I texted Lara and Calder, instructing them to meet me at The Velvet Lounge after school.
We needed to talk.
No more avoidance. No more missing pieces.
Just as I pocketed my comm crystal, a voice boomed through the school, smooth yet commanding.
"All students are to report to the auditorium immediately."
Headmaster Jadean Starhaven.
A ripple of murmurs spread through the hallway. Unscheduled announcements weren't common. Whatever this was, it wasn't routine.
I quickened my pace, slipping through the corridors before they could get overcrowded.
I reached the auditorium before most of the students, slipping into a seat near the front, close enough to pay attention, but not close enough to be directly in the eye of authority.
The vast space slowly filled, students filtering in, voices blending in a quiet hum of curiosity and speculation.
I barely had a moment to collect my thoughts when a sharp whistle cut through the hum of voices.
"Well, well, look who snagged the good seats."
I turned just in time to see Jax, flashing his usual shit-eating grin as he strode in, arms outstretched like he was making a grand entrance.
He moved through the rows with the kind of confidence that made it look like he belonged everywhere and nowhere at once.
I rolled my eyes. "Jax."
He winked. "Athena."
Before I could respond, movement behind him caught my attention.
Ezzy, Jade, Zion, and Riven.
They stepped into the auditorium, filtering through the crowd, and my eyes immediately found Riven's.
His gaze was already on me.
For a second, everything else faded, the murmuring students, the overhead lights, even Jax's obnoxious presence.
There was something intense in the way Riven looked at me. He was searching for something.
I tried to smile. A small, hesitant thing.
He didn't return it.
He simply broke eye contact, his jaw tightening, the muscle there ticking.
I swallowed hard.
Guess the rumors had spread already.
Jade and Ezzy didn't hesitate, dropping into the empty seats on either side of me with too much purpose to be casual.
Jade turned toward me fully, her arms crossing.
Ezzy leaned in, her voice low, knowing.
"Okay, spill."
I exhaled, shifting in my seat as Jade and Ezzy waited expectantly.
The low hum of students murmuring around us buzzed in my ears, but their focus was solely on me.
I glanced at Jax, Zion, and Riven in front of us.
Jax had turned in his seat, his arms draped lazily over the backrest, his expression alight with barely contained curiosity.
Zion, ever the composed one, simply watched, waiting for me to speak.
And Riven, he hadn't turned at all.
I forced myself to ignore the weight pressing against my chest and looked back at Jade and Ezzy.
"Something happened last night."
Ezzy raised a brow. "We figured that much."
Jade tilted her head. "What exactly?"
I hesitated. I didn't know how to explain something I didn't even understand.
So, I chose my words carefully.
"There's… a gap. A missing chunk of time from last night. I was with Lara at Lune Noire, and then, nothing. The next thing I know, I wake up in my room."
Jade frowned. "You blacked out?"
Ezzy's expression turned sharp. "Athena, you don't black out."
I nodded, pressing my lips together. "I know."
Jax let out a low whistle. "And yet, somehow, you woke up in bed with Calder Ashenford."
I shot him a glare, but beneath my irritation, a flicker of unease settled in.
The rumors had already reached that point?
It hadn't even been a full day, and somehow, people weren't just whispering about me arriving with Calder, they were speculating about where I woke up.
Great. Just great.
I forced my expression back to neutral. "Not the point, Jax."
His smirk widened. "So you confirm it's true then?"
Zion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ignore him."
Ezzy leaned in slightly. "So you don't remember anything after Lune Noire?"
I hesitated.
The truth was, after I left Runic Class, something flickered at the edge of my mind.
I remembered something.
Not a memory. Not a moment. A feeling.
The overwhelming sense of something watching me. The way the air had felt too thick, too heavy, pressing against my skin like unseen hands.
The shadows. The whispers.
And yet, when I tried to hold onto the details, my mind recoiled, like something had locked the memory away.
Like it wasn't meant to be remembered.
I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temples. "Nothing concrete."
Ezzy and Jade exchanged a look.
Then, before they could press me further, the overhead lights flickered twice, signaling for silence.
The murmurs in the auditorium died down as movement on the stage drew everyone's attention.
I straightened as Headmaster Jadean Starhaven stepped forward.
Dressed in a dark, tailored suit, his expression was unreadable as he surveyed the students before him.
"Brightforge students." His voice carried easily, even without amplification. "I will keep this brief."
The air in the auditorium shifted.
It was subtle. But I felt it.
A weight. A presence.
Like something unspoken lingered beneath his words.
"As many of you may have already heard, the Academy has detected an anomaly beyond our outer wards."
A ripple of whispers surged through the room, but he lifted a hand, and just like that, silence fell again.
"At this moment, there is no confirmed threat," he continued smoothly. "However, as a precaution, security measures will be heightened around campus."
I clenched my fists.
No confirmed threat.
They were lying.
Jade stiffened beside me. I knew she could hear it, too, the carefully curated vagueness of his words.
Ezzy muttered under her breath, "He's hiding something."
I barely heard her.
Because at that moment, Starhaven's gaze flickered over the crowd, brief, passing, before landing on me.
It was only for a second.
A fleeting, barely noticeable glance.
But I felt it.
Like an invisible thread had tied me to the center of this conversation.
Then, just as quickly, he looked away.
"Additionally," Starhaven continued, "the Lowmere Festival Committee has decided to move the Cultural Festival earlier."
This time, the reaction was instant.
Gasps. Confused murmurs.
I stiffened.
The Cultural Festival? Early?
"The festival will now take place in three weeks, aligning with the full moon of the Veylan Eclipse."
The room erupted.
"That's impossible!"
"We don't have enough time!"
"What's the reason for this?"
I barely heard the frantic whispers surrounding me.
Because my mind had already caught onto something else.
Why now?
Moving the biggest event of the term earlier didn't make sense. It threw off months of preparation. It put unnecessary stress on the school.
It wasn't for convenience. It was for control.
Ezzy leaned in, her voice tight. "They're using it as a distraction."
I clenched my jaw. "Yeah. And it's working."
Riven spoke for the first time.
His voice was low, measured. "The festival gives them an excuse to increase security without causing panic. It keeps students, staff, everyone occupied while they deal with whatever's happening behind the scenes."
His words settled like a weight over the conversation.
And he wasn't wrong.
This wasn't just about tradition.
This was about control.
He finally turned his head, just slightly, just enough that his gaze met mine again, I saw it.
Something guarded. Something deliberate.
Then, he looked away.
My stomach twisted.
On stage, Headmaster Starhaven waited for the murmurs to settle.
"All students participating in the festival are expected to triple their efforts in preparation. We will not be extending deadlines, nor will we be accepting last-minute changes. If you are involved, consider this your warning."
I barely heard the rest of his speech.
Because the timing was too perfect.
An anomaly. Increased security. And now, the festival was being used as a shield, keeping everyone distracted while something else unfolded in the background.
My gaze shifted to where the professors sat on the left side of the stage, a row of composed expressions and carefully restrained reactions.
And then, I caught Rhydan's green eyes.
Unlike the others, his face wasn't carefully schooled into neutrality. There was no pretense of indifference.
A flicker of something passed through his expression.
I held his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away. But he didn't break eye contact either.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly, the movement slow, calculated, like an acknowledgment.
A silent exchange. A message I couldn't quite decipher.
A slow tension coiled in my chest, but before I could even think to react, the lights overhead flickered, signaling the end of the assembly.
The murmurs swelled again as students stood, stretching, already discussing how they'd have to rework their festival plans.
Jade exhaled beside me. "Well, that was a whole lot of nothing."
Ezzy gave a dry laugh. "Nothing? They basically just told us to stress for the next three weeks."
Jax stretched, throwing an arm over the back of his chair. "Distraction or not, you realize what this means, right? This year's festival is about to be an absolute mess."
Zion hummed in agreement, but I was only half-listening.
Because when I looked back at the professor's section, Rhydan was already gone.
The announcement was over, but the tension still lingered as the students began filing out of the auditorium.
I stood, grabbing my bag as Jade, Ezzy, Zion, Riven and Jax rose alongside me, the hum of conversation filling the space.
"Lunch?" Jade asked, stretching her arms over her head.
I nodded absently, but my focus was already elsewhere.
I wasn't going with them. Not yet.
I hesitated, waiting for the right moment.
Just as Riven turned to follow the others out, I spoke.
"Riven, can we talk?"
He stopped mid-step.
Slowly, he turned to look at me, one brow lifting in that calm, unreadable way of his.
Then, he shrugged. "What do you want to talk about?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Are you seriously just going to stand here and pretend nothing happened between us on Saturday night?"
Something flickered across his face, quick, unreadable.
Then, just as quickly, his expression smoothed over.
"And just ignore the fact that you partied with another guy the next day and woke up in bed with him?" His voice was even, but I could hear the edge in it.
I inhaled sharply.
"Riven, that's not what happened." My voice was firm, but frustration laced my tone. "Are you seriously believing rumors over me?"
He said nothing, so I pushed forward.
"I blacked out last night, okay? I don't know how I ended up in that situation, but I damn well did not party with Calder. Nothing happened between us."
Riven's jaw tightened.
Then, he shook his head. "Listen, Athena, I can't make this up. There's definitely something between you and Calder. I saw the way he kept glancing at you when you weren't looking at Lara's birthday party."
I blinked. "What?"
His gaze flickered to mine again, something tense, something resigned.
"I saw the way he looked at you." His voice was quiet but firm. "And I think you know exactly what I mean."
I inhaled sharply, my thoughts colliding all at once.
This was going south, fast.
I had to fix this.
"Riven," I started, stepping closer. "That's not..."
He shook his head, a humorless breath escaping him. "Don't. Don't stand here and tell me I imagined it."
Frustration burned in my chest. "I'm not saying you imagined anything, but you're twisting this into something it's not."
His jaw clenched. "Am I?"
I exhaled sharply, trying to steady myself. "Yes. Calder looks at everyone like that. You know what he's like."
Riven let out a low, dry laugh. "Right. So that explains why he was the one you woke up next to."
I tensed. "I told you—"
"That you blacked out?" He scoffed. "Yeah, I heard you. But that doesn't change the fact that it was him, Athena. Not Jade, not Ezzy, not Jax. Him."
I stared at him, anger curling beneath my skin. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," he said, voice quieter now, lower, "that no matter how much you deny it, there's something between you two. And maybe you don't see it, but he sure as hell does."
I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat.
Because deep down, something in his tone unsettled me.
This wasn't just jealousy.
This was Riven walking away before I could hurt him first.
And I couldn't let that happen.
"Riven, I don't want Calder." My voice was softer now, no heat behind it.
He didn't move, didn't speak, but I saw the way his fingers flexed slightly at his sides.
So I pushed further.
"What happened between us on Saturday night, it wasn't just in my head. I know you felt it too."
For the first time, his mask cracked.
His throat bobbed in a slow swallow, his eyes flickering with something unspoken.
But then, just like that, the walls slammed back into place.
He took a step back.
"I think you should go, Athena."
The words hit harder than they should have.
I swallowed, my nails digging into my palm. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"
His jaw tightened, but he didn't respond.
I stared at him for another moment, waiting, hoping for something more.
But he was already closing himself off.
And I hated it.
Finally, I exhaled, shaking my head. "Fine."
I turned sharply on my heel, heading toward the exit.
I didn't look back.
By the time I reached the dining hall, the tension in my chest still hadn't faded.
The large space buzzed with conversation, students already debating how they'd pull everything together for the festival in three weeks.
I spotted Jade, Ezzy, Jax, and Zion at our usual table near the tall windows, already halfway through their meals.
Riven did not bother following me to the dining hall, seemingly skipping lunch.
Not that I was surprised.
Jade spotted me first, her brows lifting as I approached. "Finally."
Ezzy scooted over to make room as I slid into my seat, but before I could even lift my fork, she and Jade were already on me.
"Okay," Jade started, setting her drink down. "What happened?"
Ezzy leaned in, brow arched, her tone edged with curiosity. "Yeah, mind explaining why you just stormed in here looking like you lost a battle?"
Jax smirked. "And here I thought the real drama had ended."
I shot him a glare before reaching for my drink. "Not in the mood, Jax."
He held up his hands in mock surrender, but I caught the amused glint in his eyes.
Jade wasn't letting this go.
"Where's Riven?"
I hesitated.
Zion, who had been silent so far, spoke. "So… bad conversation?"
I exhaled, staring at my untouched plate. "Something like that."
Ezzy's eyes narrowed. "Athena."
I pushed my food around with my fork, not looking up. "It doesn't matter."
Jade scoffed. "You do realize that response only makes us want to know more, right?"
Ezzy nodded. "You asked him to talk, and now he's avoiding lunch? That doesn't scream 'nothing.'"
I sighed, placing my fork down. "We had an argument, alright? About Saturday night. About Calder. About the rumors. Riven clearly has his mind made up, and I'm not wasting my time convincing him otherwise."
That shut them up for a second.
Then, Jax let out a low whistle. "Damn. Sounds personal."
I shot him a look. "I swear, Jax.."
"Relax, relax." He grinned, biting into his sandwich. "I'm just saying, if the guy is this worked up, then he definitely..."
Jade elbowed him before he could finish.
Ezzy sighed, crossing her arms. "So, that's it? You're just gonna let him think whatever he wants?"
I clenched my jaw.
Because, honestly?
I didn't know.