### Chapter 6: First Week of Term – The Price of Being Famous
The morning after the Emberwilds, Arcane University woke up to three undeniable truths:
1. The southern veil was healed.
2. A first-year otherworlder, a vampire prince, and five upperclassmen had done it.
3. Classes still started at 8 a.m. sharp.
Kael learned all of this while standing in the cafeteria line at 7:12 a.m., hoodie zipped to his chin, trying to become invisible.
He failed.
Phones (crystal orbs, really) flashed in every direction. Someone had already edited a slow-motion clip of the phoenix dragon diving over the islands and set it to dramatic orchestral music. The caption read:
**"Year 1 Shadow Boy + Prince Thorne + Actual Goddess Squad = new campus royalty"**
It had 87k likes in nine hours.
"Move it, Voss," Soren growled behind him, balancing six breakfast trays like a very grumpy waiter. "Some of us need protein before Lunar Combat."
Kael grabbed a bowl of something purple and glowing and fled to the corner table that had mysteriously become *their* table overnight. Lira was already there, feet propped on a chair, scrolling through her orb with a smirk.
"Morning, superstar," she sang. "You're trending under #ShadowPrinceBond, #PhoenixQueenLira, and #WhoIsTheHotWerewolf."
Soren dropped the trays with a clatter. "I'm right here."
"Exactly." Lira winked.
Riven arrived last, silent as snowfall. He slid into the seat beside Kael—close enough that their thighs touched under the table—and placed a single black coffee in front of him without a word. The bond hummed, warm and smug.
Kael's face went nuclear. "Thanks?"
"Don't die before first period," Riven murmured, lips barely moving. "I have plans for you later."
Lira fake-gagged. Mira, floating in a second later with Jude in tow, just laughed her bell-like laugh.
Welcome to the new normal.
#### 8:00 a.m. – Veil Theory 101 (Auditorium C)
Professor Nyx—literal child of the void, skin like star-speckled night—didn't bother with roll call.
"Mr. Voss," she said the second Kael sat down. "Front row. Now."
Two hundred heads swiveled. Someone wolf-whistled.
Kael trudged down the steps. Riven was already in the front row (of course he was), looking annoyingly perfect in his tailored uniform. Nyx flicked a wrist and the lights died.
"Today," she said, "we discuss unstable crossings. Demonstrate, gentlemen."
A hologram of Kael's death replayed in excruciating slow motion: the SUV, the shadows exploding from his hands, the exact moment his soul tore through the veil.
The auditorium went dead silent.
Then the questions exploded.
"How did the shadows manifest pre-awakening?"
"Was the bond instantaneous or gradual?"
"Is it true Prince Thorne can taste his heartbeat?"
Riven's hand landed on Kael's knee under the desk—grounding, possessive. The bond flared hot enough that Kael's tattoo glowed through his sleeve.
Nyx smiled like a shark. "Detention for anyone who asks another personal question. Mr. Voss will be giving a thirty-minute presentation next week instead. Moving on."
Kael seriously considered dropping out.
#### 10:00 a.m. – Shadow Manipulation I (Obsidian Arena)
Practical classes were worse.
Professor Grimshaw—a scarred, one-eyed warlock—paired students by power resonance.
"Voss. Thorne. You're together. Try not to destroy my arena."
The entire class formed a circle to watch.
Kael's shadows writhed eagerly the moment Riven stepped onto the sand. Riven's blood magic answered like it had been waiting centuries.
Grimshaw barked instructions: "Basic tether exercise. One partner anchors, one extends. Go."
Riven extended a single crimson thread. Kael's shadows leapt to wrap around it before he even thought the command. The thread thickened, blackened, became a living rope of night and blood that lashed around them both like a lover's embrace.
The class ooohed.
Grimshaw pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ten points to ambition, minus fifty for control. Separate them before they start a new bloodline right here."
Riven's smirk could cut glass.
Kael wanted to die again.
#### 1:00 p.m. – Lunch & The Fan Club Incident
They barely sat down before a group of third-years approached—led by a succubus named Veyra with violet hair and a clipboard.
"Hi!" she chirped. "Official Eclipsed Bond Fan Club sign-up! We have tiers:
- Moonlit (basic)
- Bloodbound (exclusive content)
- Eternal (marriage prediction charts)"
Lira spat out her drink. Soren growled so loudly trays rattled.
Riven stood slowly. The temperature dropped ten degrees.
"Leave," he said, voice silk over steel.
Veyra squeaked and fled.
Kael buried his face in his hands. "This is my life now."
"Get used to it," Jude said, sliding into the seat opposite with a stack of tarot cards. "You're the main characters. Side characters don't get peace."
#### 3:00 p.m. – Lunar Combat (Outdoor Arena)
Mandatory for all first-years. Paired sparring.
Kael's partner: Soren.
Riven's partner: also Soren, because the professor had a death wish.
The rules: no lethal force, first to yield or pin loses.
Soren cracked his neck. "Try to keep up, shadow boy."
The whistle blew.
Soren lunged—werewolf speed, claws extended. Kael threw up a shadow wall on instinct. Soren smashed through it like paper.
Then Riven was there, catching Soren's wrist mid-swing, eyes glowing crimson.
"Mine," he snarled.
The entire arena froze.
Soren grinned, all teeth. "Possessive much?"
Riven's answer was to flip Soren over his shoulder and pin him to the ground in one fluid motion.
Professor Hawke blew the whistle. "Match to Thorne! And detention for both of you for excessive dramatics!"
Kael's shadows curled around Riven's ankles like affectionate cats.
He was so screwed.
#### 7:00 p.m. – Dorm Roof (Mandatory Decompression)
The six of them ended up on the Emberwing roof, city lights glittering below, eclipse moon huge and silver overhead.
Lira passed around a bottle of starwine. "To surviving day one of being campus cryptids."
Mira leaned against Soren's side, humming. Jude shuffled his cards. Riven sat behind Kael, legs bracketing his, chin resting on his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Kael let his head fall back against Riven's chest. The bond purred, content.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we have Blood Alchemy audit at nine."
Riven's arms tightened. "I'll carry you if I have to."
Lira raised her bottle. "To classes, cults, and extremely bad ideas."
They drank.
Far below, in the shadows of the courtyard, a new poster went up on the noticeboard:
**WANTED: Information on the Fractured Eclipse Cult**
**Reward: Private training session with the Eclipsed Bond**
**Contact: literally anyone, we're desperate**
Kael groaned. "We're never getting peace, are we?"
Riven's lips brushed the shell of his ear. "Welcome to Arcane University, love. Population: us, our trauma, and several thousand people who now ship it."
The eclipse moon watched, smug and ancient.
Term had only just begun.
**To be continued…**