After Elion’s words sank in.. "Join us" I froze. My feet felt rooted to the floored path, as if invisible vines had wrapped around my ankles and refused to let go, holding me captive in that single, electrifying moment.

His invitation echoed in my head, tempting and terrifying all at once. It felt so right. Too right. The words lingered like a forbidden promise, warm and dangerous, sending an unwelcome thrill racing down my spine even as my mind screamed at me to run.

For years I’d been trapped in this monotonous routine: wake up, attend classes that blurred together into one endless gray haze, study spells I barely understood and rarely mastered, eat the same tasteless meals in the dining hall if I wasn’t being punished, do endless chores, then collapse into bed wondering if tomorrow would be any different from today. Everyone else seemed to be living... really living... their teenage years. Laughing in tight-knit groups under the shade of ancient trees, sneaking out after curfew with stolen bottles of wine and whispered secrets, stealing kisses in shadowed corners where no one could see. Meanwhile, I was just... surviving. Barely. And this academy, with its towering walls and endless rules, felt more like a cage every single day, closing in tighter until I could hardly breathe.

But even as the thrill of his offer pulsed through me, hot and insistent, a sharper emotion clawed its way up from the depths of my chest: jealousy. Fierce. Possessive. Burning. If I said yes, I’d have Elion... maybe... but I’d have to share him. With the others. With whoever else he looked at with that lazy, dangerous smile that promised trouble and pleasure in equal measure. The thought twisted in my gut like a knife, sharp and unrelenting. No. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. The idea of watching him turn that same smile on someone else made my stomach churn with a bitterness I hadn’t known I was capable of feeling.

Before my mind could catch up with my body, fear took over. I didn’t dare turn around. What if I looked back and saw his eyes on me again.... those storm-gray eyes that seemed to see straight through every defense I tried to build? What if that reckless, innovative spark inside me, the one that always got me into trouble, pushed me to say yes right then and there, consequences be damned? I wasn’t ready to face that choice. I wasn’t ready to admit how badly part of me wanted to step into the fire he was offering.

So I walked. Fast. My heart hammered against my ribs like a war drum, loud and frantic, and I swear I could feel an invisible tail wagging behind me, betraying how much his words had rattled me despite everything I tried to tell myself.

I burst out into the open field where students had already begun to gather. The late-afternoon sun painted everything in warm gold, bathing the grass in a soft, glowing light that made the entire space feel almost peaceful. The air smelled of crushed grass and faint traces of smoke from the fire pits being lit for the evening gathering, a comforting scent that clashed violently with the storm raging inside me. Liora spotted me immediately. Her face lit up with genuine delight, and she waved enthusiastically, bouncing on her toes. I noticed she does that each time she was excited about something, a small, endearing habit that made her seem lighter than the rest of us.

I started toward her, weaving through clusters of chattering students, their voices blending into a low hum that filled the air like background music.

Then Ashriel passed me.

He moved like a shadow, tall, silent, dressed head-to-toe in his signature black, the fabric absorbing the sunlight rather than reflecting it, making him look like a piece of the night walking in daylight. Something inexplicable tugged at me. An urge. A pull. I didn’t even know why. My brain hadn’t finished processing the impulse before my hand shot out and caught his forearm.

He reacted instantly. With a sharp flick, he shook me off like I was dirt on his sleeve. He didn’t even glance back as he brushed at the spot I’d touched, as though I’d left some invisible stain that needed to be wiped away.

"Stay away from me, woman," he muttered, voice low and cold, carrying the weight of absolute dismissal.

I stared at his retreating back. Bro, it’s a black shirt, I thought wryly. How could you even tell if it was dirty? But I kept the sarcasm locked behind my teeth, swallowing it down like everything else.

Still... he and his brother Asher really did love black. It suited them both in completely different ways: Ashriel’s felt rebellious and magnetic, a quiet defiance wrapped in darkness, while Asher’s was armor, sharp, unyielding, impenetrable, like a shield forged from years of carrying burdens no one else could see.

"Ashriel," I called anyway, my voice cutting through the ambient noise of the field.

He stopped. Turned slowly. His eyes, dark, unreadable, like deep pools that swallowed light, locked onto mine.

"I’m not interested in you," he said flatly, before I could even open my mouth again.

I almost cursed out loud. WTF?

"I’m not interested in you either," I shot back, lifting my chin in defiance. No way was I letting him look down on me like I was just another starry-eyed girl tripping over herself for his attention. Sure, maybe I was a little like every other girl who noticed how unfairly gorgeous he was, but that didn’t mean I wanted him. Right?

"That’s good, then," he replied coolly, already turning away as if the conversation had never mattered.

"Wait." I stepped forward before he could disappear into the crowd. "I just wanted to thank you. For saving me the other day." Thank goddess I have a perfect excuse for stopping him.

He paused again. This time he didn’t turn fully, just glanced over his shoulder, his expression unreadable.

"I didn’t save you," he said, voice edged with disdain. "I saved the other students from dying because of you."

And then he walked away.

I stood there, watching his broad shoulders cut through the sea of people until he vanished completely from sight.

My chest ached in a strange, complicated way. For a few days I had thought someone had felt I was worth saving. Or at least... worth not letting everyone die over. Even if his motive wasn’t personal, even if he’d done it for the greater good, not for me, it still mattered.

In a world where I usually felt invisible, that act had carved out a tiny space of gratitude inside me. Messy, reluctant gratitude, but gratitude nonetheless.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog, and started walking back toward Liora again.

Before I reached her, a warm hand landed on my shoulder. Firm. Familiar. It pulled me gently backward into an embrace that felt far too casual, far too intimate, like we’d been close for years instead of barely knowing each other.

I twisted to my left.

Elion.

That big, silly, heart-stopping grin spread across his face, all mischief and sunshine wrapped in trouble.

"We meet again, Gorgeous," he drawled, voice low enough that only I could hear.

My pulse stuttered. My earlier resolve wavered.

And just like that, the field, the crowd, the complicated mess of emotions, it all narrowed down to him.

What does this puppy want from me? I thought.