MasukTHALIA’S POVThe tension in the room didn’t disappear when I spoke. It shifted subtly and sharply. Like something had been interrupted before it could turn into something worse.Caleb stepped back first. Not far, just enough to create space, but I noticed the way his shoulders remained tight, his posture still coiled like he hadn’t completely let go of whatever had been building between them.Ragnar didn’t move immediately. His gaze stayed locked on Caleb for a second longer than necessary before he finally looked away.Only then did the air feel breathable again. The tension eased but still lingered between them. “What’s going on?” I repeated, slower this time, my eyes moving between them.Caleb answered first. “It’s nothing,” he said, too quickly. That alone told me it wasn’t nothing.I raised a brow slightly. “It didn’t look like it was nothing.”His jaw tightened just a fraction before he exhaled quietly. “He wanted to fight me.”My gaze shifted to Ragnar immediately. I didn’t say
THALIA’S POVThe garden was quieter than the rest of the academy, and that was exactly why I chose it.Silence made it easier to think. Or at least, it should have.I moved slowly along the stone path, my hands clasped loosely behind me, my gaze unfocused as my thoughts circled back to the same place they had been stuck since yesterday.The book. Everything led back to it. To what I had seen. To what it meant. Valdren had known. That truth sat heavier now than it had before, pressing down on every other thought until it became impossible to ignore. My name had been written where Lucian’s should have been. Not scratched in recently. Not added as an afterthought. It had been deliberate, careful and intentional.He had known I wasn’t Lucian. And yet, he had said nothing. I stopped walking. Because that was the part that didn’t make sense. If he had discovered the truth, why keep it hidden? Why allow me to remain here, moving freely, pretending to be someone else? Valdren wasn’t careles
RAGNAR’S POVI didn’t go after her.Even when every instinct pushed me to, I stayed where I was, my body rooted to the ground as I watched her walk away without looking back. The distance she put between us felt deliberate and final, in a way that didn’t sit right with me.My jaw tightened. Because this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Not after the ritual. Not after everything that should have tied us together instead of pulling us apart.Instead, she avoided me. And somehow, Caleb stood where I was supposed to be. She was so close to him and I knew without a doubt that something was going on. My gaze shifted across the field, locking onto him instantly. He was already looking at me.There was no hesitation in his gaze. No attempt to hide it. He held my gaze like he had a right to, like he understood something I didn’t.That alone was enough to set something off in my chest.The anger didn’t come slowly. It hit fast and sharp, cutting through whatever restraint I had left. Just the
THALIA’S POVBeing separated from Caleb felt wrong the moment it happened.It wasn’t something I showed. I kept my expression neutral as I moved toward my assigned group, blending in with the others as if nothing had changed. But underneath that, something sat uneasily in my chest, like a thread had been pulled too tight between us.I ignored it. I had more important things to think about.The group gathered quickly, voices overlapping as they debated what kind of drills to run. Some suggested weapons training, others argued for strategy-based exercises, but eventually, the decision settled on something simpler.Hand-to-hand combat. No weapons. No magic. Just raw skill. That alone was enough to make something in me tighten.Because skill was the one thing I didn’t have.I lowered myself onto the edge of the field, watching as the others began pairing up, stretching, preparing like this was normal for them. Like they had done this a hundred times before.I hadn’t. Not like this.My st
CALEB'S POVI recognized her then. The same girl from earlier. The one Thalia had helped. “What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice low but edged with suspicion.She shrugged lightly. “Fixing your mistake.”My jaw tightened. “What mistake?”“The one you made by not checking if anyone followed you,” she replied simply. That landed harder than I expected. Because she was right.I stepped aside, letting her in just enough before closing the door behind her again. “Why help us?”Her gaze shifted briefly to Thalia before returning to me. “Because I was curious.”“That’s not a reason.”“It is for me.” I didn’t trust that answer. But I didn’t have time to question it.“The guards won’t stay distracted for long,” she added. “If you’re leaving, do it now.”Thalia looked at her for a while before she muttered, “Thank you,” in a deep voice, still mimicking Lucien. The girl nodded and then stepped aside. That was all we needed. We moved quickly till we were far enough from the administrative
CALEB’S POVWhen I had suggested we check the Headmaster’s office, the plan had been simple: enter quickly, find what we were looking for and leave immediately. It was a risk I was willing to take. I didn't want any unnecessary attention. I had been certain of one thing: Valdren would be occupied long enough for us to get what we needed and leave.I didn't think he would return earlier than planned.Now, pressed into the dark with Thalia barely a breath away from me, I realized just how quickly our plan could unravel.Ryker Norales moved through the room with a calm that didn’t belong to someone capable of the things we had seen. There was no rush in his steps, no hesitation. He carried himself like someone who owned not just the office, but everything beyond it.And he was walking straight toward us.Thalia’s heartbeat betrayed her before anything else did. It was fast—too fast. I could feel it through the small space between us, and hear it in the silence that had suddenly grown to







