We leave the cabin and sure enough, the boys are already waiting for us. They are leaning over the porch railing and staring at the cabins opposite, from which dolled-up lux are coming out. The girls are wearing dresses of different lengths and the boys have put on dark pants and shirts or even full suits.

Couples are walking to dinner together, others are walking in groups or individually along the path. Jaxon and Levi hear the cabin door and turn to us, only to freeze in mid-movement.

Their eyes are wide, their mouths are open. Admiration is written all over their faces.

»Wow,« they say at the same time.

»Shut your mouth or flies will get in,« Alivia says, gently pushing Jaxon's chin up so that his mouth closes.

He shakes his head. »You look stunning.«

»Thanks, you don't look bad either,« I reply.

They are both wearing dark, elegant pants and white shirts. Their hair is neatly combed and elegant. If I didn't know better, I could almost mistake them for princes.

Jaxon has a few brown strands hanging over his forehead and above his golden vine mark, which marks him as a noble genie. Alivia brushes them from his forehead and loses herself in his eyes.

Levi clears his throat and nods towards the path. »We should get going. Our princess can't be late for dinner.«

Our friends recover and Jaxon holds out his arm to Alivia. She links her arm with him and they leave the veranda.

»May I?« Levi also offers me his arm and I accept it gratefully.

»Sure.«

We catch up with the genie and the siren and make our way to the main building together with the other students.

Even before we walk around the building, we can already hear excited conversations. The same topics as after the fights are being debated with great intensity, and again my name is mentioned with worrying frequency.

We walk around the last corner of the main building and see an innumerable number of round tables covered with white tablecloths and neatly arranged arrangements on them.

Almost all of the seats are already taken, but no one has started eating yet. Magical balls of light float between and on the tables, bathing everything in a calming yellow.

The conversations at the tables next to us are the first to die down. Alivia and Jaxon separate from each other and stand next to Levi and me.

I let go of Levi's arm and he takes a step back, so that I am now flanked by my friends. We form a kind of right-leaning triangle. Levi and Alivia are standing to my right, with Levi one step behind me and Alivia one behind him, and Jaxon one step behind me on the left. The boys next to me act like guards, while Alivia has taken on the position of a loyal advisor.

The silence spreads table by table. More and more people notice our presence, or rather that of the princess, interrupt their conversations and look at us. Don't forget to breathe, Micah, I say to myself. When the last conversation has died down, I slowly walk between the tables to my parents.

I learned from my mother how to make a good entrance and so I heed her advice and take each step carefully, don't look directly at anyone and don't let my gaze wander. Chin raised, back straight, I find my way through the tables, followed by my best friends and advisors.

Their parents sit at the tables that are spread around the royal family's. My target table is the largest of all. It was set up in the middle and only my parents are sitting at it. Nevertheless, there are four other place settings on the table. There are always a few chosen ones who are allowed to eat at the royal family's table.

Normally it is the best fighters of the previous day or special guests who call in a favor, but this time I am the guest of honor and can choose who sits at our table. My choice falls, how could it be otherwise, on my best friends.

When Levi wants to go to his parents, I hold him back.

»You can eat with us today,« I explain to my friends.

It is not the first time for them to dine with the queen and the king. They make no face and follow me to my parents' table.

»Mother, father, I would like to introduce you to my best friends. Alivia Tessaja Linnej, daughter of the Sirens, Jaxon Caoihim Rayan, son of the Djinns, and Levi Aramis, son of the Puks. Thank you for allowing them to dine with us,« I formally introduce my friends.

Even though my parents already know them, it is part of protocol to introduce each guest at the table personally to the others.

»Alivia, Jaxon, Levi, these are my parents. His high-born Majesty King Elian Tyr Joryes Niran, son of the Star Warriors, father of the Lux and Aurora's heir, and her Majesty Queen Arien Cathaysa Learia, daughter of the Valkyries and mother of the Lux,« I name my parents using only the most basic of their official titles.

They both have so many that it takes minutes to list them all. I myself have also already accumulated a considerable number of titles and have probably gained another since the attack on the academy two days ago.

»Please, sit down.« My mother points to three free chairs.

Jaxon and Alivia take Levi in ​​the middle. I sit to my father's right and next to Alivia.

My mother gives a signal and soup bowls float towards us from the main building, a seemingly endless line, carried by the magical powers of the employed sylphs and fairies.

The meal consists of three courses. This makes it a fairly simple meal and not what my parents are used to in the palace. But it doesn't seem to bother them.

They take turns engaging my friends in conversation and asking them about their fights. They assure Jaxon that he fought bravely but didn't stand a chance against his opponent.

My father wants to know all the details of Alivia and Levi's fight and so they review it again. They take turns talking so they can eat at the same time. After the carrot cream soup, there is a potato onion pepper casserole. The meal is rounded off with a chocolate sorbet. With the last spoonful of dessert, my friends have also finished their story.

But my father is far from finished with his questions. He wants to know more and more details about their strategies and their combat experience. We sit until late at night and when the conversations around us become fewer and quieter, my mother finally interrupts him.

»I think it's about time to retire. Thank you for your detailed explanations. It was a pleasure eating with you. Please excuse us now, tomorrow will certainly be an exciting day.«

My father looks as if he would much rather continue discussing things with my friends, but he bows to his wife's will.

»Yes, thank you very much for this unique conversation. Please excuse us. Micah, we'll see you tomorrow,« he says to me.

»Good night father, sleep well mother,« I say goodbye.

They stand up in unison and leave the square together in the direction of the main building. While most of the other guests who have decided to sleep on the academy grounds during the exams are staying in tents that are scattered all over the place, my parents and a few other nobles have moved into the few guest rooms in the main building.

»We should go to sleep too,« suggests Alivia. »I think we've all had enough excitement for one day, and besides, someone has to get into the ring tomorrow and show what they can do.« She looks at me meaningfully and I agree.

The day was long and exhausting. I can feel the tiredness slowly paralyzing my bones. Today I'll probably be able to fall asleep quickly. The boys accompany us back to our hut and say goodbye to us in front of the veranda. They give me another big hug, while Alivia gets a light kiss on the hand from Jaxon and just a casual phrase from Levi.

»Is everything OK between you and Levi?« I ask her in the bathroom.

We are about to get rid of our clothes and put them with the rest of the dirty laundry. Magically, it will appear in our closets tomorrow morning, clean and neatly arranged. An ancient witch's spell ensures that we don't have to wash our laundry ourselves.

»Yes, everything is OK between us. Don't worry. You know Levi. He's just a bit strange sometimes,« she reassures me.

But I'm not so sure. Of course Levi has his own special way of expressing feelings, but his mood was so strangely un-Levi-like when we said goodbye.

I shrug my shoulders and slip into my comfortable pajamas. They consist of a gray, loose dress that fits loosely on my body down to my knees. Alivia's nightwear consists of a purple, tight-fitting, figure-hugging dress that just covers her femininity. It's really very tight and I always wonder how she can sleep in it.

»And what's going on between you and Jaxon?« I ask her as she takes off her make-up.

She uses all kinds of creams and bottles with different liquids that are supposed to be particularly gentle on the skin. She was just about to wipe her right eye with a cloth, but stopped in the middle of the movement. She collected herself and continued with the movement.

»Nothing. What could possibly be going on between us?« she tries to wave my question away with emphasized indifference.

But I know her too well to fall for it. I drop the last crystal into a small box and put my tiara on top.

»You know you can't lie to me?« She lets the cloth fall.

»Is it so obvious?« she asks me worriedly.

I look into her reflection's eyes. She's afraid of my answer, afraid of what I think, that I would find it repulsive.

»For someone who knows you well, yes. For everyone else, I don't think so. You're both pretty good at hiding it,« I try to reassure her. »Do you love him?«

She leans her hands on the edge of the sink and lets her head sink. Her hair falls in front of her face so I can't see it anymore, but I think tears are running down her cheeks.

»I don't know. It's strange. We've known each other for so long and spend so much time together. I've never seen him as anything other than a friend, but for a few days now it's been different somehow.«

I hear the desperation in her voice. She doesn't want to lose Jaxon as a friend and is afraid to move on. I turn to her and brush a strand of hair out of her face. She lifts her head slightly and looks at me. Tears run down her cheeks, confirming my suspicion.

»How long have you felt like this?«

»Today makes three days.«

I think for a moment.

»So the day you were enchanted?«

She nods and a violent shiver shakes her body. I lead her out of the bathroom and gently push her onto her bed.

The way is not far. It is right next to the bathroom door. My bed is directly opposite hers on the other wall of the room, but I sit down next to her. With trembling fingers she tries to undo her hair, but only tangles the crystal brooch in her hair. I gently push her fingers back and take over.

»It wasn't planned, but for some reason I can't suppress my feelings anymore,« she begins to explain. »When I heard your voice inside me and you asked us to fight, you also brought up feelings in me that I thought I didn't have.«

»I'm sorry.« I put the brooch on her nightstand and start to undo the braids.

She shakes her head. »It doesn't have to be that way. It's not your fault. I should even thank you. You opened my eyes.«

She turns to me and takes my hands in hers. Her eyes express an intensity that I rarely see in her.

»Are you angry with me?« she wants to know.

At first I am too perplexed to answer.

Does she seriously believe that?

»No, Alivia, I could never be angry with you. Especially not for something so wonderful.«

»Wonderful? There is nothing wonderful about it. If my parents find out, they will freak out. A connection between a siren and a genie? They would never approve of that.«

She stands up and paces restlessly. This time, however, I will not retreat. I stand up and stand in her way. She tries to walk past me, but I hold her by the shoulders.

»Alivia, listen to me. Love is one of the purest and most honest gifts we have received from the Phoenix. Love and hope are the two basic building blocks of our being. It is always something wonderful. When two Lux have found each other, it doesn't matter what others think about it or whether they would approve of it. Besides, what arguments could they have against your union? There are no laws that prohibit it. Even the king and queen are from different peoples. They didn't let the talk of others stop them from following their hearts. You shouldn't either.«

»Yes, but the king is a star warrior. He comes from the element of energy. It is connected to everyone else. Fire and water, the elements of Jaxon and me, are absolute opposites. Your argument doesn't work like that, Micah.«

»You're driving me crazy. Answer me a question, please.«

She looks at me attentively and I fix her gaze, hold it and don't let it escape me.

»Do you love Jaxon?«

»I think so, yes«, she answers dejectedly, but doesn't turn away.

»And does he love you?« I want to know. She tries to avoid answering, but then nods slightly.

»I think so,« she whispers.

I smile and hug her.

»Then you shouldn't worry,« I whisper in her ear. »You'll find a way. I firmly believe that.«

She hugs me too and we stand in the middle of our room for what feels like an eternity. Alivia is the first to let go of me.

»Let's go to sleep,« she says firmly and crawls into her bed.

I follow her example and snuggle under the covers.

»Sleep well, Alivia.«

The exertions of the last few hours, the last few days, are taking their toll and before my head even touches the pillow, I've fallen asleep. I don't even hear Alivia's reply and I sink into a fortunately dreamless sleep.