Chapter 22 · Pretty Prey Starts Early

The announcement hits at breakfast.

Ivy's halfway through cold eggs when the dining hall screens flicker red. Every conversation dies. The Academy crest dissolves into two words that make her stomach drop.

PRETTY PREY: ACTIVE.

Seven days. That's how long they were supposed to have. Seven days to prep, to hide, to make deals. The rules said so. Everyone knew.

The screen doesn't care what everyone knows.

"All designated prey report to the Undercroft for processing within one hour. Failure to comply results in immediate disqualification and Core Zone demotion. Hunting period begins at sunset. May the best survive."

Sunset. That's fourteen hours, not seven days.

Someone drops a tray. The crash echoes. Then the dining hall explodes into noise—chairs scraping, voices rising, people shoving toward exits that are already sealing with heavy mechanical clicks.

Ivy doesn't move. Her fork stays in her hand. She counts her heartbeat instead of her options because options need time and time just got cut to nothing.

Across the hall, Lila Crowe is smiling. She's standing with three other Core Zone students, and none of them look surprised. Lila catches Ivy's eye and lifts her coffee cup in a little mock salute.

They knew.