to him. A promise I kept for too long.”
“And it cost me everything.” I said. “It made me question everything.”
“So now you don’t trust me?” he asked. “Is that it?”
I looked away.
“Say it,” he hissed. “Just say it.”
“Maybe I don’t,” I whispered. “Because everyone seems to know more about me than I do. You. Bastain. The council. Even Max.
He flinched like I’d struck him.
Then the room changed.
I didn’t mean for it to happen.
It was like my body moved faster than my brain. The temperature dropped. The lights flickered. The dagger on the desk rattled in its sheath.
Nate stepped back, eyes wide.
“Jiselle-*
“I told you I was scared,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice. “I told you I didn’t know what I was. And instead of helping me feel grounded, you lock me in a room like a cursed artifact!”
Power crackled in the air. My veins felt molten. My fingers twitched.
And then-
The bookshelf behind Nate exploded.
He ducked. Books flew across the room. Pages fluttered like ash.
A high–pitched whine filled my ears. I clutched my temples, trying to breathe.
Then I heard it.
Blood.
A drop hit the floor.
I looked up–and Nate was holding his nose, blood dripping down his face.
“Oh my gosh, Nate!” I gasped, terrified and suddenly feeling like I monster. “I didn’t touch you,” I breathed. “I know.”
He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t afraid. He looked broken.
“I didn’t mean to~”
“I know, he repeated.
He reached out for me, but I backed away.
“Nate, I-”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” I shook my head. “This isn’t normal. This isn’t… this isn’t something we can fix.”
“I’m not trying to fix it,” he said gently. “I’m trying to survive it. With you.”
But I couldn’t. Not tonight.
Not after what I’d done.
I turned and bolted out the door.
He didn’t follow.
Not right away.
I stormed through the corridor, heart pounding. The night air felt like knives against my skin. I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I had to move.
Then, just before I rounded the corner to the dorm’s west wing-
I felt it.
Someone was watching me.
I turned.
Nothing.
2/3
Chapter 71
No footsteps. No shadows. Just cold air and silence.
But I wasn’t imagining it.
I started walking faster.
And behind me, in the shadows between two columns, someone moved.
A figure. Cloaked. Unmistakable.
Watching.
Waiting.
And still following.
***
*Nathaniel *
The shadows in my room were longer than usual. That meant something. Shadows always meant something to me.
Ever since the poison attempt, I hadn’t let Jiselle out of my sight. Not for more than a few minutes. Not for more than a corridor’s length. Not even when she glared daggers at me from across the room and snapped at me to give her space. Space was a luxury we didn’t have anymore.
It had been three days since we found the note.
Three days since I watched her hands shake and her eyes refuse to blink while reading six words that should’ve never reached her.
‘You should’ve run when Max told you to.’
Six words and her whole spine stiffened like she was preparing for war–or death.
I hadn’t let it go. Couldn’t. Not with danger hanging around us like a noose. I was already too late once. I wouldn’t be again.
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