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Chapter 17 — The Art of War (But Make It Stupid)
Rosalith's POV
The palace courtyard looked peaceful enough, but that was always the trick with Qasratul Jinan: nothing here stayed calm for long. It was early, light frost still clinging to the marble edges, students drifting between lessons, instructors pretending they didn't hate their jobs. A typical morning.
Too typical.
Which is why I already knew we were about to ruin someone's day.
Rami leaned against the training post beside me, picking at a splinter like it had personally offended him. Nova sat cross-legged on the fountain's edge, twirling a thread of illusion magic between her fingers until it shimmered like blue glass.
And Kael…
Kael strutted across the courtyard as if he were the chosen heir of every kingdom on earth instead of a glorified bully with half the talent he bragged about.
The moment I spotted him, I felt my pulse brighten with a kind of predatory warmth.
Rami noticed.
He grinned like an idiot.
"Thinking what I'm thinking?"
Nova didn't even look up. "She definitely is."
I crossed my arms. "He's been tormenting first-years again."
Nova's illusion snapped loudly between her fingers. "He tripped that little boy yesterday on purpose. The shy one. Didn't even pretend it was an accident."
"And he lied during Instructor Rhal's assessment," Rami added. "Told everyone I was cheating on the obstacle course when he literally shoved me off the platform."
"So," Nova said sweetly, "justice?"
"Justice," I agreed.
Rami pumped his fist in the air. "Finally. Please tell me we're destroying him psychologically, not physically."
"Both," I said.
Nova clapped like it was her birthday. "Perfect."
We found our usual planning corner: the old stone archway behind the herb gardens, where nobody came because the plants smelled like feet. Rami liked it. Nova tolerated it. I didn't mind it because the shadows there bent just a little easier for me.
"So," Rami said, rubbing his palms together like a villain, "what's the plan? Something huge? Something that makes Kael cry? Something that makes him beg for mercy?"
Nova rolled her eyes. "If he cries, he'll tell the instructors."
"If he cries," I said, "that means the plan works."
Rami nodded hard. "Exactly!"
I sighed. "First, we need to choose our method."
Nova leaned forward. "Illusions?"
"Obviously," I replied. "But they need to look real enough that even instructors doubt themselves."
Her eyes gleamed with that dangerous little spark she only got when plotting mischief. "You want advanced illusions."
"Yes."
"And sound distortions."
"Definitely."
"And aura twists."
I grinned. "Nova, be honest. How illegal is that?"
She looked far too proud. "Very."
Rami slapped the wall. "So we're doing it."
Of course we were.
Phase One: The Seed
Kael hated being ignored. He thrived on having eyes on him. Which made this incredibly easy.
Nova started small: a whisper.
Just a faint one.
One only Kael could hear.
We stayed hidden behind the columns as he turned around sharply, staring at nothing.
Another whisper.
This time from the opposite side.
Kael spun again.
Rami nearly burst out laughing, stuffing his fist in his mouth like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
"What is it saying?" he whispered.
Nova grinned. "Only what he expects to hear."
I didn't need further explanation. People like Kael always carried fear under their skin. It didn't take much to wake it.
Kael's shoulders tensed.
His steps quickened.
"Good," I murmured. "Let it simmer."
Nova guided the whispers closer, layering them with faint footsteps and the distant clatter of something metal. Kael kept looking over his shoulder, jaw tightening.
Perfect.
Phase Two: The Mirror
We waited until Kael stepped into the eastern training hall — the worst place to be caught alone. The walls amplified sound weirdly. The air always felt one breath too cold. And the instructors rarely came down this corridor unless absolutely necessary.
We slipped inside behind him like shadows.
Nova cast the first illusion:
A mirror of Kael.
Not perfect, not obvious — just something he'd see from the corner of his eye.
He flinched.
Spun.
Stared at the empty room.
"No one's here," he muttered loudly, as if trying to convince the walls.
Rami whispered, "Ohhh he's cracking."
"We're not even at the good part yet," I said.
Nova layered in a second illusion: faint movement behind him. The reflection of someone walking — but with no one actually there.
Kael whipped his head around again.
His breathing shifted, faster now.
Then Nova snapped her fingers.
The air behind Kael shimmered, forming the vaguest silhouette of a person. Not solid. Not detailed. Just there enough for his fear to lunge at it.
Kael stumbled back so fast he crashed into the wall.
Rami wheezed into his sleeve. "I'm gonna die."
I elbowed him. "Focus."
Nova made the silhouette step forward.
Kael slid along the wall, scrambling for the door.
Time for Phase Three.
Phase Three: The Scream Boots
Rami's invention.
His brilliant, terrible, stupid invention.
Boots that screamed every time you took a step.
Not a little squeak.
A full, furious wail.
Nova had enchanted Kael's boots hours ago. All they needed was a trigger.
As Kael sprinted toward the exit…
The boots shrieked.
The entire hallway echoed with a scream so awful even I jumped.
Kael shrieked back.
Rami collapsed on the floor. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE."
Kael, wild-eyed and forgetting dignity existed, ripped the boots off and hurled them across the hall. They landed with a final, pitiful wail.
He backed up slowly…
Right into Nova's last illusion.
The silhouette again — but this time its head tilted.
Kael ran for his soul.
Bolted out of the hallway barefoot, hair sticking up like a terrified mop, practically sobbing.
Students in the courtyard turned.
Stared.
Whispered.
Kael tripped over the fountain edge and landed with a splash so dramatic even I winced.
The instructors rushed over.
He babbled something about ghosts and voices and screaming shoes.
They stared at him like he'd grown three heads.
Nova, Rami, and I watched from behind the column.
Rami whispered reverently, "We're legends."
Nova nudged me. "We need a name. A team name."
I snorted. "We're not making a name."
Rami frowned. "Why not?"
"Because I refuse to be part of anything that sounds like a children's club."
Nova tilted her head. "What about The Unholy Trio?"
"…I'll consider it."
Rami pumped his fist again. Nova just rolled her eyes.
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Kale lasted a solid three seconds before the glamoured serpent made him scream like a dying peacock.
I'd give him credit, but I don't hand that out for free.
He staggered backward, tripping over a bench and flailing his arms as Nova, behind me, bit her lip so hard I thought she might start bleeding. Rami didn't even pretend to hide his laughter. He bent over, slapped his knees, and wheezed like someone twice his age.
The glamoured serpent slithered over Kale's boot, its illusory scales shimmering an oily black-green. Nova shaped it perfectly: the faint hiss, the flick of its nonexistent tongue, the way its head tilted just a bit too curiously.
Kale shrieked again.
It echoed through the garden like a blessing from whatever chaos god kept empowering Rami.
"Make it bigger," Rami whispered to Nova. "Like… dragon big."
Nova elbowed him. "And make him die? No thanks. My illusions can scare, not cause cardiac arrest."
"Shame," Rami muttered.
I ignored them both.
My part came now.
I stepped forward, schooling my expression into something poised and mildly concerned. Kale was still pressed against the stone wall, fists clenched, breath coming fast. His eyes darted anywhere except the serpent.
Good.
Fear unraveled him quickly. It always had.
"Kale," I said softly. "Are you alright?"
He froze.
Because of course he did.
No one ever expects kindness from the girl everyone gossips about in lowered voices. The girl who survived seven years in a cell. The girl with a past thick enough to choke someone.
The girl who doesn't sleep.
He swallowed. His voice trembled even though he tried to force it steady. "R–Rosa… something is— there's— do you not see it?"
I walked closer to the illusion and, with great theatrical effort, tilted my head.
The snake shimmered, one flicker away from vanishing. Nova was good at what she did, but she couldn't make solid mass or shadow.
"I don't see anything," I said.
His breathing quickened.
Perfect.
Rami leaned toward Nova again. "Make it crawl up his boot."
Nova smacked the back of his head.
"Kale," I said gently, "you're sweating."
"I'M NOT SWE— DON'T LET IT BITE ME!"
Nova's hand twitched, adjusting the illusion. The serpent rose slightly, hissing louder. Kale practically levitated backward.
I almost pitied him.
Almost.
"You're pale," I added. "Maybe the heat is getting to you."
His jaw trembled. "There's a monster on me!"
I moved closer, slowly, deliberately, and reached toward his boot. My fingers passed straight through the illusion, of course, and I kept a blank expression.
"Kale… there's nothing there."
His eyes darted between my empty hand and the serpent that only he could see. Panic escalated fast in people who didn't understand magic.
Nova whispered behind me, "He's about to faint."
"No fainting," I said without looking back. "If he passes out, we have to carry him."
Rami made a disgusted noise. "Absolutely not."
Kale's breathing hitched, wild and uneven. "It— it's still— it's—"
And then the serpent lunged at him.
Nova didn't want to do it. I felt the hesitation in the magic. But she did it anyway.
Kale screamed and bolted. Arms flapping. Legs stumbling. A blur of terror sprinting across the garden like his shirt was on fire.
He didn't look back.
The illusion gave one final hiss before Nova let it dissolve into sunlight. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "I probably shortened his life span."
"That's his problem," Rami said cheerfully. "Not ours."
I sighed. "We're terrible."
Nova shook her head. "You're terrible. Rami's an idiot. I'm just here for the ride."
Rami beamed as if she'd praised him.
We watched Kale vanish behind a cluster of pillars, still yelling about creatures and venom and probably the end of the world. A distant guard's voice echoed something like, "What are you babbling about?"
Nova covered her mouth. "How long before he starts insisting the plants are whispering to him?"
"Four minutes," Rami guessed.
"Two," I corrected.
As we turned to head back toward the courtyard, something loosened in my chest. A small thing. A warm thing I kept hidden from most people because warmth was vulnerable and vulnerability was how people lost everything.
But Nova and Remus Rami too
They were the first people in years I could breathe beside. Zamira and Sirius are slowly coming there too.
Rami was still talking, something about getting a real snake next time, which was such a catastrophically stupid idea I refused to dignify it. Nova shook her head at both of us, muttering that she was absolutely going to regret being friends with us.
Maybe she would.
Most people regretted coming close eventually.
But their laughter drifted through the air like an old memory of sunlight, and I let myself enjoy it.
Just a little.
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Nova and Rami were already whisper-arguing behind a bush when I arrived. Of course they were. Planning a prank with those two was like trying to herd gremlins who thought they were geniuses.
"Kale is exactly five minutes late to his posture lesson," Nova whispered, gleefully wiggling the tiny rune-chip she'd stolen borrowed from Instructor Helavir's office. "So when he finally marches past this clearing, the rune will activate and—"
"Boom!" Rami yelled way too loudly. "Not actual boom. More like… dramatic soap explosion."
I blinked. "Soap?"
"Sparkling soap," he corrected, proudly. "He'll smell like flowers for a week."
Nova smirked. "Excellent. He hates flowers."
I tried not to smile. Really tried. It didn't work.
But before we could place the rune, Nova's gaze lifted toward the training hall windows. "Uh… Rosalith."
I followed her look.
Zamira stood there.
Hand clutched to her chest. Shoulders tense. Breathing wrong. Too fast.
She'd done this before. Quietly. When no one was supposed to see.
A hot, sharp worry pushed into my ribs.
"Rami," I murmured, "finish setting the rune. Nova, distract anyone who comes this way."
They moved instantly. Mischief paused but not forgotten.
I crossed the garden, ducking behind hedges until I reached the hall. Zamira leaned against a pillar, jaw tight, face pale under the warm sunlight.
"Zamira." My voice stayed soft. She hated making a scene.
She startled, then tried to straighten. Badly. "I'm fine."
She was not fine.
"You're having the chest thing again," I whispered.
"It's nothing," she insisted. "Just… too much sparring."
She had sparred half her usual amount today. She wasn't lying. She was deflecting.
I hovered beside her, bracing her elbow just in case she tipped forward.
Her breaths steadied, slowly, but I didn't move my hand.
After a moment, she looked away at the courtyard, where Nova was loudly arguing with a squirrel on purpose and Rami was very dramatically pretending to water a plant.
"You three are definitely up to something," Zamira muttered.
"Me? Never," I said, and she snorted.
Color returned to her face. The tightness eased.
Only then did she nod toward the others. "Go ruin someone's day. I'll be fine."
I didn't believe her, but I also knew she didn't want me hovering like a mother hen. So I squeezed her arm once, gently, and headed back.
Nova gave me a thumbs-up. Rami nearly tripped from excitement. The rune was already planted.
And just as we slipped behind the bushes, Kale strutted onto the path like the gift to humanity he believed he was.
Nova grinned. "Three… two… one…"
A cloud of shimmering, glittering, rose-scented foam exploded upward like the gods had opened a luxurious bath over his head.
Kale screamed.
Rami screamed louder.
I had to bite my sleeve to stop from laughing out loud.
Even Zamira, watching from the hall doorway, let out the smallest, softest smile.
And for a moment, everything felt light.
Even with the heaviness she kept hidden.
Even with the things none of us dared talk about yet.
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