Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Karis POV

I was still enthralled by his presence when I felt my body hit the floor.

The intruder had suddenly jerked off his hand and I fell, knocking the air out of my lungs as I struggled to process what had just happened.

"Who are you?" I asked him as I stared at him, forcing my expression to harden, ignoring the way I had just been looking at him moments ago.

You're a boy now, Karis. I reminded myself. A boy just like him. There was no way I could fall for my fellow boy or even be staring at one the way I had been staring at this one.

I was supposed to dominate and prove that I was strong and fearless. I kept reminding myself, clinging to that thought like armor.

"Pack the remaining things of yours in the room and leave. I do not need a roommate," he suddenly said, his voice calm but commanding, like someone who was used to being obeyed without question.

I was shocked and speechless for a while as I stood motionless, staring at him, my mind struggling to catch up with his words.

Then I glanced out the door to the two boxes of mine which he had thrown out.

"Excuse you?" I snapped, my voice rising despite myself as I stared at him without shifting my gaze.

"Just who do you think you are to walk into my room, throw my things out and then ask me to leave?" I snapped again, the anger building rapidly inside me.

I was getting incited as the scenario was so familiar, painfully familiar to what I had passed through back in my father's pack.

Then, Carissa would take things belonging to me with her mother's aid, and whenever I complained to my father, he would have me punished instead and even take more things from me that she cried about wanting.

"Get out!" came a sharp command, and for a moment, everything blurred as I was dragged back into those memories.

"Get out!" the voice came again, louder this time but I was snapped back to reality by a piece of clothing that landed on my face.

I froze.

Slowly, I pulled it down and raised my head, only to find that it was the same intruder who had thrown a shirt at me, his expression unreadable and almost bored.

"Get out?" I scoffed, the word laced with disbelief and defiance.

"This room belongs to me and not you!" I snapped back, though a part of me was already beginning to fear the possibility that he might be a roommate sent to stay with me.

I couldn't afford that.

When I came to Lunaris, I was late, and thus the reason why I had been sent to this room alone.

It was meant for a caretaker of the academy who had resigned previously. I couldn't be squeezed into other rooms with other students as there was no space, and I had thought it was a miracle being alone, as it would conceal my secret.

But right now, this wasn’t what I had bargained for.

"I'm not going anywhere because this room belongs to me!" I added, standing my ground despite the unease creeping into my chest.

"I bought this room for more than ten thousand tales of gold. How much did you pay for it for it to belong to you?" he asked, his tone calm and almost indifferent, but the weight of his words hit far heavier than any shout.

I went still.

Speechless once more on hearing that huge amount of money.

Ten thousand tales of gold, the number alone made my chest tighten.

I had only bought the scholarship form with what I had managed to gather before running away, and after that, I was accepted under the academy’s waiver.

I paid for nothing else.

This boy and whomever he was wasn’t someone I could argue with. From all indications, I thought as I stared at him from head to toe, he looked like one of the leaders of Lunaris Academy.

Amongst those who had both status and strength, those who were worshipped because they were the demi-gods of Lunaris.

I turned towards the door, ready to leave.

I couldn’t keep on staying here, not with someone like him who looked like a born bully. His muscles were so defined and intimidating, that I knew if he ever wanted to bully me, crushing my head between his arms would be so easy and effortless.

I needed to get to the management and plead with them to change my roommate or better still, to move me into another room that was just as the old one I had been given.

"I'm sorry, Kane. That is the only room left free," a voice told me, and I heaved, my shoulders slumping as disappointment settled heavily in my chest.

"Is there no other thing you could do, sir? I really need a new roommate, even if that is it," I added, my voice quieter now as I stared at Mr. Draven, the one in charge of dorm rooms for students.

He nodded in the negative.

Perhaps my reasons for coming here were going to be useless, I told myself, the hope I had clung to slowly slipping away.

"What if you were to exchange me to another room?" I mustered up the courage and asked, desperation creeping into my tone despite my efforts to hide it.

"There's another new student who will be joining the academy today. Perhaps if Tristan agrees, I'll have the both of them exchanged," he replied.

"Tristan…" I whispered to myself, only now learning the name of the rude and ill-mannered boy I had met earlier.

I still wanted to ask who this new student was, but when I saw Lady Cathe walking towards Mr. Draven, I immediately bowed before him and turned to leave.

I couldn’t afford to bump into her again, not when she was always around Mr. Draven. I didn’t know what she had found out about me that made her suspicious earlier, but I couldn’t risk giving her another chance to figure it out.

I hadn’t gone far from the door when I saw another familiar figure walking into the school hallway, dragging along some luggage in his hand.

My steps faltered as well as did my breath get caught.

"Dante?"

I called out before I could stop myself, my voice barely above a whisper as realization crashed into me.

He was the new student.

The one I had just asked to be switched with Tristan.

Panic surged through me instantly.

Without thinking, I rushed back into the office I had just stepped out from, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. First, to hide from him and next, to inform Mr. Draven about my sudden change in decision.

Because as it stood now, being in the same room as Tristan suddenly sounded far more reasonable.

I could contain his rudeness. I could endure his arrogance.

But Dante?

Being in the same room with him was impossible.

Because if he found out who I truly was, then everything I had risked would come crashing down in an instant.