LOGINLila’s POV Joan’s room felt smaller than it should have and when she finally got up, her chair scraped against the floor, which made my teeth ache. And as if she had seen something that I had not, she spoke. “We need to go back to your room,” she said. Her voice came out low but it was steady. “Now.” The lower part of my stomach twisted. “Back to my room? With Jeile possibly there?” “That’s exactly why we need to go there.” Joan was already gathering things from her desk drawer, I did not know what they were but they looked like what she'd use for the ritual. “If she’s an amber witch, there will be traces in the room, residues. The ritual needs to be performed where she lives, where her energy saturates the space.” I placed my palm against my chest, trying to calm my heart hammering on my ribs. “What kind of ritual? I thought you said we needed to test her first.” “Yes I said that, but something came up and we need to move fast. And as for the kind of ritual it is called a
I walked into class that morning with my decision fixed like a stone in my chest, the goal was to find Joan, and get answers. If it means I had to search every hallway and knock on every hostel door, I would. The question about Jeile’s sudden change had been buzzing under my skin all night; it wouldn’t leave me alone.I didn’t need to look far. Joan sat where she always did, the corner of the lecture hall that felt like a small island to her. She had her notebook open, dark curls tucked neatly behind one ear. Seeing her there felt like finding a familiar landmark in a strange town; relief warmed through me so quickly my knees felt a little unsteady.I dropped into the seat beside her before anyone could, leaning in close. “Joan,” I whispered. My voice felt too loud in the quiet row. She looked up, and the easy smile I’d come to recognize softened into something like concern the moment she saw me.“You look like you didn’t sleep,” she said, but she didn’t sound amused.I leaned closer
I woke up that morning with one thing on my mind, Joan. The question about Jeile had been burning in my chest since last night, nagging at me with every breath. If anyone could give me answers, it was definitely going to be Joan.The moment I stepped into the classroom, my eyes scanned every corner, searching for her familiar face. I had pictured her sitting there with her books neatly stacked, maybe giving me that easy smile she always wore whenever she caught me staring too hard at the board. But her seat was empty.I told myself she was just running late. People got delayed all the time. So I waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Still no sign of her. By the time the teacher walked in and started the lesson, chalk scratching loudly against the board, I knew she wasn’t coming.My heart sank with disappointment, heavy and cold, but there was nothing I could do. So I forced myself to focus on the class, though every word the lecturer said drifted past me cause I was very distracted. My p
“I am a witch,” Joan said, her was voice calm, but her eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made me freeze on the sit.For a second, I honestly thought I had misheard her. Maybe she’d said something else, and my mind had twisted the words. But no, her face, and the way she sat there so confidently, told me she had said exactly what I thought she did.I blinked at her. “You’re… what?”“A witch,” she repeated, slower this time. “That’s how I knew what you were the first day your uncle Marcus brought you here.”My throat tightened. What I was? I wanted to ask, but the words caught somewhere between disbelief and fear.Joan leaned forward a little, her elbows still resting on the table. Her expression softened now, like she could already see the panic rising in my eyes. “You carry your wolf scent strongly, Lila. To the average person, it would probably go unnoticed. But to me? It was impossible to miss.”I stared at her, heartbeat thundering in my ears. “But… if you knew… why didn
I woke earlier than I had in weeks. My eyes opened before the sun had fully risen, and for the first time since coming into this world, my sleep had been dreamless, deep, and steady. No memories chasing me, no shadows clawing at my mind. Just peace.I didn’t even bother to bathe or brush my hair. My body moved before my mind could second-guess, tugging on yesterday’s clothes as if the urgency inside me had been waiting all along. Today was different. Today, I wasn’t just pretending to be human or fumbling through a wolf’s destiny. Today, I was going to learn.“Eryndra,” I whispered, sitting cross-legged on the bed, my bare toes curling against the cool floor. “Teach me. Please. I don’t want to wait anymore.”Her presence stirred. So eager, little one? she teased, though her voice carried no mockery.“Yes,” I breathed. “I don’t want to keep waiting. I want to learn how to use what you’ve told me I have. I want to control it.”There was a pause, long enough for me to wonder if she would
Marcus called it off for the day so I stood up from the floor where I had been crying, my legs trembled a little, it was not from exhaustion, but from the power that had just spilled out of me. I looked at the cracked floor under our feet still and it reminded me of what I’d done.“That’s enough for today,” Marcus said firmly, his hand resting briefly on my shoulder. “Go inside. We’ll talk.”I followed him back into the house, my nerves were fuzzy. He set a glass of water in front of me at the table, and was watching me until I took a sip. His gaze was steady, sharp, but not it wasn't unkind.“So,” he began, leaning back in his chair, “you want to tell me what’s going on at school? Because that,” he gestured vaguely toward the field, “didn’t come out of nowhere. You don’t just fight like that without something fueling it and then, you burst into tears.”I hesitated, and my fingers were tightening around the glass. Part of me wanted to brush it off, pretend I was fine. But Marcus had