Chapter 8 - The Aura

The calm of the forbidden garden stayed with me longer than I expected. Even the next morning, I could still remember the silence beneath the silver tree and the strange warmth that had spread through my amulet. For a few minutes, I had felt as though Wolf Academy had stopped rejecting me.

Then I stepped into the main courtyard. And nearly lost half my architecture project to the wind.

“No, no, no—”

A sharp gust tore three large sheets from beneath my arm. One slapped against the fountain. Another slid across the stone path. The third lifted into the air and sailed directly toward a group of students. I chased after them, trying to keep hold of the remaining papers without tripping over my own feet. The first drawing landed near Rafael. He was standing beside Nik, dressed in dark trousers and a fitted black shirt with the sleeves folded to his forearms. He caught the sheet before it touched the wet ground. At almost the same moment, Matteo stepped on the second page before the wind could carry it farther. Of course. Out of five hundred students, my work had somehow chosen the two most complicated men on campus.

“Thank you,” I called, hurrying toward them.

Neither answered. Rafael was studying my drawing. Matteo picked up the page beneath his shoe and examined it with the same confidence he brought to everything else.

“A pavilion?” he asked.

“For architecture.”

“You should have chosen a stronger entrance.”

I frowned. “You’ve looked at it for three seconds.”

“That was enough.”

Rafael lifted his gaze.

“It’s unfinished.”

Matteo glanced at him. “I know.”

“Then judging it now would be pointless.”

Matteo’s mouth curved.

“Did I ask for your opinion, Valerian?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Rafael held my drawing carefully by the edges.

“You placed the main arch too close to the support wall,” he said to me, ignoring Matteo completely.

“I know. I was going to change it.”

“I like the asymmetry.”

That surprised me.

“You do?”

“It makes the structure feel less controlled.”

Matteo laughed.

“Of course you’d admire something because it looks less like you.”

Rafael finally looked at him. The change was small. His posture remained relaxed. His expression stayed calm. But the warmth disappeared from his golden eyes. Nik muttered something beneath his breath. Don stood behind Matteo with his arms folded, watching the exchange as if he had been waiting for it. Matteo lifted my second drawing.

“This one is better.”

Rafael’s gaze moved to the paper in his hand.

“You’re holding it upside down.”

Several students nearby laughed. Matteo looked at the drawing, then turned it slowly.

“I was testing the composition.”

“Of course you were,” Nik said.

Don shot him a warning look. I stepped closer.

“Can I have my work back before one of you decides to redesign it?”

Matteo looked at me instead of answering.

“You should let me help.”

“I already have a partner.”

His eyes flicked toward Rafael.

“That can be fixed.”

“No,” Rafael said.

Matteo smiled.

“I wasn’t speaking to you.”

“You were speaking about me.”

“And yet you still weren’t invited into the conversation.”

Something shifted between them. At first, I thought it was only tension. Then the entire courtyard changed. The conversations around us died one after another. A girl near the fountain went completely still. Someone behind me dropped a cup. The sound of it hitting the stones seemed unnaturally loud. Rafael and Matteo stood only a few feet apart now. Neither raised his voice. Neither moved. Yet the air became heavy enough that I instinctively took a deeper breath. Students began backing away. One boy lowered his head. Another gripped the edge of a bench, his knuckles turning white. A girl beside him suddenly dropped to one knee.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Nik’s jaw tightened.

“Neither of them is backing down.”

“That doesn’t explain why everyone looks sick.”

He looked at me sharply.

Before he could answer, another invisible wave seemed to roll across the courtyard. Several students bent forward as though something had struck them. A younger boy sank to both knees. Near the path, a wolf that had been lying in the sun flattened its ears and tucked its tail beneath its body. Another wolf whimpered. I stared around the courtyard.

“What is wrong with everyone?”

Don’s expression changed when he looked at me. Not amusement. Confusion. Nik was staring too.

“Violet,” he said slowly, “don’t move.”

That was enough to irritate me.

“Why?”

“Just stay where you are.”

Unfortunately, both men were still holding my drawings. And I was already late. I walked toward them. Nik reached for my arm, then stopped before touching me.

“Violet.”

Neither Rafael nor Matteo looked away from each other. The pressure in the air grew stronger. I felt nothing except annoyance.

“Seriously?”

I stepped between them. The reaction was immediate. Someone gasped. Don swore. Rafael’s golden eyes snapped toward me. Matteo’s dark gaze followed. For the first time, both looked genuinely startled. I took the drawing from Rafael’s hand.

“Thank you.”

Then I pulled the second page from Matteo’s fingers.

“And thank you.”

Neither tried to stop me. I straightened the papers against my arm.

"You can continue whatever this is after I leave."

The courtyard remained silent. Every student was staring at me. I looked from one face to another.

"What?"

Another long silence. I sighed.

"I don't have time for this."

Without waiting for an answer, I turned and walked away. I shook my head and walked toward the architecture hall. Behind me, the strange pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. Students began breathing normally again. The wolves slowly lifted their heads. I had nearly reached the archway when Nik’s voice carried across the courtyard.

“She walked straight through both of your auras.”

I slowed. Don answered, his voice lower.

“She didn’t even notice them.”

I turned. Nik and Don were staring at me. So were Rafael and Matteo. Neither man looked angry anymore. They looked at me as though I had just done something impossible and for the first time since arriving at Wolf Academy, I wondered whether everyone else could see something in me that I could not.