The Lycan Trials (A Reverse Harem Academy Romance)

Departures day -2

CELIA

If anyone ever tells you carriage rides are romantic, they are lying.

Blatantly.

The carriage lurches again as the wheels hit another rock on the road and my entire body bounces in the seat.

I grip the edge of the leather and soft-cushion padded wooden bench and glare out the window, jaw clenched.

This is torture.

Actual torture.

I used to complain about turbulence on private flights. About bumpy roads in sports cars. About uncomfortable airplane seats.

I would like to apologize to every single one of those experiences.

Because this?

This doesn't compare.

The road is rough, uneven, and apparently designed by someone who hates spines.

Every few seconds the carriage jerks hard enough to rattle my bones, and the wooden frame creaks like it might give up on life before we even reach the capital.

I swallow hard as another violent bump makes my stomach flip.

Okay.

Either the carriage is shaking my breakfast into rebellion…

or I’m about to cry.

Which is embarrassing.

Because I am thirty-three years old.

Thirty-four in a few months.

And I should not be sitting here in a medieval death wagon trying not to tear up like a child leaving home for the first time.

But the problem is that this is the first time I’m actually leaving ‘home’

My father never allowed me outside the Valmorra estate once since I woke up in this world. Every time I asked, the answer was the same: it was too dangerous, too public, and too risky before the academy, especially for the only Valmorra heir.

So, the whole time, the estate was my entire universe.

The training fields. The gardens. The library. The endless hallways.

And Annabel.

Especially Annabel.

The carriage hits another bump and I squeeze my eyes shut.

Oh nagful Annabel.

I'd said goodbye to her a few hours ago.

She stood at the entrance steps while the servants loaded the luggage, holding her hands together like she was trying very hard to look composed.

“My lady must write to me,” she had said.

Apparently, personal maids are not allowed inside the Royal Academy grounds, which means Annabel had to stay behind at the estate. Only guards are permitted to accompany noble heirs during the journey, and even they are riding outside with the other escort carriages.

I had rolled my eyes and told her not to worry.

But when the carriage doors closed and the estate gates opened…

She was the only person I looked for.

Because in the weeks I’ve been here, she has been the only constant.

The only person who talks to me like I'm neither a Valmorra nor the lady who abruptly decided to go somewhere she was hellbent on not going, or the thirty-four year old modern soul.

Just… someone.

Outside the window, the scenery rolls past in long stretches of green fields and forested hills, all of it unfamiliar and strangely beautiful.

Which would probably be impressive if I was the only one in this carriage.

Across from me sit two people I would happily push out of this carriage if society allowed it.

Keiran and Laureline.

The carriage remains silent.

No one talks.

Not that anyone looks particularly eager to start a conversation anyway.

The carriage rattles along the rough road for what feels like hours. Laureline spends most of that time staring out the opposite window with the kind of bored elegance that probably took years of noble training to perfect, while Keiran sits across from me, silent and unreadable.

Not that I’m looking at him.

At all.

Not even a little.

The only sounds inside the carriage are the creaking wheels, the occasional snort from the horses outside, and the constant clatter of wood against stone.

Eventually though, something changes.

The road becomes smoother.

At first it’s subtle. The shaking eases, the wheels stop slamming into every rock on the planet, and the carriage begins to glide instead of bounce.

I loosen my grip on the seat without even realizing it.

A few minutes later, new sounds reach us from outside.

Voices.

Lots of them.

The low buzz of conversation. Laughter. The distant shout of someone selling something.

Keiran finally breaks the silence.

“We’ve reached the capital.”

I glance at him instinctively before catching myself, then quickly turn toward the window instead.

Curiosity wins.

I slip the curtain aside.

And suddenly the quiet countryside had disappeared.

The carriage is rolling through what looks like a massive marketplace. Stalls line both sides of the street, covered with colorful fabrics and wooden signs. People move everywhere—some carrying baskets, others dragging carts piled high with goods.

There are merchants shouting prices, children weaving between the crowd, guards patrolling the roads, and the smell of something fried drifting through the open window.

It’s loud and chaotic and alive.

And for a moment, I just stare.

This is the first time I’ve seen anything outside the Valmorra estate since I arrived in this world.

And somehow, it feels both exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

After a few seconds, I let the curtain fall back into place and lean my head against the cushioned seat, my eyes closing in exhaustion from me stressing about stress before there's even stress to stress about.

“Well…” Laureline’s voice finally breaks the quiet, and I mentally roll my eyes, waiting for whatever bullshit she's about to spew.

She proves me right by talking from her ass.

“it seems the academy will finally see what kind of heir the Valmorra household has produced.”

I don't open my eyes.

She continues, clearly enjoying herself.

“I do hope you won’t embarrass us too much during the trials. I’ve heard the first week alone eliminates quite a number of… weaker candidates. And the remaining ones are always the last five on the ranking.”

I let out a slow breath.

Normally I would say something back.

Something sarcastic.

Something cutting.

But right now I’m simply too tired.

So I say nothing.

The silence that follows is probably more annoying to her than any insult I could have delivered.

A few minutes later, the carriage slows, the horses snorting as the wheels grind against the stone road before it comes to a complete stop.

Outside, voices rise again as the guards begin speaking to someone.

I open my eyes.

Well.

Looks like we’re here.

And somehow I get the feeling my life is about to become even more complicated.