MasukEllie POVDominic stepped into our space with ease. He was smiling, the air changed immediately, the way it does when a predator enters a room and everyone pretends they don’t notice.I couldn’t help but shrink as his hand closed over mine, as if he could feel the tremor running through my fingers.
Lucas’s jaw tightened at the last word, and for a moment something in his expression flickered—almost softness, almost regret.Then it was gone.He nodded once, slow.“Yeah, well,” he said. “You never really needed it, so don’t worry about it. You’re exactly where you want to be, right?”My fists cu
Ellie POVThe first time I laughed, it surprised me.It slipped out before I could catch it, bright, totally unguarded, and the sound felt unfamiliar in my own throat, as if my body had forgotten how to make it without flinching afterward.For a second I expected the room to turn sharp again, for so
Ellie POVMy mother rushed past me like I wasn’t even there.For a moment, I just stood frozen, watching the hem of her deep purple gown sweep across the floor as she dropped to her knees beside Vivian, her white-gloved hands hovering helplessly over Vivian’s cheek, which was already swelling an ugl
He didn’t speak.He just stood there, staring at me with an expression I couldn’t fully name, something wounded and furious and heartbreakingly human all at once. His fingers twitched at his sides, curling and uncurling like he wanted to reach for me and didn’t trust himself to try.I felt this shar
Ellie POVYou know, I expected this.Even after everything Dominic had done these past few weeks, after the contract and the quiet promises and the way he had looked at me lately as if this arrangement was something fragile and real instead of something written in ink and obligation, a part of me ha
Ellie POV The library was so quiet I could hear my own pulse.I snapped my book shut and exhaled, rubbing the bridge of my nose. My brain felt like it had been wrung out, but at least I’d managed to cram another hour of studying in before the Healer Academy’s entrance exam.One more week.One more
Dominic.And he looks… awful. Exhausted in a way that doesn’t fit him at all. His hair is tousled like he’d been dragging his hands through it, and for once, he isn’t holding court like the center of the universe.Marcus and Tyler just walking up, waving an uneasy hello. My feet move back instinc
The place is packed, shoulder-to-shoulder bodies, dim lights pulsing in time with the bass, laughter mixing with the sugary smell of spiked drinks. Someone’s already spilled something sticky on my shoe. People are dancing, shouting, flirting, practically climbing the walls.And Vivian has been glued
Ellie POVStudents had slowly crowded around the outdoor platform, buzzing like bees on caffeine. Teachers stood stiffly at the front, clipboards ready, trying to look official despite the chaos. This was tradition, acceptance announcements delivered publicly, like some dramatic talent show reveal







