I've fulfilled my promise guys. And I'd love to read your thoughts about it. What do you guys think about this chapter? Who's the mastermind behind the attack of the men in black?
Zane's Point Of View “You’ll pay for that embarrassment.” I said nothing. Not a word. I let the silence hang. And it dragged out, heavy and sour, pressing on the air around us like a storm before lightning splits the sky. She waited. Wanted me to react. Wanted me to give her the satisfaction of snapping, of showing some crack in my composure. But I didn’t. I just stared. Unmoving. Quiet. That quiet was worse than any insult I could’ve thrown back, it twisted her smile just enough for me to see the frustration behind it. Still, her words stayed. They didn’t just vanish into the air. They lingered, crawling under my skin, repeating themselves until they became more than a threat. They became a hook. Miles. Her tone had been too confident, too specific. She wasn’t bluffing. My gut turned cold. What the hell happened to Miles? Caroline’s voice pulled me back. “Zane?” I blinked, turned my head toward her. She was watching me closely, eyes sharp, like she’d caught that flicker of wo
Zane's Point Of View Ronan smirked, said nothing, started the car and drove off. I didn’t say a word either. What was there to say? The silence between us was thick enough to choke on. I stared out the window, jaw set, trying not to let his stupid smirk stick in my head. From then on, things fell into a rhythm.Training. Sparring. Blood, sweat, bruises. Caroline was there every single day, dragging me harder, faster, like she had a personal mission to break me down and then build me back up. She never went easy on me. Honestly, I didn’t want her to. At least with her, there were no games. Just fists, grit, and the burn of muscles screaming for mercy.Ronan… he kept his distance. Apart from picking us up and dropping us off at the academy, he didn’t talk to me. Didn’t try to. Not even a jab, not even a look. Just silence. Which, fine. That’s exactly what I wanted. Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself whenever I caught his stupid profile reflected in the rearview mirror.But t
Zane's Point Of View “Well then, thank you, driver.” The words came out colder than I intended, clipped, like I had to carve them out of stone just to keep from grinding my teeth. Ronan laughed. Not a full laugh, not the kind that bursts out naturally. No, it was that low, controlled one he used when he thought he had me pinned in a corner I hadn’t even realized I’d walked into. “Driver?” he echoed, his grin sharp in the glow of the dashboard lights. I kept my face turned toward the windshield. The night stretched endless outside, the world beyond the hood swallowed in shadows. I didn’t move. I didn’t look at him. If I so much as gave him a glance, he’d see something in my eyes and twist it until I couldn’t breathe. But then it hit me… why the hell hadn’t he started the car yet? The engine idled, soft and steady. The clock on the dash ticked the seconds in my skull. I pressed my tongue against the inside of my cheek, irritation crawling through me. “What?” I snapped finally, n
Zane's Point Of View She smiled, a little softer than usual, and for some reason it eased something inside me. I didn’t want to keep chewing on the Ronan mess, or my uncle, or the shadows of the past. So when she suggested practicing… really practicing, I agreed without hesitation.The training hall was almost empty at that hour, the kind of silence where every footstep bounced back twice as loud. Torches hummed with faint magical energy, throwing shifting light across the polished floor. Caroline tied her hair back, her whole demeanor flipping from casual to sharp in seconds.“Don’t hold back, Zane,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “If you hesitate in the trial, you’ll end up on the ground.”I smirked. “Ground, huh? Don’t get too cocky. I’ve been training with Miles, you’ll be surprised.”Her eyebrow arched. “We’ll see.”The first clash wasn’t clean. I lunged too fast, she sidestepped like I was moving in slow motion, and the flat of her palm tapped my ribs hard enough to sting.“T
Zane's Point Of View I shrugged, but the corner of my mouth lifted. “I don’t have to believe it. It’s obvious. You’ve got nothing to do with that incident, Caroline. Nothing.”Caroline’s eyes softened at my statement.For a second, I thought maybe she didn’t even hear me, but then her lips curved up and her gaze sharpened like she was studying me, weighing me. “Today…” she murmured, the corner of her mouth twitching as if she couldn’t decide whether to grin or smirk, “…I saw a different side of you.”I raised a brow. “A different side?”“Yes. A smarter side.”I slapped a hand over my chest dramatically, half rising from the bench like I’d been shot. “Excuse me? Smarter side? What do you mean? Are you implying I’ve been walking around dumb this entire time?”Caroline broke into laughter, the kind that was too real to fake… quick, unguarded, spilling out of her chest. She even leaned forward, hand covering her mouth like she was trying to stifle it but failing. “Oh, don’t act so offend
Zane's Point Of View Evening fell fast on campus. The sun dipped low, leaving a bruised purple streak across the horizon, and the lamps around the training grounds flickered to life. I stood near one of the benches, fidgeting with my wristband, half-expecting she’d forget or just not show. My chest still ached faintly when I breathed too deep, the injury reminding me it was there, lingering, like a shadow.“Zane.”Her voice cut through the murmurs of students still milling around. I turned, and there she was… Caroline. She walked over with this steady, almost careless confidence, like the night belonged to her.“You came,” I said, sounding stupidly surprised.Her mouth curved in a small smile. “You accepted. That’s the bigger surprise.” She stopped in front of me, eyes flicking over me quickly, sharp, like she was measuring something. “How’s your health?”I straightened up a little, ignoring the sting in my ribs. “Not fully recovered. But it won’t affect the trial.”She tilted her he