The doors to the street swung open, and the wind hit my face. Tiny flakes of snow stung my cheeks like a slap, along with the last sentence from the message.
"Nobody needs me," spun in my head, and a sharp pain pierced between my shoulder blades, as if someone had gently thrust a knife into my back, then twisted the blade several times, savoring the process.
"She needs to be taken away," Viola grabbed me by the waist and headed toward the parking lot. "And fast."
"I'll do it," Diana intercepted my hand, and for a moment I noticed Violet frowning disapprovingly.
"You're not a hunter," Viola tried to say as gently as possible, and it was clear how much effort it cost her to change her tone, just not to accidentally offend Diana.
"Let her be. She's my friend."
"Not the right time for heroics. What will you do if she tries to turn on you in the car like last time, only this time she succeeds?"
Diana's face twitched ever so slightly, as if the risks Smirnova was ready to embrace without hesitation hadn't occurred to her before.
"I'll walk," I offered an alternative, seeing the forest nearby. It was good that there were so many patches of forest everywhere in Xertoni where locals didn't go. Perhaps that was why my father had spent his entire conscious life here: unable to avoid his turning, he ran into the forest. Quite convenient, when you think about it.
"Not a chance," Viola snorted and zipped up her jacket when the university doors opened. The more you act like a normal person, the longer your secret stays safe.
But first Arthur appeared in the doorway, and behind him, Stas—whom I least wanted to see right now.
"Fine, you win," I said quickly, just wanting to get out of there and avoid talking to unsuspecting Stanislav. He shouldn't see what state I was in. I didn't have the energy to invent any remotely convincing excuse to explain my sudden mood change around him, so the only option left was to run away cowardly, holding onto Diana's hands.
"Let's go. Quickly."
No persuasion was needed. Brushing my bangs from my eyes, Diana walked briskly toward the car, pulling me along. She even opened the passenger-side door and waited for me to sit before closing it, as if afraid I might change my mind at the last second and bolt into the forest.
But behind my impulsive offer, the downsides of my plan were actively forming in my mind. After all, this forest was right next to the institute, packed with young talents who would be easy prey if Kaandor took the upper hand over me. I couldn't allow that, though the temptation to unleash the power that made my fingertips burn was strong. To give in to temptation and see what would happen, remembering Denis's stories. If Maria hadn't bound my power with a spell before birth, would I speak of the wolf side the same way Denis did? I fear I'll never know, and I can only wonder how life might have turned out if I had trusted nature from the start, rather than following someone else's path against my own essence.