RHEIN'S POINT OF VIEW
My body ached with exhaustion from the day's lessons, but my mind was restless. I tossed my bag onto my desk, sighing. As I pulled out my notebook for tomorrow's class, something stiff brushed against my hand.
Frowning, I reached into the outer pocket. My fingers closed around a folded scrap of paper.
I glanced at my roommates, making sure no one noticed it.
"What's this...?" I muttered under my breath. I didn't remember putting anything there.
"A note from a secret admirer?" Forelody guessed.
"Can you guess better next time?" I laughed.
Unfolding it, my eyes fell on the sharp, slanted handwriting: 'From this day forward, I'll share what I uncover. Watch for my signals.'
I froze.
The words pulsed in my head like a secret whisper, and I didn't need a signature to know who it came from. Justin.
I showed it to my pracien. She smirked. "Good for you."
My heart skipped, caught somewhere between relief and unease. Finally, after days of begging him to share what he knew about the Deorcanen Clan, he is now... giving in?
I pressed the note flat against the desk, staring at it. Part of me wanted to march straight to his dorm and demand answers.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I folded the note carefully and slipped it between the pages of my notebook.
And that night, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind refused to quiet down. For once, though, the restless energy wasn't only about fear or uncertainty. It was about possibility.
The week dragged by in a blur of decorations, meetings, and endless preparations for the acquaintance party. Everywhere I turned, students bustled like ants carrying glitter, fabrics, or stacks of papers. It should have been exciting, but my mind was elsewhere.
Justin still hadn't reported anything yet.
What was the note for?
I told myself not to overthink it, that spies didn't move at the pace of eager girls demanding updates. Still, each day that passed without a word from him gnawed at me.
Friday was supposed to be my day. A break from the chaos. Self-training day.
"Close combat. No magic," Dylan said flatly, rolling his shoulders as we stood in the gymnasium. Other students were training as well.
I smirked, trying to look tougher than I felt. "You're on."
The first clash sent a shock through me. Dylan's movements were too sharp, too precise. He was a storm compressed into a single body—every strike controlled, every block efficient. I tried, really tried, to hold my ground. But within minutes, I was flat on my back, breathless and defeated.
He offered his hand, that faint smile tugging at his lips. "Not bad. But you're wide open on your left."
Groaning, I let him pull me up. "Easy for you to say. You're basically a moving wall."
His eyes softened, and then his voice lowered, almost gentle. "Then let me show you how to break one."
And so he did. Step by step, stance by stance, Dylan corrected me. His hands were steady when he adjusted my shoulders, patient when he repositioned my wrists. Every mistake I made, he fixed it with a calm word. And every correction pulled me deeper into something I couldn't name—something warm, something steady.
By the time we finished, my muscles screamed but my lips curved in a tired smile. Dylan gave me a short nod, almost like quiet approval.
Forelody and I left the gymnasium after that.
Yet as we left, my thoughts snapped back to Justin. His seat in class had been empty all day.
Where was he?
I just focused and teleported to where he was.
The Royal Cemetery.
Rows upon rows of gravestones stretched beneath the heavy gray sky. And there—by two markers—stood Justin. He didn't move, didn't speak. His hands were buried in his pockets, shoulders rigid.
My chest tightened. So that's why he hadn't been around.
'This is no time to nag him about updates from the Deorcanen,' Forelody told me through telepathy.
'I know.'
I approached slowly, gravel crunching beneath my shoes. "Justin…"
He didn't turn. His voice, when it came, was low and raw. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do sometimes," he admitted, voice trembling at the edges. "Whenever this day comes, everything I do doesn't fill the emptiness."
I patted his shoulder.
He looked at me. "Thanks," he whispered as he cried there silently.
By the time we returned to the academy, night had swallowed the halls. Justin gave a faint nod before heading to his dorm. I stood in the courtyard, staring at the dark windows, my chest still heavy.
On my way back to the dorm, a sliver of light caught my eye. The Student Council office.
Curiosity tugged me closer, and when I peeked inside, my jaw nearly dropped. Dylan sat buried beneath a mountain of papers, scribbling furiously like a man possessed. His posture screamed exhaustion, but his pen didn't stop.
On a nearby table, Tyler was sprawled out, mouth open in a very unflattering snore.
'You go first,' I told my pracien.
She smirked at me before she left. What a tease.
"You work harder than anyone here," I said, stepping inside the office.
Dylan looked up, startled. "Rhein. Hello."
"You don't even have time to breathe, do you?"
"School assignments." He shrugged, as if that explained everything.
"You're in twelfth grade and you're the student council president. That's torture."
He gave the faintest smirk. "I can handle it."
But his eyes were rimmed with shadows, his movements sluggish. He was running on sheer stubbornness.
I folded my arms. "Lie down."
"What?"
"Lie down. On the sofa."
He resisted. I tugged his sleeve. He resisted harder. Finally, with a sigh, he let me pull him toward the sofa. I expected him to settle in alone. But instead, he tugged me down with him.
"Dylan?" My voice cracked.
"Just fifteen minutes," he murmured.
He didn't answer. His head rested against my shoulder, his breathing already even. He was asleep.
I blinked, staring at his peaceful face. My chest felt strangely warm.
And then my own eyelids grew heavy. Somewhere between the steady rise and fall of his breathing, I drifted off too.
When I opened my eyes, dawn's pale light filtered through the curtains. A blanket was draped over me. Dylan was already awake, sipping coffee as he stacked the papers neatly.
The door creaked open.
"Rhein?!" Lovely's voice shrieked. Lovely and Allie stood behind her, eyes wide. Forelody's with them as well.
I bolted upright. "It's not what it looks like—!"
Kate's smirked. "What's this? Did he kidnap you?"
"She volunteered," Dylan said calmly without looking up.
Lovely sidled closer, whispering in my ear. "Be honest. Did something happen?"
My cheeks burned. "Nothing happened!"
"So… are you two together?"
"What? No! We're just friends. Right, Dylan?"
Silence stretched. Dylan finally looked at me, his eyes unreadable.
"…Yeah," he answered.
The single word hit me harder than it should have.
Still, he looked busy. Before the girls could disturb him even further, I dragged them outside and went to the cafeteria.
"What were you two doing there, Rhein?" Lovely asked.
"Officers thingy, okay?"
"Oh, about the acquaintance party," Kate added but seemed not convinced. "But it has been settled. What's more to talk about?"
I just rolled my eyes, which made them laugh.