STRINGS BETWEEN US

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: OF UNMARKED PATHS, SCARRED PRESIDENTS, AND THE DAY THE COURT

"Festival's canceled. Lockdown again. Bianchi's stomping around like she owns the entire academy. It's fun to watch. Really. High Chamber's practically begging her to shut up."

"No one's listening to orders anymore. No one's leading."

I looked out over the hills. The edge of Forever City blinking in the distance like a memory too proud to fade.

"Good," I said.

And added colder, "They deserved it. They removed me. They wanted to play without me. Let them. Let them feel what it's like when the one holding everything together decides not to lift a finger. Because the school? It doesn't run without me. They needed to remember that."

Saichel gave a low whistle and grinned. "You sound like Xythe just now."

I shot him a glare.

Saichel claps lightly, teasing. "And you glare just like him too. Minus the dagger. Xythe always throws one when he's irritated."

Lyle took a step forward. This time, his voice didn't thread around warnings. It struck straight.

"Bianchi's not done. Her next strike won't be subtle. It'll hit Ari and Xythe directly. She's drafting a formal case—behavioral breach, collusion with external factions, and interference with council structure. She wants to bury them."

My jaw tensed.

I didn't look at him.

Didn't say I already knew.
Didn't say I had already started preparing counter-leverage even before they found me.
Didn't say that Riyee's name on Bianchi's tongue was the only thing keeping me from staying buried in this rest house forever.

I said nothing.

Lyle studied me.

"The Ardent Court will cover for them. Especially Xythe. He's still our Tactician. Our Weapon. And Ari?"

His tone softened.

"She'll be safe. As long as he's with her."

I still didn't speak. But the silence wasn't passive. It was loaded. Because I already knew that too.

And it burned.

"Are you done planning?" Lyle asked.

I didn't blink. Didn't breathe.

"Yes."

"How soon?"

"Soon."

"Let them burn for now."

I meant it.

But something behind my eyes... shifted.

Saichel turned back toward the car, half-laughing under his breath.

"Want to know what the Court's planning next? We're not prepping for a battle. We're prepping an example. She wants to expose us? Then let's give her something unforgettable."

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

That was the Ardent Court. No wars. Just... statements. The kind you couldn't walk away from.

Then, just before they stepped off the gravel:

Saichel looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"Check your email. Someone sent you something."

I waited until the car was gone.

Back inside, I powered the device up.

One message. No subject.

Encrypted.

Audio file attached.

I pressed play.

And froze.

And her voice—raw, familiar, mine—slipped through the speakers like it had always been waiting.

"You don't have to forgive them. Or come back. But if you're still watching... if you still care... Just know I never stopped hoping you'd fight back. You're not just the President to me. You're my KD."

The wind outside stilled. My heart didn't. For a second, I sat motionless. And then, quietly, I closed the tablet. My fingers clenched around the edge of the desk, like I could hold the words in place before they dissolved.

Riyee had sent that. Through layers of Court surveillance. Through chaos. Through silence.

She remembered me. And that? That was a problem. Because I'd just decided to come back with no mercy.

But now? I'd come back for her, too.

Let the Court move. Let Bianchi build her noose. Let Supreme Allievo Academy continue to scream without a voice at the helm.

Because the Ice President wasn't gone. He was just sharpening his edge. And when I returned—it wouldn't be as their leader. It would be as their reckoning.