Pride.
Dravenna knew that card well. Had played it herself more times than she could count—against rivals, against enemies. But she'd never wielded it quite like this.
Phei had made sure to remind her: pride was the most important weapon she could use against the Heavenchilds.
Pride.
Because the Heavenchilds had so much of it. Generations of it. Centuries of being the most powerful family on the planet, of never bowing, never losing, never letting anyone forget that they sat at the top of every hierarchy that mattered.
That kind of pride was a fortress.
But it was also a cage.
Poke it right, and they'd do exactly what you wanted—not because you forced them, but because their own ego wouldn't let them do anything else.
And Dravenna had poked perfectly.
But all of that was background noise compared to what the Academy was losing its collective mind over today.
Phei!
Again.
It was the cold.
