LOGINThe afternoon heat on the training grounds was brutal, but the lane markers were busy. Eli stood near the edge of the track, running a pencil down the roster sheets pinned to a wooden clipboard, cross-checking the names of the Bee Hive athletes with the stamped dinner tokens. Near the hurdles, Noah finished his final sprint interval, his chest rising and falling heavily as he walked off the lactic acid, his shirt damp with sweat.Cassian was sitting right on the track benches, his long legs stretched out in front of him, fully visible to everyone practicing on the far side of the field.Noah walked over, grabbing his plastic water bottle from the grass, and wiped his face with the hem of his shirt before looking down at him. "You actually showed up.”"I told you I would," Cassian said, a small, easy smirk playing on his lips as he leaned his elbows back against the bench support. "I don't break promises when the stakes are that high."Noah let out a short breath, taking a swig of wa
The 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
Noah took the stairs two at a time, his breath rattling in his throat, the rubber soles of his trainers squeaking sharply against the cold floor. He knew exactly where he was going. He needed Cassian, which meant walking back into the room Cassian shared with Lucien. The corridor here was differe
The Council’s private archive room smelled likeb old floor wax. The room sat at the very top of the Western Wing, far away from the noisy common areas where the rest of the student body lived.Eli stood by the tall, narrow window, his hands tucked deep into the sleeves of Lucien’s blue cashmere sw
The blue cashmere sweater Lucien had pulled from his wardrobe smelled faintly of cedar.It swallowed Eli completely, the soft hem brushing his mid-thigh and the long sleeves falling well past his knuckles.“You’re swimming in it,” Lucien said, a rare, light chuckle escaping him as he watched Eli ro
The guest room door didn’t make a sound when it opened.Eli was already half-awake, his internal clock tuned to the early morning track routines, when the mattress dipped. A cold hand slipped under the heavy duvet, finding his waist, and Eli didn’t flinch. He knew the feel of that grip.“Lucien,”







