"Luappo, I have found out some very unpleasant news. You behaved inappropriately toward His Highness Ellior in the dining hall this morning. Is that true?"

I lift my chin. Does he think I'll demean myself?

"Depends on who the teller is, Dark Lord," I answer dryly.

"You insulted me," Ellior snorts accusingly.

"I just told the truth. Opened your eyes, or apparently no one dared to before," I tsk.

"Luappo! What do you think you're doing? I was very surprised to hear that you disrespected a high-ranking person of our world. I didn't believe it at first, but now I see it's true."

"What's there to respect him for?" I snort, causing the faces of the headmaster and Ellior himself to pull in surprise. "Why should I respect him? For letting him humiliate his own brother? Or for being a sarcastic narcissist? No, I have nothing to respect him for. So I don't consider my behavior disrespectful. But I'll accept punishment if I've broken the rules of the House. Though I'm sure I've broken nothing. He's nobody to me. He's not my teacher, he's not my brother or my father. He's nothing to me and has earned no respect from me, although he hardly worries about that. If you deem my behavior deserving of punishment, I'll humbly accept it, but I won't apologize. I won't."

"Luappo," the headmaster gasps. "Why are you so hateful? You're a completely other boy. You're always circumspect and sensible, calm, poised. I've praised you so much, admired your manners, your ability to control yourself."

"I didn't ask for that, nor did I ask for admiration, Dark Lord. You don't know me or what I'm like. I can be patient, and I can be patient for a very long time. But you weren't there, you can't see with my eyes and feel pain for your friend when he's being humiliated by his own brother. A brother that Stellare admires and looks to him for support and at least some involvement. So you can't draw conclusions about what I am like. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you. I'm really sorry. Should I pack my things?"

The headmaster glances at Ellior. He squints his eyes and his gaze is filled with hatred for me. I hate him too. I hate him for everything.

"You will be punished. We teach you discipline and humility, Luappo."

"But not slavery. We aren't slaves. Then punish him too, because he started it."

"I didn't start anything. I was being polite," hissed Ellior. "It was you who insulted me."

"And you, like a little boy, ran off to complain instead of realizing why they hate you so much. And everyone hates you, by the way."

"What did you call me?"

"A self-important, arrogant asshole. A cocky, narcissistic jerk. I can think of a million other descriptions for you. You want me to write a book for you? You can read it at night when your ego won't fit in the room anymore."

"Stop it! Both of you! Ellior, damn it! You're a prince! You're not eighty anymore!" The headmaster indignantly pushes us away from each other. "Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but I won't allow either of you to disrupt discipline in my House. This is my House, do you understand? The minute you show up, Ellior, you bring chaos with you. I've had enough of your years here. Stop it. He's a kid. He's still young, and he's excited. The fire energizes him. And you," the headmaster turns to me, pointing a finger at me, "are punished. After classes, you'll come to my office and we'll discuss your punishment. Do you understand? And don't let me hear any more of this, Luappo. Ellior is a respected elf. He's a prince and my guest."

"But you can't force me to respect him. I respect you, but I don't respect him. And I'll accept the punishment," I nod, casting an angry glance at Ellior. Arrogant bastard, like Isengard. I hate him.

"Stop it, Luappo, or I'll have to write a complaint to your father," the headmaster threatens.

I snort and shake my head.

"That's okay, I'll take it too. One more punishment, one less. One more violence, one less. I can take it, but I won't be silent when my friends are humiliated in front of me. I don't care who's in front of me. This creature must respect us, too. Respect his brother. Excuse me, I have to go to class. I'll come back at the end of the day to hear how you'll punish me." Tilting my head quickly, I head back to the classroom.

What an asshole. Jerk. I hate him.

Sitting back down in my seat, I twitch my leg as I can't get enough of this confrontation. I want to rip Ellior apart with my bare hands for his insolence, for his insensitivity, for his coldness. I feel bad for Stellare and Seraphus, terrible, and I want to take revenge on my enemy.

"You okay?" Stellare touches my shoulder.

"Fine, I'll get punished," I force out a smile to reassure him and return to the lesson. I'm really not afraid of punishment. Huh, I've been punished too many times. I've been through too much physical pain and hardship to be afraid. I'm not even, to be honest, scared of expulsion anymore. I want it. Then I'll go looking for Lua for as long as it takes to scour the world until I find him.

The door to the classroom opens again, and Ellior appears on the doorstep.

Oh, mother.

I roll my eyes as the teacher cheerfully shrieks and hugs the elf.

"How many years, Ellior? You haven't changed much. I heard we had someone important visiting, but I didn't know it was you. What brings you to my class?"

"Do you mind if I just watch? My brother studies here, and I'd like to get a little nostalgic," Ellior replies with a sweet smile. He doesn't give a shit about his brother! He couldn't even remember his name this morning!

"Sure, sure, sure," the dragon nods, pointing to the back rows. "Make yourself comfortable. So," clapping his hands, the teacher turns to us while everyone watches Ellior. Everyone but me. I'm not even going to give him that honor. Asshole. "There's not much left until the end of the lesson, so let's show His Highness Prince Ellior what you've learned so far, shall we?"

The entire classroom lets out an indignant groan.

"Okay, don't embarrass me. Luappo, honey, let's start with you," the teacher looks at me hopefully and points to the place next to him at the blackboard.

"Go on, Lua," Fima winks at me and I get up. I walk up to the board and raise my chin proudly, meeting Ellior's squint.

"What do you want to see? What should I create?" I inquire.

"Gargoyles!" Vox exclaims, smirking.

"Gargoyles? What an odd choice," the teacher frowns. "It's rather difficult."

"Oh, there's nothing difficult for Lua about it," Ailes smiles, casting a mocking glance at Ellior. "Especially since Lua is a favorite of Seraphus' gargoyles."

"Seraphus' gargoyles?" The teacher asks, even more surprised.

"Yeah," Stellare nods. "They spend the night with him and practically live with him. The gargoyles of Seraphus adore Lua, and he sees them. They're everywhere with him. And Lua is Seraphus' favorite."

Yeah, I know what they're doing. They mock Ellior, showing that everyone is better off without him. Even Seraphus lives on without him. And I love how Ellior looks at me. The way he snorts out his brother's words, he doesn't see them, but I do.

"Alright, alright, calm down. Luappo, can you handle it?"

"I'll do my best."

"Remember, if this is difficult for you, that's okay. You're all just learning how to subdue the power of fire."

Nodding, I raise my hands, focusing on the energy within me. And fire energy is something I have a lot of right now. I use my rage, anger, and feelings of personal resentment for a punishment I think is unfair. Again. Again, to be silent and a slave to not standing out. Again submitting to those with more power. To feel like shit again, a lowlife, because that's just the way it is. I'm a nobody and when they find that out, it'll be worse for me. So as long as I can, I'm gonna stand up for myself and my beliefs. I'll stand up to that despicable prince and I won't give up Seraphus. He is mine.

When I open my eyes, I hear a gasp of amazement spread through the classroom. But I'm looking straight at Ellior. Choke on it, you arrogant bastard. Choke on my power. Look, because this is what I'll use against you if you hurt anyone I care about.

A bright and fiery stream pours from my hands, blending in front of my face. Everyone holds their breath, looking at it. I twist my hands around, forming gargoyles. My sweet gargoyles. Oh yes, I have a grudge against them, too. Pressing my palms together sharply and feeling the fire burning me painfully from the inside out, I instantly open my hands and a swarm of small fire gargoyles burst out. The teacher's dragon immediately flies upward, joining the happy chorus above our heads.

"Bravo! Bravo, Luappo!" Laughing, the teacher claps for me. All the students jump up from their seats. My friends whistle and clap, some watching in shock, some with envy. And I proudly watch the gargoyles frolicking with the dragon. But then I turn my gaze to Ellior. He's grinning crookedly, as if I hadn't wowed him, as if he's better and I'm still nothing.

Anger envelops my mind again. The fire gargoyles fly sharply and at full speed toward Ellior. There is a shout in the audience. Let him be hurt! But Ellior, to my great regret, immediately raises his hand and sends a stream of water, destroying my gargoyles. Silence falls in the audience.

"Oops, sorry," I chuckle wryly. "I guess I misjudged my strength. I'm a student, after all. I'm so sorry."

I put my palm to my chest, pretending to be sorry.

"Ellior, are you okay?" The teacher asks tensely.

With a wide smile, he nods. I hate him.

"Completely fine. I admit, I'm delighted. That was amazing, Luappo."

Oh, with what contempt and venom he spits out Lua's name. Does he think he's hurt my feelings? Nope. It's not my name and I don't care.

"Thank you, Your Highness. What would I do without your appreciation," I snort and return to my seat. All my friends clap me on the shoulders, congratulating me. And only my friends know that I didn't unintentionally send fire in the prince's direction. I know he's light and the element of fire is either absent from his arsenal or as minimal as Stellare's. But I didn't take into account that he's good at other elements and his reactions aren't bad. Still, I feel like a winner.

Fima shows a little bat and we all clap for her. Mor creates nifty patterns and Vox makes lots of little dicks with handles, which makes us laugh. Ailes manages to create a ring of fire, which really attracted the dragon and made him angry when the ring went missing and he couldn't play with it. The teacher had to run all over the classroom to our laughter to calm and sedate his pet. Stellare is the last one to go. We all know he's not good at this element. It's very difficult for him. Sometimes he can't even do simple tasks and now he has to embarrass himself in front of his brother. In front of that arrogant asshole.

I glance at Ellior, looking down at Stellare. And he's so sure of himself. It's disgusting. But I won't let him win. Not here.

Turning my head to Stellare, who's trying to create at least a spark, I bite my lip nervously. The elf is licking his lips, pale, barely standing on his feet from shame and humiliation. The guys behind me are tense, too. I can feel it. They're worried about him. And Ellior, I'm sure, cringes contemptuously, having proven to himself and those around him that there's no one better than him.

Not a shit!

Concentrating on Stellare's hands, I don't really think about the fact that I'm doing something wrong right now. No, I'm driven by a desire for revenge against Ellior. I never let myself do that. I never let myself be mean, cruel, vile. And now I realize I don't like the way I feel. I realize I shouldn't, but the fire is already flaring between Stellare's hands. He flinches and is surprised for a moment to see a ball of fire rising upward. Everyone holds their breath, for Stellare couldn't do something like that before, and now...hmm, he can't either. I'm doing it. I'm doing the mission for him.

"Vox, let the arrow go," I whisper to the guy, holding the fireball in complete silence, so beautiful, smooth with shimmers of bright colors inside. It resembles heated lava. Vox creates a fire arrow and throws it straight into the balloon. Fima gasps, Mor flinches, someone shrieks as the orb explodes into small pieces and turns into fiery delicate rose petals, slowly descending down towards us. They disappear, but it was beautiful. It was in Stellare's spirit. Our gazes meet with Stellare's, and I lift the corner of my lips, winking at him.

"Bravo!" Jumping up, I clap as the others do the same. Stellare casts a triumphant glance at Ellior and returns. With a peck on my cheek, he takes his seat, and I catch Ellior's hate-filled gaze again. With a wide smile, I sit back down in my seat.

I didn't like what I'd done. But I liked Stellare's smile, his renewed confidence. I didn't even do it for Stellare's sake, although it's nicer to lie to myself that I'm so good. No. I did it for myself to at least answer Ellior that way. I hate him... oh, Mother, why do I hate him so much? And it's only getting stronger. It scares me, but it's probably because of my feelings for Seraphus. Ellior came back and took someone I cared about. I've never fallen so deeply in love. I didn't realize that feelings sometimes push us to do bad things, to do unworthy things, to hurt. Do I want to be like that? I don't.

"Thank you, my hero." Stellare puts his arm around my waist as we walk out of the classroom.

"Stop it." I pull his arms away from me to Vox's whistling. He slaps the laughing Stellare on the buttock, and he jumps on top of him.

"Idiots," Fima shakes his head, but still smiles.

"Love you," Ailes kisses my cheek and winks at me, and I, taken aback by his confession, even stop.

"What did he..."

"Oh, Mother, he's a fairy. Don't take him seriously. They confess their love to everyone just to fuck them," Mor snorts. "And you did a bad thing, Lua. Bad, and that's it."

"But I..."

Mor doesn't even listen to me, heading forward. I glance guiltily at Fima.

"I'll talk to him, and he's just jealous that you could do it. I enjoyed it. You showed that elf that he's not welcome here." Fima squeezes my shoulder and runs after Mor.

Damn, he's right. Maybe I should confess to the teacher. Nah. I won't. It may be bad, but I won't say anything.

"Damn it, my bag." I roll my eyes and walk back to the classroom. Because of my desire to get away from Ellior as soon as possible, I forgot all my stuff. Empty my head. So dizzy from success, I guess.

I gather up my notebooks and put them in my bag, heading back to the door, but it slams shut abruptly in front of me. Shit. I slowly turn around and see Ellior leaning against the desk.

"What do you want?" I ask him rudely.

"My brother couldn't have ever done such a thing. You think everyone believes in Stellare's skills? No. If I can't do it, neither can he," Ellior snorts, pushing away from the desk, heading towards me.

"You don't know anything about him. A couple of hours ago, you couldn't even remember his name."

"It's so, and I'm not ashamed of it. What is it, Luappo? You think you've shamed me? No. I don't care. But I do care that you are fooling everyone. You're not Luappo Isengard," he hisses into my face, which makes my blood run cold.

No, he can't know for sure. Lua would tell me he'd met the prince. But he convinced me he hadn't. No one has seen him. No one knows what he looks like.

"I see." I try to pull myself together, but I'm still scared. I'm creeped out by the darkening silver-purple eyes that glittered with vengeance. "Is there something else? Or is that all you're capable of?"

"You're not an elf. I saw Luappo, and you are not him, Arkan. That's why you asked Seraphus to call yourself Kan. You're lying to everyone. You killed Luappo. Admit it. What did you do to him?" He hisses.

I roll my eyes and cringe.

"Come up with something more original, Ellior. This is a kind of boring even for you. I'm Luappo Isengard and, yes, I don't look like an elf because one of my fathers had an impurity in his blood, as many of us did after the war. The Duke was ashamed of me for many reasons. This is one of them. I don't have to justify myself to you, though. You're nothing to me and will remain nothing." I turn around and I'm going to run away. Yes, yes, I'm going to run away. I'm scared. Lua lied to me! Shit, what should I do?

A sharp pain pierces my palm as Ellior grabs my hand. A powerful stream of bright and blinding power shoots through my entire body, and I scream in pain. I'm hurled straight against the door, the torrent of wind draining my lips immediately, and I kick with my whole body, letting go of my bag, from which my notebooks and other supplies fall to the floor. A rumble and groan reaches my noise-filled consciousness. Pain rolls through my veins and I wriggle out as the electric current rolls through my body. Breathing quickly, mouth open, I grab at my heart pounding frantically in my chest. I think I'm about to die. I'll surely die of cardiac arrest. But the flood subsides and warmth envelops my chest.

"Are you out of your mind?" I wheeze, rising to my trembling feet. I watch Ellior with surprise and a kind of venomous joy as he's apparently thrown off me, too, knocking the board off the wall. His platinum hair is disheveled, his eyes wide open, and he's holding onto the wall, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong with you, purebloods? Why do you hit me with your power all the time?" I raise my voice indignantly, gathering my things back into my bag. "First Seraphus, now you. You wanted to kill me? There's a punishment for that, and no one will look at the fact that you're a prince! Idiot!"

"Seraphus? Did he hit you too when he touched you?" He whispers.

"Yes, but much gentler than you. For what? For not adoring you like the others? For not being afraid of you? You're just..."

"Unbelievable," Ellior walks up to me, examining me.

"Oh, Mother, you're totally weird." I roll my eyes and swing the door open.

"Wait," Ellior grabs my elbow.

"What now?" I pull my arm out angrily. "Deciding to accuse me of killing myself again? No, as you can see, I'm still alive."

And he stares and stares into my eyes. I stop talking, completely confused by his behavior. What does he want from me?

"Unbelievable...just unbelievable," he whispers and reaches his hand toward my face, but I intercept it roughly and push it away from me.

"Don't touch me. I think I'll just ignore you. But I suggest you talk to your brother, Ellior. You have a chance to get to know Stellare, so don't waste it. I may not like you, but you're my friend's brother. That's why I'm telling you all this. He needs you. He really needs you, you know? Be his brother for a few minutes, even fool him, which you're perfectly capable of doing since you fooled Seraphus in your intense love. You..."

Suddenly, Elliot's hands are around my face, and his lips are on mine. I wide my eyes in surprise and shock. What the hell?

"What are you doing?" Ellior flies away from me against the wall and a broad back clad in black appears in front of me. Seraphus. "Are you out of your mind, Ellior?"

"But he..."

"Go away," Seraphus turns to me. "I'll deal with him. Go away."

I clutch the strap of my bag with a painful grip and I break into a sprint. My heart pounding fast in my chest. What was that just now? Why did Ellior kiss me? He's sick... he's just sick as hell.