Novels by Maryjane

Lila… I waited until the corridor was empty. The academy had gone quiet hours ago. Most students were asleep.I stood near the old stairwell with my hands tucked into the sleeves of my robe, listening to the faint sound of footsteps approaching.Adrian appeared from the shadows. He stopped several feet away. Neither of us spoke immediately. Then I reached into my pocket.A folded piece of paper, small. Nothing that would look important to anyone else.I held it out gently. Adrian took it after long hesitation. His eyes moved over the writing.“Nira's schedule?”I nodded.“Classes. Training. Library.”He folded the paper once.“Anything else?”I hesitated. Then said quietly,“She can hear heartbeats now.”His eyes lifted. I saw something change in his face.“How strong?” Adrian asked.“I don't know.” I replied.“Has she told anyone?”“Cassian doesn't know.”Adrian waited.“She told me.”The words felt heavier once they were spoken. Adrian looked away.“You shouldn't have let her.”My

By the following week, I had stopped checking the doors before entering a classroom. It was a small thing. Probably meaningless to anyone else.But I noticed.For the first time since coming to Grimhalden, I could walk into the dining hall without wondering whether someone was watching me. I could sit through a lecture without expecting something terrible to interrupt it. I could complain about an exam like everyone else.It felt strangely normal. And I liked it.Especially when Lila was around. She had a way of making ordinary things feel important. That afternoon, we were sitting on the floor of our dormitory with our books scattered between us.Lila was supposed to be studying. Instead, she was braiding a piece of my hair.“You're pulling too hard.”“Beauty requires sacrifice.”“This is not beauty.”She laughed.I reached behind me and touched the braid. It was uneven, very uneven.“Lila.”“What?” she exclaimed.“What did you do?”She leaned around to look. Her face fell.“Oh.”I t

Adrian.Adrian woke before dawn. The room was silent. At this moment the academy hadn't begun stirring yet. He sat on the edge of his bed with a black envelope in his hand.It had slipped beneath his door sometime during the night. He stared and the envelope like he knew what was there but clueless. There wasn't a name, a seal or a signature.He already knew who it was from. He opened it. There were only a few words inside.“The girl continues to awaken.”His jaw tightened. He read the next line, with a lot of curiosity.“You were given a purpose. Do not forget it.”Adrian stared at the paper. For several seconds, he didn't move. Then he folded it once and the paper disappeared into his fist.A knock sounded. He looked up.Kael stood outside the doorway.“You received it.”Adrian said nothing. Kael's eyes dropped briefly to his hand.“You know what you're expected to do.”Adrian's expression hardened.“I know.”Kael waited. Adrian looked toward the window. Beyond it, the first light w

The academy settled into its usual rhythm after the examinations. Students complained about their scores. Professors complained about students. House captains complained about everyone.And somehow, life went on.I had discovered that Grimhalden was much easier to enjoy when I wasn't constantly waiting for something terrible to happen.There were still strange things I couldn't explain. There were still questions I wanted answered. But for a few days, I allowed myself to be distracted.Especially by Adrian, not intentionally. At least, that was what I told myself.It started in the library.I arrived late.Most of the long tables were already occupied, and I stood near the entrance with three books balanced against my chest, scanning the room.Then I spotted an empty chair. Beside Adrian. I hesitated. He looked up from his book, our eyes met.Adrian moved his bag from the chair beside him.“You can sit.”I raised an eyebrow.“Were you saving it?” I asked.“No.”“You moved your bag.”

The first exam arrived sooner than I expected. Exams in Grimhalden are always different from my past school. I didn't get the perfect grades last term. A lot of the exams required different abilities that I couldn't even align with. The feeling of having better grades gripped me. That I want to give my all to the examination.Written theory in the morning, then combat in the afternoon.By lunchtime, half the academy looked exhausted.I sat beneath one of the courtyard trees, staring at my exam paper. I had done well. Not perfectly, but well.Cassian dropped onto the grass beside me.“How many did you answer?” he asked.“All of them.”His eyebrows lifted.“That was ambitious.”“You left some blank.” I asked.“I prefer intellectual honesty,” he said.“You mean you didn't know them?” I asked. “I prefer intellectual honesty,” he added.I laughed.Across the courtyard, Selene was arguing with another student about one of the questions.Maeve was eating. Of course.And Adrian was leaning

The next morning, Grimhalden felt strangely ordinary.No strange letters. No whispers from the forest. No instructors dragging students into emergency meetings. No one is screaming about missing records or ancient photographs.Just students.Hundreds of them move through the stone corridors with half-buttoned uniforms, books tucked under their arms, and sleep still clinging to their faces.For once, Nira was one of them.She stood outside the lecture hall with a book pressed against her chest, watching two second-years argue over something that apparently mattered very deeply.“You copied my answer.”“I didn't.”“You literally wrote the same thing.”“Because it was the correct answer.”“That doesn't make it less suspicious.”Nira bit back a smile. Maeve appeared beside her, chewing something.Nira glanced at her.“Is that breakfast?”Maeve swallowed.“Technically.”“What does technically mean?”“It means I found it.” Meave replied.Nira stared at her.Maeve shrugged.“Food shouldn't b