Chapter Twenty Seven

The scent of herbs and disinfectant woke her.

A ceiling spun above her.

She was lying in a cot. Her ribs burned. Her left eye throbbed with swelling. And her entire body felt like someone had folded it wrong and left it in a drawer.

She looked and saw the blue-eyed boy standing there.

Panicked, she moved to sit—then groaned and laid back.

Her whole body throbbed with pain and she cried out.

A sharp voice said “Don’t.”

Nurse Ebbely stood nearby, shaking a vial.

“You’re lucky one of your classmates passing the garden saw the boys dragging your bleeding body in the dirt. Do you know how stupid and lazy you are?”

Elowyn wanted to say something clever. Maybe something rude. But her throat tasted like copper and her chest refused words.

She only glanced at Riven, nervously.

The nurse sighed and leaned in.

“They’ve already reported it as ‘aggression during sparring and skipping classes.’ You know how the system works, Froste. You take this quietly or you risk them sniffing further.”

Elowyn blinked. She felt sick.

She wasn’t sure if Nurse Ebbely meant the beating—or her truth.

She hesitantly looked up at that strange male that had saved her again. She licked her lips and gave him a small, unsure smile.

"Cadet Riven."

★★★

★★★

Baron tossed a sword into the sand.

Azpen raised a brow. “You’re not finishing the routine?”

“Something’s off.” Baron said tightly.

He rubbed the side of his face.

“He’s not here.”

“Elyan?”

“Froste.”

Azpen tilted his head.

“He’s probably skipping again. He got pummeled in the mess hall last week.”

“No. It’s not that. I smell blood.”

Azpen’s head whipped to him.

“You… smell blood?”

Baron was quiet for a second too long.

Azpen stepped closer, his voice low.

“Baron… you’ve been picking up his scent everywhere lately. More than normal. What’s going on?”

Baron gritted his teeth.

"I'm allergic to him. Kind of."

Then he walked away.

★★★

★★★

Cadet Truett wiped his knuckles with a leaf, tossing it to the dirt.

They were among other sparring cadets.

“He squealed like a pig,” he muttered, “but didn’t even fight back. What kind of wolf does that?”

The second boy, Yandros, kicked a stone with his heel. “A fake one, that’s what.”

They laughed low and bitter. Not because it was funny, but because that kind of laughter makes guilt easier to swallow.

The third boy—Bowen—wasn’t laughing. His eyes kept flicking toward the academy gates.

“He’s not normal.”

“Who is?” Truett said with a shrug.

“No, I mean not normal-normal. I’ve heard things. Someone said Baron watches him all the time. Azpen too. He's important.”

Yandros scoffed. “Yeah, right. Baron wouldn’t blink if you caught fire in front of him. What would he want with Froste? I don't see Baron giving the imp any attention anyday.”

“I dunno,” Bowen muttered. “But they say he bleeds weird. He—smells different.”

They were quiet.

Just for a moment.

Then Bowen added, “And last week when I smelled him, my head tingled.”

Yandros blinked and scoffed.

“Tingled? What does that mean?”

Bowen looked like he was sharing a costly secret now.

“Like heat. Like a pushback. I felt something strange.”

Truett raised his brows. “You’re soft.”

“No. I’m telling you—he's not just scentless. He is something special. And Baron always treats him nice.”

"Are we in trouble, then?" Chapa said, his eyes flaring with fear but Truett whipped it off.

"Shut up, idiot. What are you even thinking? You're irritating to be honest."

★★★

★★★

Elowyn’s breath hitched and she grunted as the nurse pressed down on her bruised ribs.

“Just hold still, Froste. I need to check for internal bleeding.”

“I’m fine.” Elowyn gritted. "I can deal with this."

“You’re not fine,” Nurse Ebbely snapped. “You have a swollen cheek, possibly two fractured ribs, a bruised lip, and your thigh looks like it met a war hammer. Stop acting like a warrior and let me do my job.”

Elowyn looked away. The sterile scent made her feel like she was floating above her body.

She glanced at Riven Thorney.

“I don’t want to sleep here.” she whispered.

“Then heal faster.”

“No. I want prescriptions. I’ll take the painkillers and healing patches. I’ll change them myself. I don't want to miss classes.”

Nurse Ebbely narrowed her eyes.

“You’re risking something, boy.”

Elowyn flinched.

The nurse tilted her head.

“You stink of pain but keep tensing whenever I touch this places. You aren’t just having bruises.”

Elowyn stayed still.

Too still.

Ebbely finally sighed and stepped away.

“I’ll give you the meds. But if you pass out or drop dead in that room of yours, don’t blame me.”

"I'll take him." Riven suddenly said and the two women looked up at him.