"Don't know. But the Dominion called it, so it's probably not good."
She's right. Nothing the Dominion does is ever good, at least not for me. I haul myself out of bed anyway because the alternative is worse. My skin still feels too hot and too tight, but at least the worst of the fever has passed. I can function now, even if every piece of clothing still feels like sandpaper against my hypersensitive skin.
The courtyard is already packed when we get there. Students cluster in groups, whispering and speculating, and I can feel the shift in attention when I walk in. Conversations pause. Heads turn. I'm still the girl from the video, still the joke who believed Nico's lies, but now there's something else in how they look at me. Something I don't understand.
Lily pulls me toward the back, away from the center of attention, but it doesn't help. I can feel eyes tracking me. Can feel the weight of too much attention even though I'm trying to disappear into the crowd.
The Dominion members are standing on the raised platform at the front of the courtyard. There are five of them today, all in their formal black jackets with the silver wolf insignia. Caspian is there too, standing slightly apart from the others, and when my eyes find him his are already on me. He doesn't look away when I catch him staring. Just holds my gaze across the crowded courtyard until I'm the one who has to look down.
One of the Dominion members steps forward. I don't know his name but I recognize his face from the dining hall, from the chapel, from every time they've made my life hell for the past weeks. He raises his hand and the courtyard goes quiet.
"The Dominion exists to maintain the pack hierarchy and ensure the strength of future generations," he says, like he's reciting something from a textbook. "Unknown wolves, thosewithout established rank or verified capability, must prove themselves worthy of their place in this Academy."
My stomach drops because I know where this is going. I'm the only unknown wolf here. Everyone else has a pack history, bloodline documentation, established rank. I'm the girl who showed up with nothing but a dead aunt's letter and a wolf she can't even shift into yet.
"Nova Bardot." He says my name like it's an accusation. "Step forward."
The crowd parts around me like I'm contagious. Lily squeezes my arm once before letting go, and I walk toward the platform alone. My heart is pounding but I keep my head up, keep my shoulders back, keep my face blank. I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing me scared.
When I reach the platform, the Dominion member gestures to an obstacle course that's been set up in the center of the courtyard. It wasn't there this morning. They built this specifically for me, specifically for this moment.
"Complete the course," he says. "Prove you have the physical capability required of Academy students."
I look at the course. It's brutal. Rope climb, balance beam, wall scaling, cargo net. Things that require upper body strength I barely have, balance I haven't practiced, endurance I'm not sure I possess. And they want me to do it in front of everyone, with cameras already out and recording, waiting for me to fail so they can add it to the collection of humiliations they've already captured.
My body is fighting me. The heat symptoms might have passed their worst point but I'm still running too hot, still hypersensitive, still not entirely in control of my own skin. My hands are shaking slightly and I curl them into fists so no one can see.
I could turn around. Could walk away right now and refuse to participate. What would they do? Expel me? Send me away from this place that's done nothing but hurt me since I arrived?
But then I see her. The girl from the bathroom, the one who cut my hair while her friends filmed. She's standing with her group near the front, and she's laughing with them like she already knows how this is going to end. Like she's already composing the message she'll send with the video of me failing.
I look for faculty, for anyone who might stop this. Headmaster Owen is standing at the edge of the courtyard with other professors, and they're all just watching. Not intervening. Not questioning why the Dominion is allowed to do this. They've cast a blind eye to everything the Dominion does, and today will be no different.
I look up at the platform where the Dominion stands watching. Caspian has moved to the railing now, his hands gripping it tight enough that I can see the tension in his shoulders from here. He's watching me with an intensity that makes my breath catch, and for a second I can't tell if he wants me to succeed or fail.
Then I remember the training. The nights I've spent in the training hall, pushing my body past exhaustion, teaching myself to be stronger than they think I am. The staff work, the endurance drills, how I've intentionally built muscle and calluses and the strength that comes from refusing to quit even when every part of you wants to.
I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me walk away.
I walk to the starting position.
The rope climb comes first. My hands find the rough hemp and I start pulling myself up, hand over hand, using my legs to push. My palms are still healing from last week's training and the rope tears them open almost immediately. Blood makes thegrip slippery but I don't stop. Can't stop. I reach the top, slap the bell, and slide back down fast enough that the rope burns my hands worse.
The balance beam is next. It's narrow and high enough that falling would hurt. My body wants to shake, wants to betray me, but I force myself steady. I walk across slowly, arms out for balance, and I don't let myself think about the cameras or the watching students or how my vision swims slightly from the heat still working through my system.
Wall scaling. I jump for the first handhold and pull myself up. My arms are already tired from the rope but I make them work anyway. Muscles burning, fingers cramping, I climb until I reach the top and haul myself over.
The cargo net is the last obstacle. I'm breathing hard now, sweat running down my back despite the cold air. My hands are bleeding badly enough that they're leaving red marks on everything I touch. But I grab the net and start climbing, focusing on one hand and one foot at a time, not thinking about anything except reaching the other side.
When I drop down on the far side of the course, my legs nearly give out. I catch myself against the ground, palms flat against cold stone, and just breathe for a second. My whole body is shaking. My hands are destroyed. But I finished.
I finished.
I push myself upright and look back at the Dominion platform. The members are conferring quietly among themselves, like they're disappointed I didn't fail spectacularly enough for their taste. But Caspian is still at the railing, still staring at me, and his knuckles are white where he's gripping the metal hard enough that I'm surprised it doesn't bend.
Our eyes meet across the courtyard. I don't look away this time. Don't drop my gaze or show submission or give him anything that looks like backing down. I just stare back at himwith my bleeding hands and my shaking legs and my absolute refusal to be broken by any of this.
He's the one who looks away first. He turns abruptly and walks off the platform, disappearing into the building without looking back.
