The library fell silent again, the heavy doors thudding shut as if the night itself had swallowed Lila whole. Dust lingered in the air, floating lazily through the shafts of moonlight.
Elena's nails dug into her palms, but she barely felt the sting. Her chest rose and fell quickly, the echo of Lila's venom still clinging to her ears. That smile. That voice. It was as if her nightmares had followed her into this second life.
She clenched her jaw. Not again. I won't be fooled again.
Behind her, Adrian finally moved. His footsteps were steady, unhurried, but there was a sharpness in his gaze as he studied her profile. "You know her," he said flatly.
It wasn't a question.
Elena forced herself to meet his eyes, though the weight of his stare threatened to undo her composure. "Everyone at the academy knows Lila," she said coolly. "She's charming enough to fool them all."
Adrian's head tilted slightly, his lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile. "But she didn't just speak to you like an acquaintance. She spoke like someone holding your secrets."
Her throat tightened. His words cut dangerously close to the truth she had buried deep. If Adrian saw too much, if he guessed even a fragment… everything could collapse before her revenge even began.
"I don't owe you explanations," she said quietly, but her voice betrayed a faint tremor.
Adrian stepped closer, the shadows of the shelves stretching behind him like wings. He leaned down, close enough that she could see the flecks of silver in his dark eyes. "No," he murmured, "but you will. Eventually."
Heat prickled across her skin, part fear, part something she refused to name. She yanked her gaze away, inhaling sharply.
The silence stretched, tense and suffocating. Then, unexpectedly, Adrian stepped back, sliding his hands into his pockets as if he had all the time in the world. "Be careful with her," he said simply. "Snakes bite hardest when they know they've been seen."
Elena stiffened. That was exactly what Lila was—a snake. And she would not allow herself to be bitten twice.
Adrian turned toward the door, his voice carrying easily through the vast, empty library. "I'll walk you back. Unless you'd rather risk running into her again alone."
Her pride dropped, but the image of Lila's smile replayed in her mind. For now, Elena simply nodded, her fingers curling tighter around the note still in her pocket.
As they stepped into the cold night, the academy grounds stretched out in eerie silence. But Elena barely noticed the mist or the crunch of gravel underfoot.
All she could hear was the echo of Lila's laughter and her own vow repeating like a drumbeat in her chest.
This time, it won't be me who falls. It will be you, Lila.