh rumbled through the courtyard. “I somehow doubt this qualifies as theworst day,Evelyn.”

I peeked at them through my fingers, groaning again.

---