STRINGS BETWEEN US

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: OF BROKEN CHAIRS, SPLINTERING CROWNS, AND THE COURT

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: OF BROKEN CHAIRS, SPLINTERING CROWNS, AND THE COURT THAT STOPPED HIDING

BIANCHI'S POV
Imperium Wing – Moments after the canteen confrontation

How dare he.

That was the only thought roaring in my head as I stormed down the polished marble corridors of the Imperium Wing. My heels struck the ground like warning shots, echoing off the stone walls. The students I passed parted without protest, some wide-eyed, some whispering.

Let them whisper.

Let them choke on the words "Vice President Bianchi got humiliated in public."
Let them laugh—for now.

I slammed the council doors open. The High Chamber war room snapped to attention.

"We're filing it," I announced before they could ask, before anyone could even breathe. I marched straight to the table and threw the red-sealed folder onto it.

The contents spilled: activity reports, digital printouts, unauthorized building access logs—everything I'd compiled.

"Khaizer Dylan Dela Vega is gone. MIA. Vanished. And this school will not be run by phantoms and whispers."

They flinched. Good.

"I'm invoking a transition clause. We strip him of his executive duties formally. We declare the seat open."

A few muttered. One or two looked horrified. One girl started to speak—

I cut her off.

"We also launch a full behavioral review into Arielle Del Rio."

"Student instability. Repeated disruption. A known weakness in the academy's structure."

"And we investigate Xythe Nathaniel Alcantara for influence peddling and threatening a council officer in public."

I straightened, met their stares.

"You want a war of ghosts and traitors? I'll give you a war."

But behind the fury, something flickered.

That voice.

"Touch Ari again, and you won't like what happens next."

No one had spoken to me like that. Not since—
Not even Dylan.

That boy didn't just jump floors.
He jumped lines.
He threw himself into the school's spotlight and didn't blink.

That wasn't just arrogance.

That was strategy.

And I needed to find the rules he was playing by—before he rewrote the game entirely.

HIGH CHAMBER POV (INSIDE BIANCHI'S VIEW)
The Council Fractures

They were supposed to obey.

But the moment I sat down, it was clear.

They were... fracturing.

Council officers whispered in corners. Pages passed between desks too quickly. No one was aligning. No one moved when I gave the call.

"This school had a spine when the Ice President ruled."

"Now it's secrets, rooftop duels, and ex-boyfriends with God complexes."

"Who are we even following anymore?"

I ground my nails into the table, smiling coldly.

Let them break. Let them squirm. Because in the end, there would be two choices:

Follow me... or be flattened.

Still—this silence. This hesitation.

It was too coordinated.

They weren't afraid of me.
Not anymore.

They were afraid of something else.

Someone else.

And suddenly, the halls of Supreme Allievo didn't feel like they belonged to us anymore.

 ARDENT COURT POV (XYTHE)
Sovereign Suites – Xythe's Dorm Room

The screens blinked alive with cold blue light.

One by one, they logged in—coded lines routing through encrypted servers the school would never trace.

Keryn. Alexie. Thres. Tofer. Seb. Lyle.
All present.

Saichel's window? Black for now.

Xythe didn't speak right away. He leaned forward in his desk chair, elbows on knees, watching them—like a general eyeing a war map he'd already memorized.

Seb started first, grim-faced.

"Vice President just filed charges. Disorderly conduct. Influence manipulation. Threatening a council officer in public."

Tofer raised an eyebrow.

"We covering it?"
"Want me to scramble her files again? Set her calendar to implode?"

Keryn rolled her eyes. "Not yet."

Xythe raised a hand. His voice was low. Even. Dangerous.

"No more hiding. Let her see us."
"Let them all see us."

Alexie leaned forward, lips curling. "Finally. Supreme Allievo's been living in denial. Let them learn what a real storm feels like."

"Let them learn why Celestine Ardent Academy doesn't fall." Seb nodded.

"She's going to dig. She'll try to pull threads on Ari and me. She's getting desperate."

"Then let her unravel," Xythe murmured.

Keryn's tone softened.

"We still protect her."

"Always," he said.

And for a moment, silence fell.

Then—

Ping.

A line blinked green.
Lyle's voice broke the tension.

"We found him."

The air shifted.

Keryn: "The Ice President?"

Lyle: "He's alive. Banged up. Off the grid. Isolated. But building something."
"He's been working. Quiet. In the shadows."

Xythe stood slowly, eyes narrowing.

"He doesn't know we've been tracking him," Seb added. "He doesn't know we've been guarding his name."

Thres leaned forward, arms folded. "We pulling him into the Court?"

Alexie smiled like a blade."No. Not yet. Let him crawl back from the ashes first. Let him remember who was there when the council abandoned him."

Xythe answered quietly.

"If he says yes..."
"He won't be a soldier."
"He'll be a sword."

Tofer grinned. "Then let's sharpen him."

Lyle's screen shimmered—showing the outline of Saichel at his side. No words. Just a nod.

Then they were gone.

On the move.

Into the shadows.