Alana's perspective
I slowly stepped into the warm, steaming water of the bath, letting the liquid heat seep into my aching muscles.
The towel slipped from my porcelain shoulders, falling silently onto the polished stone floor. As I sank lower, the water lapping gently against my collarbones, I let my thoughts run wild.
I still vividly remembered the day Justin arrived at the academy. From the moment he stepped onto the grounds, he had been an anomaly a puzzle I couldn't solve. I had initially assumed he was just another dragon, like the many arrogant ones we had encountered before, but something was… off.
His scent, his aurait didn't match the heavy, overbearing heat of the dragons. It was subtle, yet possessed an unmistakable, dormant power. If he wasn't a dragon, he had to be a demon.
Yet even that didn't fit perfectly. He existed in some strange, shadowed in-between that intrigued me.
I had watched him closely during the entrance exams, half-expecting him to explode with power and become an elite capable of leading us against the Dragon Lord's tyranny.
But he hadn't. In every measurable skill, he was… painfully average.
Magic, combat, swordsmanship he had faded into the background. And yet, there was a magnetism to him, something that drew my gaze despite his lack of results.
My agreement to his "confession" had been purely tactical.
Darius had been relentless, and I couldn't risk his predatory dragon claws coming anywhere near the Valerius legacy.
Choosing Justin an average student with no ambition beyond surviving the day meant I could manipulate the situation, keep Darius at bay, and remain in control.
But… as I sat in the swirling steam, a sharp twinge of guilt pricked at my heart.
Pretending to be in this relationship it should have been a torment for him. And yet, he didn't seem to care at all.
He was stubborn, fiercely independent, and completely unbothered by my schemes. Unlike the others who bent to my status as President, he followed his own erratic path. Somehow, that nonchalance was starting to fascinate me.
Why am I getting so flustered over a mere demon?
"Get yourself together, Alana," I muttered, slapping my cheeks lightly. The sound echoed softly off the tiled walls.
But even as I scolded myself, I felt the ever-growing pressure inside. My chest throbbed with a dull ache that made me wince. I knew the dangerI was a ticking time bomb of unstable magical energy.
One day, I might lose control completely.
I rose from the bath, water cascading down my legs in silver droplets, and wrapped myself in a comfortable, silk robe.
I dried my hair with a towel, trying to shake the lingering tension from my frame.
As I stepped back into the bedroom, I saw Justin already sprawled on the bed, seemingly lost in sleep. My heart twistedhe looked so exhausted, completely unaware of the storm raging in my mind.
I slipped into the bed beside him, facing away to maintain my distance. But curiosity is a persistent flame.
As I felt him move, a soft, crimson glow emanated from his side of the bed. My heart hammered against my ribs; what was he doing? I turned to look, but before I could catch a clear glimpse, he was gone the window stood wide open, and the cold night air was dancing through the curtains.
I bit my lip, deeply conflicted. What is he up to? Should I even care? A part of me screamed to follow him, to peel back the layers of the act he so carefully maintained. But the rational side of me, the Valerius heir, urged caution. No, Alana.
Don't trouble yourself. You are only using him to reach your goal. Just sleep.
I laid back, pulling the covers tight against my chest. Outside, the moonlight cast pale streaks across the floor, illuminating the spot where that strange red glow had just been.
I couldn't shake the questions gnawing at my soul: What did he see in me? What was he planning? And why, against every logic I possessed, did my heart feel so restless in his presence? Was it his defiant attitude? Or the way he had tried to provoke me at school, as if testing my limits?
The waters of my thoughts stilled only slightly, but the tension remained, taut like a bowstring about to snap. Outside, the castle was calm. Inside, I was anything but.