LOGINThe heavy wooden door of the northern wing dorm clicked shut, and Mira threw her bag onto the unmade bed. She moved straight to the desk, flipping open her silver laptop before she even took off her jacket. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, bypassing the student council portals and opening an encrypted secondary partition she kept hidden behind the finance database. She wasn't just sitting back while Lucien and Cassian ran around the library annex. She had been tracking the digital footprint of the server requests from the last forty-eight hours, and something wasn't matching up with the official administration logs. Her screen blinked, showing the local registry for the winter term archives. One name kept sticking out in the access history, a sequence of late-night logins that didn't align with any standard student schedule. Raphael. Mira leaned back slightly, her eyes fixed on his digital profile. He had always seemed slightly off, his posture a little too displaced during t
"You play good cop, I play bad cop," Cassian said as they approached the Bird’s nest common room. He didn't slow his pace, his hands shoved deep into his pockets while his green eyes scanned the end of the hallway. "We’re both playing what we gotta play, we need that information, we need to find Jason," Lucien replied with a hardened look on his face. His fingers were clenched into fists at his sides, his shoulders completely rigid under his tailored jacket. "Don’t show all your anger on your face, tiger. It’s Mira Solene, the girl is a badass mind reader," Cassian said, throwing a brief, warning glance toward his friend. Lucien hummed a stiff response, his jaw locking tight as he forced his features back into that cold, unreadable mask. They both walked into the common room, the wide space scattered with low couches and study tables. It took Cassian less than a second to spot Mira sitting alone by the corner window, a sleek silver laptop open on the dark wood in front of he
The office door clicked shut behind Adrian, leaving a heavy, ringing quiet in the small space.Lucien’s hand finally loosened around Eli’s wrist, his fingers dropping away slowly until his arm fell to his side. He didn't look at Eli right away. He walked back toward the cedarwood desk, his boots heavy against the floorboards, and sat down in the high-backed leather chair, staring at the closed folder Adrian had left behind.Eli didn't move from the door. He stood with his back against the wood, holding the manila roster sheets tightly against his chest, his eyes fixed on the sharp line of Lucien’s jaw."So that's what the text was about last night," Eli said, his voice quiet but direct.Lucien rested his elbows on the desk, pressing his palms together and lowering his chin against his knuckles. He didn't deny it. "Adrian found the blind spot we couldn't clear. The family used the chalet to keep Jason out of the way before the board could open a formal inquiry into the campus account
Eli sat on the edge of the cedarwood table, his breath still a little uneven, his fingers resting against Lucien's shoulders. Lucien stood right between his legs, his hands firmly anchoring Eli's waist, his green eyes looking directly at him.A sudden, sharp knock cut through the room.Eli jolted, his pulse racing as he tried to slide off the table immediately to straighten his clothes. "Lucien, stop"Lucien didn't let him go but he let him stand and Instead of pulling away, he caught Eli by the waist, spun him around smoothly, and pulled him flush against his chest. Eli’s back pressed flat against Lucien’s front, the solid heat of him grounding them both. Lucien buried his face directly into the curve of Eli’s neck, his lips pressing a slow, deliberate kiss against the sensitive skin right under his ear while his arms locked tightly around Eli's middle."Come in," Lucien called out, his voice perfectly level, completely contrasting the way his hands were holding Eli captive.The
Noah was leaning his back against a stack of gym mats, his training jacket unzipped to the waist as he unlaced his running flats. He heard the door creak open before he saw who it was, the sudden bright wedge of daylight cutting across the dusty floorboards before the wood clicked shut again.Cassian stood against the door, his hands tucked loosely into the pockets of his dark trousers. He looked exactly like he always did hair slightly messy, his school collar undone at the throat, and an unbothered, lazy tilt to his chin that usually drove the track team crazy."The sprinters are looking for you," Cassian said, his voice low and scraping in the quiet shed. "Something about the afternoon relay order.""They know where I am," Noah said without looking up, tugging the damp sock off his left foot. "And you don't care about the relay order.""I don't," Cassian agreed. He took three slow, heavy steps forward, his boots thudding against the dirt-streaked wood until he was standing direct
It was barely eight in the morning, and the hallway outside was completely quiet, save for the distant sound of a janitor pushing a mop down the corridor.Noah dropped a thick manila folder onto the metal desk, the metal brackets scraping loudly against the scratched paint.“That’s the full roster for the relay group. If you don't get the secretary to stamp this before the first bell, the guys aren't getting their meal cards for the weekend practice."Eli sat in the squeaky office chair, his chin resting in his hand as he stared at the messy stack of sign-up sheets. He looked exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes showing exactly how little he’d slept after the chaos in the main hall the night before. "I don't even know where the stamp is, Noah. The athletic director didn't leave a ledger or anything. He just told me the council handled the keys now.""Then go find Lucien," Noah said simply, leaning his hips against the edge of the desk and crossing his arms. He had his trainin
The Lion’s Den bus arrived at half past ten and Eli was on the lake path when he heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway he didn’t turn around immediately because he was looking at the lake and the water was doing something interesting with the morning light that he wanted to finish lookin
The morning of the Westhaven trip, Saint Aurelius felt like a different place entirely.Everywhere was the same but the energy was completely different, every student was about to leave simultaneously, bags were in corridors that were usually just for walking, than usual, the campus was replaced wi
The Hargreaves article dropped at seven in the evening and by nine the next morning, Saint Aurelius had completely forgotten that Lucien Vale and Eli Thorne existed.Eli read it over breakfast, and Noah sat beside him doing the same.“How does she do this?” Noah said when he finished.“Mira Solene?
Eli came back on a Tuesday morning, he dropped his bag on his bed, changed out of his travel clothes, laced up his shoes, and walked out of the Bee’s Hive into the Saint Aurelius morning as he’d never left. Noah looked up from his desk when Eli walked back in from his first lap of the campus.“You







