"Why didn't they just sentence him to death? He killed Sarah. He killed so many people, and they let him walk out FREE?"
The voices merged into a single accusatory hiss as Azalea walked down the hallway, head low. Not in sorrow. In acceptance.
His hands hung loose at his sides like. Silver hair fell past his neck, shielding his eyes from the glares that tracked his every step. White long-sleeved shirt. Black jeans, slightly baggy. Black shoes clicking against marble.
He was leaving the Academy for the final time.
He'd lost everything. And frankly, he was starting to think everything hadn't been worth much to begin with.
"I sense nepotism," someone whispered.
"Shouldn't be possible. I heard from my father that he's been disowned by the Nevanas."
"That's expected. He dragged their name through the mud. Surprising it took THIS long for them to cut ties."
"Doesn't mean they had no hand in his freedom. They might've disowned him, but that doesn't mean they'd let someone who once bore their name die a pitiful death."
"Most likely, but there's still no evidence he actually—"
"Just SHUT UP. If you want to get in trouble, I dare you to complete that statement."
Silence.
"He's the only suspect. He tried to kill a fellow student, for crying out loud."
Azalea couldn't hear them anymore. Slowly, mercifully, he was losing touch with reality. Everything faded to background noise.
"That's enough to expel him but not prosecute him. They need more evidence. Bastard's lucky."
Azalea stopped.
A pair of shoes blocked his path. He looked up.
Perfect timing.
"Ansley." His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"Traitor," Ansley said.
"I knew you were garbage, but I never knew you were THIS much of a monster." Another voice, sharp with disgust. "You killed a hundred students. You killed your own kind."
Aden. Third prince, stepbrother to Isabelle, and a bastard Azalea had been at odds with since childhood. Some things never changed.
"I didn't kill anyone." Azalea met Aden's eyes. "Auston is still alive."
"That much is true." Ethan, son of Duke Vincent, stepped forward. "But it doesn't change the fact that you compromised the system. You CAUSED those deaths. It's your fault Angelica is fighting for her life."
Azalea didn't respond. They wouldn't believe him anyway.
Maybe that's why Isabelle hated him now. Angelica, her twin sister—well, screw her. He didn't give a damn what she felt, because right now, he felt NOTHING.
Nothing at all.
That gripping feeling in his chest? Gone.
He didn't care anymore. If any of them stood before him now, he'd walk past like they were strangers. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd felt betrayal.
Not only in this life, but in the previous one too.
A person he'd trusted more than himself had—
"I'm ashamed we once shared the same name," Ansley continued. "To think people would address you as my brother."
Azalea's eyes shot back up. Ansley. One of the people who, just like Ashley, had made his childhood hell. People he would gladly inflict with the worst pain imaginable if given the chance.
He looked Ansley straight in the eyes and felt only one thing: HATE.
Pure, unfiltered hate.
Nothing else remained.
He sighed, turned, and tried to walk past them.
Tried.
"Where do you think you're going?" A hand clamped around his wrist.
"Let go, Aden." His voice was eerily calm. He was weak. Couldn't defend himself if they decided to beat him senseless. But now? He didn't care about that either.
"Not gonna happen, Az. Not until I put you in the same condition as my Carmella."
"So that's what this is about, Simp."
BAM.
He slammed against the wall. Aden's face filled his vision, twisted with rage that looked almost pathetic.
"Let go."
"You BASTARD!" Aden screamed. "She called you her friend! She always defended your pathetic ass! And THIS is what you do to her?!"
A punch. Powered with ether. The wall cracked behind Azalea's head.
"Argh—"
Blood dripped down his neck. Dizziness washed over him.
Carmella.
Yeah. She was probably the only person who hadn't tried to beat him to death. But that was likely only because she was hospitalized and couldn't physically reach him.
If Isabelle could go as far as to not only slap him in front of everyone but actually try to hack him to death before being restrained, then Carmella would be no different once she recovered.
Andrew. Leon. Castor. His bros. Even they didn't seem friendly anymore.
"Let go."
"Or what?" Aden pulled back his fist. "Or what, you piece of shit?"
He punched him again. Straight in the face.
Azalea lost consciousness for a second. When he came to, he could barely see through the blood.
"Beat him up. I want him crippled."
Then he was plunged into a world of pain.
And honestly? It almost felt like relief.