After my talk with Professor Thorne, Juni and I are escorted back to the dorms by a teaching assistant while Kai gets carted off to the infirmary, still looking pale but insisting he's fine.
"I'll check on you later!" Juni calls after him.
He gives a weak wave before disappearing around the corner.
"How many people know about our being given an S-level test?" I ask the TA, secretly hoping that only the teachers and Professor were aware.
"Don't worry, none of the students are aware, but they do know that something went wrong. They just think it was a malfunction rather than the real issue. This is because immediately the three of you entered the station, no one else could enter."
Not the total answer I was hoping for, but I thank her.
The TA drops us off at the entrance to the building with a curt, "Stay in your rooms," and vanishes.
Juni turns to me, her expression uncertain. "Amara, what Professor Thorne said... "
"I'm really tired," I interrupt, already backing toward the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"But—"
"Tomorrow, Juni."
I practically run up the stairs before she can say anything else.
---
My room feels smaller than usual. Or maybe I just feel too big for it, like my skin doesn't fit right anymore.
I collapse onto my bed and stare at the ceiling.
Outside, I can hear the muffled sounds of the exam continuing. Shouts, the occasional cheer.
Then, Professor Thorne's voice echoes through the building, amplified by magic:
"Attention, students. Due to some unexpected events during today's examination, the final portion of the practical assessment will be postponed until noon tomorrow. All students are dismissed for the remainder of the day. Please return to your dormitories."
There's a collective groan, followed by the sound of dozens of footsteps and chattering voices.
I pull my pillow over my face.
---
About twenty minutes later, there's a knock at my door.
"Amara?" Pearl's voice. "Are you in there? We heard what happened!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Des adds. "We saw Kai being taken to the infirmary and Juni looked like she'd seen a ghost. Did you something bad inside the station?"
"We brought snacks!" Pearl again. "The good ones from the dining hall!"
I hold my breath and don't move.
More knocking.
"Amara? Hello?" Des tries the door handle. Locked, thank god.
"Maybe she's not here," Pearl says.
"Her bag is by the door, I can see it through the gap."
Damn it, Des and his observant eyes.
"Maybe she's sleeping?" Pearl suggests.
"At five in the afternoon?"
"She's had a bad day, Des! Let her sleep!"
There's a pause, then Des sighs. "Fine. But we're leaving the snacks out here, okay Amara? In case you're secretly awake and listening!"
I hear the rustle of a paper bag being set down, then footsteps retreating.
"Feel better!" Pearl calls. "We love you!"
I wait until their voices fade completely before letting out the breath I've been holding.
I love them too. I do.
But I just want to be alone right now. So, I skip dinner.
Instead, I retrieve the snacks Des and Pearl left (because I'm not a complete idiot), lock my door again, and pull out the book I borrowed from the library yesterday.
The History of Elemental Magic in the Third Age.
Riveting stuff. Exactly the kind of mind-numbing reading I need right now.
I make it through about thirty pages before the words start blurring together. Something about the Council of Mages and territorial disputes and honestly, I stop caring around page fifteen.
Outside my window, the sun sets and the campus grows quiet.
I change into my pajamas, brush my teeth, and crawl into bed.
Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and this will all have been some weird stress dream.
Maybe.
---
The village is burning.
I'm floating above it, and I can feel the power coursing through me; hot and wild and intoxicating. My eyes burn crimson, and there's something dark wrapped around me like a cloak, booming with energy.
Below, people are screaming.
Running.
A woman clutches a baby to her chest, stumbling over debris. A child cries for their mother. Buildings collapse in showers of sparks and ash.
And I'm the one doing this.
I raise my hand, and flames erupt from my palm; massive, hungry flames that devour everything they touch. The fire spreads like a living thing, consuming homes, trees, lives.
"Please!" someone shouts. "Stop!"
But I don't stop.
I can't stop.
Or maybe I don't want to.
And the world burns.
---
I jolt awake, gasping.
My sheets are soaked with sweat. My heart is hammering so hard I think it might break through my ribs.
The room is dark and silent.
Just a dream.
Just a dream.
Except it's not just a dream, is it?
I've had this nightmare before. Dozens of times. Always the same village, the same screams, the same terrible feeling of power and destruction.
Always me, with those crimson eyes and that dark aura, raining fire down on innocent people.
I press my hands to my face and try to breathe.
This same dream again.
I reach for my light switch and turn it on, then look at the clock.
1:03 AM.
Great.
I turn off the light and stare at the ceiling for another ten minutes, trying to convince myself I can fall back asleep. But every time I close my eyes, I see those flames. Hear those screams.
See my own face, twisted with something dark and powerful and wrong.
Nope. Not happening.
I throw off the covers as quietly as I can. I pull on a hoodie over my pajamas and slip into my fuzzy slippers. I need air. Space. Something other than these four walls and my own spiraling thoughts.
The hallways are empty and eerily quiet as I make my way out of the dorm. My footsteps echo too loudly on the stone floors, and I half expect someone to pop out and ask what I'm doing wandering around at one in the morning.
But no one does.
The night air hits my face the moment I step outside, cool and crisp and exactly what I need. I take a deep breath, letting it fill my lungs.
Better.
I start walking without really thinking about where I'm going. My feet seem to know the way, carrying me along the winding paths until I recognize where I am.
The courtyard with the lake.
I remember this place from the campus tour.
The courtyard is beautiful at night. Moonlight reflects off the still water, turning it silver. Trees surround the lake, their branches creating shadows that dance across the ground. It's peaceful and quiet.
Exactly what I...
I stop in my tracks.
There's someone already here.
A figure sits on one of the benches near the water's edge, silhouetted against the moonlight. For a second, I consider turning around and heading back. The last thing I need right now is to make awkward small talk with some random insomniac student.
But then the figure shifts, and I catch a glimpse of his profile.
Malachi.
Of course it's Malachi.
My heart does this weird stuttering thing in my chest, and I immediately want to kick myself for it. Not the time, heart. Not the time.
I should leave. I should definitely leave.
I take a step backward, trying to be quiet, trying to just disappear back into the shadows before he notices...
CRACK
My foot comes down directly on a branch.
Malachi's head whips around, his hand already moving toward his side; some kind of defensive instinct, probably. His whole body is tense, ready for a threat.
But then he sees me.
And he smiles.
This smile is soft. It reaches his eyes and makes them crinkle slightly at the corners, and there's something almost vulnerable about it. Like I'm seeing a version of Malachi that no one else gets to see.
It's the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
My heart races for something dumb reason and for a moment I forget how to breathe.
Oh no.This is bad.
"Amara," he says, and even his voice sounds beautiful. "Couldn't sleep either?"
I'm still standing there like an idiot, one foot on a broken branch.
Say something. Anything.
"I, uh..." Wow. Eloquent. "Yeah. Nightmares."
Why did I say that? Why did I tell him that?
But instead of looking uncomfortable or asking invasive questions, Malachi just nods. Like he understands. Like maybe he has them too.
"Want some company?" he asks, gesturing to the empty space on the bench beside him. "Or I can leave if you came here to be alone. I know today was..."
He trails off, but I know what he means.
Today was a lot.
I should say no. I should tell him I want to be alone. I should maintain some kind of boundary between us.
But that smile.
And the way the moonlight catches in his blonde hair.
And the fact that he's offering to leave, giving me the choice, not assuming anything.
"I don't mind the company," I hear myself say.
His smile widens just a fraction, and I felt myself smirk a bit.
I walk over to the bench and sit down, leaving a respectable amount of space between us, and stare out at the lake.
The silence that falls isn't uncomfortable. It's actually kind of nice.
"The water's beautiful at night," I say eventually, because apparently I've become the queen of stating the obvious.
"It is," Malachi agrees. But when I glance over at him, he's not looking at the water.
He's looking at me.