Cheers explode across the courtyard. Students shout their support, many of them manifesting their own suppressed essence types in solidarity. Many I don't even recognize are showing powers I've never seen before, essence types that have been hidden for years.
It's a rebellion, happening in real time, broadcast to millions of watching Magila across the world.
And the hunters can't do anything to stop it.
Through my aura, I watch them conferring frantically on their platform. They've lost control of the narrative completely. Stellan passed every test with perfect control, proved that different essence types can work together, and just delivered a speech that resonated with every rejected Magila watching. They can't justify essence stripping now, not without looking like exactly what they are.
But I can also sense their desperation. They came here to eliminate a threat, to make an example that would terrify everyone else into compliance. And they're not going to leave empty-handed just because the demonstration didn't go their way.
"Stellan Wilder," Hunter Sylas announces, his voice magically amplified to carry over the celebrating crowd, "has demonstrated adequate control of his fire essence during the prescribed tests."
The courtyard starts to quiet, students going still as they wait to hear the verdict.
"However," Sylas continues, and my stomach drops because I can feel what's coming, "the phoenix transformation itself represents an existential threat to the established order. His very existence challenges the seven-element system that has maintained peace and stability for over a century. The ability to manifest such power, regardless of current control, creates an unacceptable risk to the Magila population at large."
The courtyard goes completely silent. You could hear a pin drop.
"Therefore," Sylas continues, his voice cold and clinical, "we recommend immediate essence stripping to eliminate the phoenix’s nature while preserving the base fire element. This will allow Mr. Wilder to continue living as a normal fire elemental, properly categorized and controlled within existing frameworks. This is the most merciful option available given the circumstances."
My blood runs cold. They're going to do it anyway. Going to strip Stellan's essence despite everything he proved, right here in front of millions of witnesses, and frame it as a reasonable compromise. As mercy instead of murder.
My mates' explosive fury hits me like a wave. Jade's demon form manifests fully, horns and wings and tail, his purple aura blazing with protective rage. Rumi's divine power crackles in the air around him, his golden wings spreading wide. Harlow phases between life and death, his Champion nature rising to the surface with death itself manifesting around him like a cloak.Ambrose's contracts activate, green light spreading across the courtyard in protective patterns.
But I step forward first, letting my power bloom around me like a star going supernova.
"No."
The single word resonates with Mother Nature's authority, shaking the ground beneath our feet. Every person in the courtyard turns to stare at me, and I let my pink essence expand, filling the demonstration space with undeniable power. The air shimmers with it, reality itself bending slightly to accommodate the weight of what I am.
"I am Skye Bardot, third Praestes chosen by Mother Nature herself." My voice carries across the courtyard without amplification, pure authority making every word impossible to ignore. "And I declare Stellan Wilder's phoenix essence sacred and protected under natural law. Any attempt to strip it is a violation of Mother Nature's gift and will be treated as an act of war against nature itself."
Hunter Sylas's expression twists with contempt, his carefully maintained professionalism cracking. "You're not a real Praestes. You're a deluded human playing with power you don't understand. The Council has authority over all Magila, including supposed Praestes who overstep their bounds. The first Praestes serves the Council, and you will fall in line or be eliminated along with your pet phoenix."
"The Council," I interrupt, my Praestes voice making the ground itself tremble, making reality shiver, "doesn't have authority over what Mother Nature creates. And she created phoenixes. She created demons. She created wraiths and demigods and Crossroads Keepers and every other essence type you've been systematically eliminating for a century because they didn't fit Dmitri's narrow little system."
I let that name hang in the air. Dmitri. The first Praestes. The fallen one who corrupted everything he was meant to protect. Millions must be hearing this revelation for the first time, learning that their entire system is built on one vampire's corruption.
"These hunters," I continue, gesturing at the three Magila on the platform, "have never let anyone with a non-standard essence type pass their evaluation. Twenty-three assessments in ten years. Zero survivors with their essence intact. Three dead from the stripping procedure itself. The rest turned into empty shells, alive but not living. This isn't about safety. This is about control. This is about maintaining Dmitri's corrupt system by eliminating anyone who proves it's a lie."
Ambrose steps forward beside me, and the power of his contracts activating. The air around him glows green with the power of binding truth. "Truth compulsion," he announces, his Crossroads Keeper power forcing honesty from everyone in range. "Hunter Sylas, did Dmitri personally order you to strip Stellan's essence regardless of test results?"
Sylas fights the compulsion, his face going red with effort as he tries to resist. But Ambrose's contract is too strong, woven too tightly, paid for with too much of himself to be broken by simple will. "Yes," the word is ripped from him unwillingly, dragged out against every instinct. "We were ordered to eliminate the phoenix and make an example of the Praestes who protects him. Dmitri wants them both destroyed before they can inspire others to rebel against the system."
The courtyard explodes with noise. Shouts of outrage, students demanding justice, faculty members calling for Council intervention. Through the cameras, I can feel the shock rippling across the entire Magila world. Millions of witnesses just heard a Council hunter admit to corruption, to following orders to commit what amounts to murder regardless of evidence.
We've done it. We've exposed the corruption publicly, undeniably, with millions of witnesses and recorded proof.
But through my essence, I can also feel something else building in the distance. Dmitri's presence, far away but growing closer. The vampire is moving, responding to this threat with everything he has. I can feel his rage like a storm on the horizon, dark and terrible and coming straight for us.
We've won this battle, proved Stellan's control and exposed the hunters' corruption.
But the war is just beginning, and Dmitri is coming.
17
STELLAN
Thehuntersaretakeninto custody by Tamara and the reformed security team, former enforcers who chose to stay and actually protect students instead of controlling them. Through my fire, I can sense the hunters' fury, their absolute certainty that they were following rightful orders and we're the criminals who should be punished.
