21:09 — Northwest Girls' Housing, Room 314
The room smelled like lavender spray, burnt charger plastic, and politics.
Alia Reivas kicked her boots off and let them clunk against the base of her bed pod, flopping onto the mattress like it owed her money. Her hoodie was still halfway on, hair loose, face freshly cleaned—cut and all.
Across the room, one of her new roommates was setting up a wall of Caelus flags like she was about to start a cold war.
The other? Already scrolling through three wrist interfaces and humming softly to herself like Argentum girls do when they're bored and planning a corporate coup in their heads.
It was the start of the semester, and that meant new pods, new people.
Each room was shuffled on purpose. The school claimed it was to "promote interhouse cooperation."
Everyone knew it was to study social friction in real time.
Alia sighed and finally sat up.
"So… I guess we should do intros or something?" she said, voice dry.
The Caelus girl turned first. All long limbs, sharp collarbones, and standoffish elegance.
She had silver cuffs on and wore a buttoned-up white blouse that said I win Model U.N. simulations for sport.
"I'm Zuri Takemura. House Caelus. Focus: Political Mechanics, International Pressure Points, and Behavioral Weaponry. You?"
"Alia."
"...House?"
"Noctis."
(And Vantaire, but that stays in the vault.)
"That explains the eyeliner," Zuri said, nodding approvingly.
Alia cracked a grin.
"That explains the stick up your ass."
The Argentum girl snorted.
She looked softer than the others—warm brown skin, full lips glossed to perfection, with gold in her braids and two wrist consoles, one for finance, the other for beauty metrics. Rich girl code.
"Tessa Caldwell. House Argentum. I do asset prediction, media laundering, and blackmail negotiation."
Alia blinked.
"That's… specific."
"It's Argentum," Tessa said with a shrug. "We speak money and mean it."
"So what do you do?" Zuri asked, squinting slightly. "Besides wander around rooftops at night?"
Alia stiffened—just a flicker.
Zuri caught it.
"You know Carmen saw you yesterday."
"I know, she follows me a little too well," Alia muttered, grabbing her water bottle and taking a long sip.
"She's not subtle," Tessa said. "But she's not wrong. People are watching you."
"Why?"
"You're Ajax's sister."
The silence dropped like a blade.
Zuri and Tessa both turned to her at once, something unreadable sparking in their expressions.
Alia blinked, eyes flat.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Zuri smirked but said nothing.
Tessa just tilted her head.
"So we're lying already," she said cheerfully. "Fun."
Alia's shoulders dropped slightly.
"Look, I'm not here to talk bloodlines or make friends. I'm here to pass, survive, and maybe look good doing it."
Tessa smiled, Zuri sighed, and somewhere deep in the walls, the room's lights dimmed to sleep cycle mode.
The pod lights flickered on softly—gentle blues and ambers.
"You're not the only one with secrets," Zuri said, voice quiet now. "But if we're rooming together, we might as well stop pretending we're just girls and not weapons."
"Speak for yourself," Tessa replied, already moisturizing. "I'm both."
Alia laughed, surprising even herself.
She lay back against her bed, staring at the ceiling, fingers tracing the edge of the Vantaire cuff tucked under her sleeve.
Not just girls. Not just students. Not just anything.
Here, everyone was something else.
And tonight, for the first time in a long time…
She didn't feel entirely alone.
---
22:12 — Southwest Boys' Housing, Level C
The scanner beeped.
The door hissed open.
Alia stepped in like she owned the place.
The Southwest Boys' Housing smelled like overpriced body spray, bad decisions, and gym socks wrapped in ambition.
Each hallway was polished metal and deep indigo lighting.
Designed to look like class.
Felt like a government bunker on spring break.
She made her way to the lounge, where only one body slouched upside-down across a leather couch like a corpse mid-exorcism.
Ajax Savier.
First-born, Sovereign of House Caelus.
Master of diplomacy.
Currently eating watermelon gummies and throwing darts at a printout of his debate rival's face.
He turned his head slowly as she walked in.
Groaned.
"You might be welcome here, but that doesn't mean I wanna see your face," he mumbled, voice upside-down.
Alia rolled her eyes and kicked the bottom of the couch playfully.
"Esteemed Sovereign of Cealus. Tactician of Tomorrow. Slouching like a sloth on expired painkillers. Real inspiring."
"Sloths are graceful in their own way."
"Sloths poop once a week."
"...It's a healthy schedule."
She plopped down beside him anyway—still upside-down, she didn't care—and snatched the gummy packet out of his hand like it was hers by divine birthright.
"You're supposed to knock," he said flatly.
"You registered my pass. That's consent."
"No, that's enabling."
"Same thing," she said, already chewing. "Also, your dart aim is trash."
He sat up finally, brushing hair out of his eyes and trying to look dignified, even though he had a gummy bear stuck to his sleeve.
"To what do I owe this evening's invasion, sibling mine?"
Alia leaned back, exhaling.
The ceiling was high and smooth. Clinical.
No warmth anywhere in the building. Ajax liked it that way.
"Zuri and Tessa know."
"Know what?" he said, eyes flicking her way.
"That I'm your little genetic accident."
Ajax didn't react much. Just grabbed another dart and tossed it.
"How?"
"They looked at me. Then looked through me. The Argentum girl probably stole my birth records. The Caelus girl probably tracked my heartbeat."
"Zuri Takemura?" he asked.
"That's the one."
"She's sharper than she dresses."
"Don't deflect," Alia muttered.
Ajax sighed.
Didn't pout. Didn't grin.
Just stared at the wall, chewing the inside of his cheek like he was calculating his next twelve words.
Alia said nothing more.
That's what caught his attention.
Because normally, she'd be dramatic.
She'd pace.
She'd throw pillows and declare a conspiracy.
But now?
She was still.
And Ajax knew her stillness was more dangerous than her fire.
"Okay." He turned slightly. "Spill. What's wrong?"
Alia shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Lies."
"It's not."
He narrowed his eyes.
"You're usually a bottle of glittery rage. You storm places. You insult everything. You don't eat gummies quietly. So what's up?"
Alia hesitated.
Then:
"I just don't like being watched."
"Everyone here's watched."
"Yeah but most people don't have to smile through it with two bloodlines and a tracker cuff."
Ajax was silent.
She sat forward now, looking at him seriously.
"Why did you even register me as your sister in the housing system?"
"In case of emergencies."
"You really thought I'd come running to you in an emergency?"
"No," he said, "I thought I'd come running to you. And it'd be easier if your file didn't flag as restricted access."
That shut her up.
Briefly.
Then—
"You're still annoying."
"So are you."
They sat in silence for a moment.
The dartboard was crooked. The gummies were gone.
"You're going to be fine," Ajax said suddenly.
"You don't know that."
"No," he replied. "But I know you."
Alia blinked.
He got up. Walked to the fridge. Threw her a chilled juice box.
"Now leave before someone sees you and rumors start that the mighty Sovereign of Cealus is a sentimental family man. I have a reputation."
Alia laughed.
Got up.
And kicked him in the shin gently as she left.