CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
OF PRINCES, DAGGERS, AND THE GIRL WHO STOPPED RUNNING
-Ardent Court's POV-
The playback ended with static silence.
Then the screen looped again-from the moment Xythe stepped into Sovereign Court, calling out for her.
"Elle!"
They'd all seen it before. But this time, it was different. They weren't just watching. They were calculating.
The room was dim, only the flicker of monitors casting pale blue light across the table. Around it sat the most elite council Celestine Ardent Academy had ever produced.
The Ardent Court.
And this wasn't just a post-mortem.
This was a war table.
They weren't just legends of Celestine. They governed it. The Ardent Court ruled student politics with more precision than any faculty ever could.
"She hesitated," Thres said first, voice steady. "But she didn't fold."
"She didn't cry," Keryn added, almost in awe.
"She didn't even step back," Tofer observed, rewinding the footage a few frames.
"Yeah," Alexie murmured. "That's not the same Xythe's Elle from before."
"Not the girl who used to beg us to pull her out of the limelight," Seb added. "She's changed."
Silence fell.
Until Saichel smirked, tossing a popcorn kernel into his mouth like this was all just entertainment.
"Well, maybe that's what happens when your heart gets shattered by our brilliant tactician."
He didn't even finish the sentence.
THWACK-
A silver dagger embedded itself in the table directly in front of him. Dead center. Still humming from the impact. All heads turned to the source.
Xythe Nathaniel Alcantara, legs crossed on the couch, one arm draped lazily across the backrest, didn't even blink.
He didn't need to.
"Chill, Prince," Saichel said, raising both hands in mock surrender. "I'm just stating facts."
"Next dagger won't miss," Xythe said, low, calm, dangerous.
Alexie groaned. "Can you two flirt later?"
Seb grinned. "This is them flirting."
Lyle didn't smile. He didn't blink. He just stared—like he was re-learning someone he thought he already knew. He was staring at the frozen image on the screen again.
Arielle Rylance Del Rio.
Head high. Eyes sharp. Iced latte in hand. Unbothered. Untouchable. Unearthly.
"She's not the soft girl we protected before," Lyle said, voice quiet.
"She's not the girl who cried under pressure," Thres added.
"Not the one who ran when people talked," Keryn whispered.
"She's steel now," Seb said.
But it was Xythe who said the final word.
"No," he said, his voice low and final. "She always was. She is our Heart. The girl who fights beside us."
YOU ARE READING
STRINGS BETWEEN US
Teen Fiction"A slow-burn teen romance threaded with secrets, rivalries, and a dangerous past neither of them remembers-until it comes for them." ✧ STRINGS BETWEEN US ✧ She left her crown behind. He ruled with silence. But some strings pull-no matter how far you...
