The wind tugged gently at Jinx's hoodie as she sat alone on the rooftop, staring out at the quiet morning sky.
Her hand pressed against her chest, where the heat still lingered—faint, but alive.
Something inside her was changing.
"Jinx! JINX!"
Pixie's voice shattered the silence as she burst through the rooftop door, completely out of breath.
Jinx turned quickly. "You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
"Worse," Pixie said, trying to steady her breathing. "I saw Rika… with some creepy cloaked figure. They were talking about you. About killing you. Before the next eclipse."
Jinx stood up slowly, her expression hardening instead of breaking.
"Then I don't have time to waste being scared."
Pixie grabbed her arm. "You should tell Dante."
Jinx looked away slightly, her voice quieter now.
"He probably already knows…"
The old gym echoed with the sound of flames.
Dante stood across from her, one hand raised as a glowing circle of magic spun in the air. Jinx mirrored him, focusing—trying to control the fire building in her palm.
But it grew too fast.
Too strong.
"Jinx, stop—!" Dante warned.
"I can't—!"
The fire burst outward in a violent explosion, throwing both of them back. Smoke filled the air as the wall behind them blackened.
Jinx coughed, pushing herself up weakly. "I told you… it's too strong."
Dante stepped toward her, his expression serious but calm.
"Then we'll make it listen."
Before she could react, he pressed a glowing rune against her chest.
Light flashed.
For a moment, everything slowed.
Jinx blinked, breath catching. "What… was that?"
"A pact rune," Dante said quietly. "I linked my aura to yours. If you lose control…"
He paused.
"I'll burn with you."
Jinx stared at him, her heart pounding.
"You… idiot."
Without thinking, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest.
From the shadows of the courtyard, Rika watched.
Her gaze lingered on them—on the way Dante stood so close, the way he didn't pull away.
Her expression flickered.
"…Why does he always protect her… and not me?"
Later, in the quiet of an abandoned garden, Dante sat alone.
He stared at his palm, where a faint, glowing scar pulsed under his skin.
A voice echoed in his memory.
"The Star Flame… it's meant to destroy our kind."
His hand clenched slowly.
"What happens," he whispered, "when protecting her means ending me?"
That night, Jinx sat on her bed, writing absentmindedly in her notebook.
The door creaked open, and Pixie walked in carrying a pillow.
"Sleepover time," she announced. "You are not dying on me without watching Season 2 of Devilish Romance first."
Jinx laughed softly.
"Can we pretend things are normal? Just for tonight?"
Pixie smiled, dropping beside her.
"Yeah. Just two girls, bad romance plots, and way too much sugar."
Under soft fairy lights, they laughed—like nothing was wrong.
Like the world wasn't quietly falling apart.
Elsewhere, in the silence of her room, Rika stood alone.
A glass orb shattered in her hand.
Her eyes glowed crimson.
"If the flame awakens…" she whispered coldly,
"I'll put it out myself."