Twenty minutes until Animal Control would arrive.
Evadne knew she couldn't drag this out much longer. As much as she wanted to let Selena wallow in her own fear and piss-stained humiliation, she made a promise to the boa, and she wasn't the type to break her word.
"P-Please…" Selena's voice was shaking now, barely a whisper. "I… I don't want to die."
Evadne's face softened just enough for those watching to believe she was being kind.
"You're not going to die," she whispered reassuringly.
'Of course not, bitch. You wanted to make my life a living hell, right? Well, how can I let you suffer if you're dead?'
To everyone else, it looked like Evadne was trying, again, to uncoil the snake from Selena's body.
'Bite,' she commanded silently.
And the boa obeyed.
Selena screamed as the fangs sank into her left shoulder.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Her shriek bounced off the walls, raw and blood-curdling.
"FUCK!" Evadne cursed, lurching back for dramatic effect.
"Oh my god! It bit her! SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" shrieked one of the students.
That was all it took for the panic to explode.
Selena thrashed, her body convulsing. Her mouth foamed, whether from pure fear or psychosomatic shock, and then, her eyes rolled back. She collapsed limp, unconscious.
"She's DEAD!" Nika screamed.
Gasps. Screams. A few students ran away crying.
"She's not dead!" Evadne snapped at Nika. "Shut the fuck up!"
But even Cieryl and the others who usually clung to composure had broken down into full-blown sobbing.
"This is all your fault!" Farrah screamed at Evadne, voice cracked and trembling.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Bea fired back immediately. "How the hell is this Vee's fault?!"
Evadne didn't flinch. Her hands were steady. Her breath controlled.
"Cas, I need help," she said, her voice loud and clear.
Casadin, pale as a sheet and visibly shaking, his fear of snakes very real, still dropped to his knees beside her without hesitation.
"Princess, what do I do?" he asked, voice strained with fear, but still willing.
"Uncoil the snake from the tail. Delvin, Flynn, help me get Selena seated upright. Bea, Amanda, keep her head supported so she doesn't hit the floor."
They moved with practiced urgency, forming a unit around her.
But then, Evadne did the unthinkable.
She grabbed the head of the snake.
"Evadne!"
"Princess!"
"Vee!"
Hades, Casadin and their friends all screamed her name in horror.
"I'm fine," she said, calm as ever. "Just do what I said."
Casadin swallowed hard but obeyed.
'Bite me,' she told the boa silently.
'What?' the snake answered, shocked. 'My bite is not venomous, but it will hurt. You'll bleed.'
'I know. Just do it. Sink your fangs into my hand. And then, loosen your grip on her, but keep your bite in me. Trust me.'
'You're one insane human,' the boa replied, but it did as told.
The snake turned its head and bit down into her palm.
"Hhhhnngghhh!!" Evadne let out a pained groan, her body tensing.
"Vee!!!"
"Princess!!!"
"Evadne!!!"
Casadin nearly dropped the boa's tail in panic.
"Don't stop," she gritted. "You've uncoiled a lot already. If you let go now, we'll start over. I'm fine."
Tears filled Bea's and Amanda's eyes as they watched blood fall from Evadne's hand, drop by drop, pooling on the floor.
Slowly, carefully, the boa loosened its body from Selena, its fangs still sunk into Evadne's palm.
And finally, the snake uncoiled completely.
Flynn, Delvin, and Casadin held the thick, muscular body of the snake between them. Bea and Amanda gently propped Selena up, her unconscious form limp, her breathing shallow but steady.
"What the hell are you all doing just standing there?" Amanda roared at Hades and Cieryl. "HELP YOUR FRIEND!"
That snapped them out of their daze.
They rushed over at once, Hades lifting Selena's upper body while Cieryl sobbed, cradling her head.
"Get her to the clinic!" Evadne barked. "We'll secure the boa and hand it over when Animal Control arrives."
Casadin turned to her, pale and shaking, his voice cracking. "Princess, you need to go to the clinic too. You were bitten."
Evadne raised a brow.
"And who among you wants to hold the snake's head while I do that?"
Silence.
Not one volunteer.
Everyone looked away. Some stepped back.
Casadin bit his lip, looking into Evadne's eyes with a pale face and a half-smirk of defeat.
"I would… if I wasn't about to pass out."
Evadne chuckled darkly, blood still dripping from the punctures on her hand.
"Exactly."
Without another word, she led the way toward the back of the High School Academic Building, the boa coiled gently in their hands. Students instinctively stepped aside, giving them a wide berth as if they carried a live explosive.
The school was built right next to a stretch of state-protected forest, and that was exactly where they were headed.
'Are you sure about this, Boa?' Evadne asked silently as she walked. 'Wouldn't you live longer if you stayed with your human?'
'I do not have a human, human. And what good is a long life when you live it in a cage?'
'Fair point,' she replied, the smallest thread of respect forming between them. 'Thank you… for what you did back there.'
'I should be the one thanking you.'
'We're near the forest now. You'll be safe here. Do you need to be released deeper into the wild?'
'This is enough. I will find my path.'
'Then… one last favor.'
'Speak.'
'I need to let you go in a way that makes it look accidental, for Animal Control and school administration. Play along?'
'Deal.'
Just then…
"AHHHHHH!!!" Evadne screamed and dramatically threw the boa's head from her hands before bolting back toward the Academic building.
"FUUUUUCK!!!" Casadin, Delvin, and Flynn screamed in unison, dropping their grip on the snake and sprinting in the same direction.
Bea and Amanda followed instinctively, shrieking and running without a second thought.
'Goodbye, Boa.'
'Goodbye, crazy human,' the snake replied, slithering swiftly toward the dense brush of the nearby state forest.
"PRINCESS!!!" Casadin called out once they all stopped, breathing hard, faces pale. "What the hell?! Why did you let go of the head?! The snake escaped!"
"It went straight for the forest," Bea pointed out, eyes wide.
Evadne just laughed, still bent over from laughter. "You're so pale, Cas."
"Because I have ophidiophobia," he groaned. "I've been faking courage this whole time. My knees wanted to give out ten minutes ago."
Without a word, Casadin grabbed her injured hand and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully tying it around the bite.
"I didn't want to hand the snake over to Animal Control," she admitted softly. "I'm pretty sure whoever really owns it didn't know it would be used this way. Someone just borrowed it. Probably without permission. I'm sure she will be in trouble if the owner finds out the snake has escaped."
"But Princess… if we had turned it over, Animal Control could've tracked the owner. We'd have had solid proof of what Cieryl's group did to you," Casadin said, brows furrowed in frustration.
"Wait. What?" Delvin blinked. "What are you saying, bro?"
"That snake? It was in Vee's locker," Casadin explained. "She just moved it into Selena's."
The other four turned to Evadne at once, stunned.
"What?" Evadne said innocently, then winked. "I told you. I was just returning Selena's surprise gift."
"Vee! You're crazy!" Bea gasped once the shock faded into awe.
"What? I thought you all knew. I mean, isn't being crazy the only real qualification to join the Rebels?"
"Yup," Flynn said without missing a beat. "And you passed. With flying, blood-dripping colors."
The six of them burst into laughter, tension finally melting as they made their way back toward the main building.
Casadin draped an arm around her. "Come on. Let's get you to the clinic before you start bleeding again."
As they walked, Amanda asked, "But seriously… how did you know how to handle the snake like that?"
Evadne glanced over her shoulder, giving them a mysterious look.
"Would you believe me if I told you the snake and I were in cahoots? That I ordered it to do everything?"
"Yeah, right!" Bea snorted.
"You guys never believe me." She pouted dramatically. "Fine. I'll tell you the truth."
She paused for effect, looking at each of them one by one.
"I'm a snake whisperer."
"Oh, that I believe," Casadin said, grinning as he tightened his arm around her. "Because every time you whisper, my one-eyed snake stands at full attention."
Evadne blinked.
One second. Two.
Then her eyes widened. "Casadin! There really is no cure for your perversion, is there?"
"Yup," he smirked, unrepentant. "No hope for me, Princess. I was corrupted long before I met you."
Then, just like that, his grin faded. His voice lowered, serious now.
"But joking aside, Princess… are you really just going to let them get away with what they did?"
Evadne didn't miss the shift in his tone.
Bea chimed in, frowning. "Vee, he's right. They should be punished. That's why Selena keeps doing this to people, no one ever holds her accountable. No evidence, no consequences."
"Excuse me?" Evadne arched a brow. "Were we not at the same locker hall earlier? You seriously think that wasn't punishment?"
She smirked, a slow, knowing curve of her lips.
"Why would I hand over the right to punish them when I can do it myself? That's the difference between me and every other victim Selena's bullied, I don't need someone else to fight for me."
Bea blinked. Delvin just stared.
"And besides," Evadne continued, voice like velvet laced with poison, "I already cracked the foundation of their precious little clique. Did you miss how Selena threw Natasha under the bus? That was real. And public. Come on now. Enjoy the show."
She gave a small shrug. "Like I said in my speech, this will be the best year NYE's ever seen. Watch their empire crumble."
"Vee…" Delvin muttered, shaking his head, "you're terrifying."
"I'm not scary," Evadne replied casually. "But like I told Hades, whatever someone throws at me, I throw it back tenfold. I warned him I'd leave him alone if he keeps his people in line. He didn't. So now I play."
Flynn nudged Casadin with an elbow. "Bro, why are you so quiet?"
Casadin's eyes were fixed on Evadne, and without shame, he said, "I'm trying to hide my hard-on."
"What the fuck?!" Amanda choked.
"I mean it. Damn, Princess, when you go full alpha? That's hot," Casadin added, grinning like a sinner at confession.
Evadne groaned, rolling her eyes. "I swear, I'm going to die from hypertension before this snake bite gets me."
And with that, she turned and walked off toward the clinic, her bleeding hand still loosely wrapped, Bea and Amanda following behind.
"Princess!!! I'll catch up! I just need to check the picture you sent last night, make sure it's still in perfect condition," Casadin called after her, grinning like a madman.
"I'm not listening, you pervert!" she shouted over her shoulder, but the corners of her mouth were twitching.
Outside the clinic, a few of Hades' friends were gathered, tense and pale. When they saw Evadne approach, they stepped aside immediately, making way for her without a word.
Inside, the room quieted as she entered.
Cieryl was seated stiffly on one side of the room, Hades beside her. The faculty members who had witnessed the chaos earlier were present, along with the Academy President himself, Mr. Oshanesi.
He stood quickly upon seeing her, alarm flashing across his distinguished features.
The bloodied hand had not gone unnoticed.
"Miss Monteverde," he said, almost breathless, turning to one of the two on-call doctors. "Please assist her immediately."
Evadne noticed the tension behind his eyes.
And when she opened herself to his thoughts, it became clear.
He wasn't just worried.
He was shaken.
He couldn't believe that on her very first day at NYE, Evadne Monteverde had been injured.
And this wasn't just any student.
She was a Monteverde.
From the family that donated an entire hectare of land to build NYE.
The same Evadne who, thanks to Jupiter Falcon himself, came with a $200 million donation under her name, ten times the amount Hades had offered.
"How the hell am I going to explain this to Jupiter? She's his goddaughter, no, practically his daughter. This can't happen. Not to her."
"Don't worry, Miss Monteverde," Mr. Oshanesi said aloud, recovering quickly. "This incident will be thoroughly investigated. I'll personally ensure it's handled with the seriousness it deserves."
Evadne tilted her head, voice soft, but her words laced with edge.
"Mr. Oshanesi, thank you for your concern… but I'm not the one you should be directing that to."
Everyone paused.
She turned slightly, eyes landing on the unconscious Selena behind the partition.
"I was just someone who stepped in to help. The real victim here… is her."
She smiled politely.
"How is Selena doing, by the way?"
"She's safe," one of the doctors announced calmly. "No broken bones, and aside from a shallow puncture wound, she's physically fine. The fainting was caused by psychosomatic shock."
The explanation was still ongoing, how the snake bite wasn't dangerous, how it was a constrictor, not venomous, when the Animal Control team finally arrived. Minutes later, Selena's parents rushed in after receiving the school's emergency call.
The moment Mrs. Punzalan saw her daughter lying pale and still on the cot, her composure snapped. Hysteria erupted in the clinic.
But instead of focusing on her daughter's condition, her eyes landed on Evadne, seated calmly with Casadin by her side, and her fury shifted direction.
"This girl! It must be her! Why else would the snake target Selena? She's the one behind this!" she shouted, finger jabbing in Evadne's direction.
"Are you accusing my daughter of bullying, Mrs. Punzalan?" a cold, commanding voice cut through the tension.
Everyone turned.
Romos Monteverde had arrived, unnoticed, but clearly having heard everything.
His sharp gaze bore into Mrs. Punzalan, and the weight of his presence was immediate. Authority clung to him like a second skin.
"And how are you so sure," Romos continued, stepping closer, "that my daughter is the one who placed a snake in your daughter's locker?"
Mrs. Punzalan flinched but didn't back down. "Then how do you explain it? How did she know how to handle that snake so easily?"
Her tone was more restrained now, the recognition sinking in, but she still didn't retract her accusation.
She didn't get the chance to push further.
Because Jupiter Falcon walked in next.
The room changed. The air shifted.
Mrs. Punzalan blanched. She knew exactly who he was.
The luxury home they lived in?
The car they drove?
The elite status they enjoyed?
All paid for because of Selena's contract as an exclusive model under the Falcon Empire.
Jupiter's eyes swept the room like a silent storm. When they landed on Mrs. Punzalan, it was with cool, unreadable precision.
As if that wasn't enough, Cielo Monteverde and Angelina Falcon arrived moments later, looking frantic and breathless. Both women had come the second Cielo received a call informing her that Evadne had been bitten by a snake on school grounds.
Their panic was immediate. Overwhelming.
They pushed through the crowd and went straight to Evadne, checking her hand, inspecting her vitals, brushing hair from her face with trembling hands.
"Why hasn't she been taken to a hospital yet?" Cielo demanded, turning toward Romos with fire in her voice.
"She was bitten, Romos! Bitten by a snake!"
Angelina didn't fare better. "Why isn't there an ambulance already?! How could this happen on school grounds?!"
The students watching were stunned. Not just by how attentive Evadne's parents were, but by how both the Falcon couples hovered protectively around her.
The Falcons.
Even Hades looked uneasy now.
Casadin chuckled under his breath and earned a light punch on the shoulder from Evadne, who rolled her eyes at the dramatic overreaction of their parents.
Mrs. Punzalan watched it all unfold with dawning horror.
This wasn't just any girl.
This was the girl backed by power. By money. By names no one could afford to offend.
"Our daughter loves watching wildlife documentaries," Romos replied dryly, turning back to Mrs. Punzalan. "She probably learned how to handle the situation from those."
"Romos," Jupiter interrupted smoothly, "no need to explain."
He turned toward Mrs. Punzalan fully.
"I've seen the footage already, it's circulating. Evadne was simply being a good Samaritan. I've already instructed my people to begin an investigation into what happened. And the school will ensure that the guilty party is properly punished for causing harm to our Evadne."
The emphasis wasn't subtle. It didn't need to be.
Mrs. Punzalan swallowed hard.
Her jaw clenched, but she didn't say another word.
Because she finally realized,
The girl she just accused…
Was untouchable.
Evadne saw the color drain from Cieryl's face. She wasn't the only one.
The other girls in their circle had also paled.
Because they knew.
Jupiter's statement wasn't just a show of power, it was a warning.
Then Evadne's soft, silken voice broke the silence.
"Dad." She turned toward Romos and Jupiter both, her tone sweet and almost scolding. "Daddy. I'm not the victim here. I was just someone who helped. So please stop pressuring everyone as if I was the target. Okay?"
She turned to Mr. Oshanesi, the Academy President, who was still stiff with worry.
"Just let Mr. Oshanesi handle it. I'm sure he'll do an amazing job."
Her words were warm. Innocent.
And while the adults nodded, eased by her poise, no one noticed the flash in her eyes as she turned to glance at Cieryl and her friends.
And smirked.
Not a word was said.
But her message was crystal clear.
I know it was you.