Chapter 49 #2
"Look at their final checkpoint," I insisted quietly. "It's in a completely different place."
He finally turned to me.
"What are you getting at?"
This time, I was the one who fell silent.
Though...
I didn't actually need time to think.
The answer came to me on its own.
"I think someone learned in advance who this year's strongest recruits would be," I whispered. "And decided to put us through a different set of trials."
"Then what about Rosalie?" Kaeron asked. "She ended up on your final team, didn't she? She wasn't one of the strongest."
My mind raced, trying to make sense of it.
But nothing fit.
"It's still strange," I murmured, watching the girls fold up their maps and slip them into the hidden pockets sewn inside their voluminous skirts—a thoughtful detail Madame Zhivorzhinette had clearly planned in advance.
And then...
An idea struck me.
A brilliant one.
Or so it seemed.
I leaned closer to Kaeron and whispered,
"Help me steal one of their maps."
His eyes widened.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"It's for a good reason. Come on."
"When exactly did I become your partner in crime?" he scoffed, meeting my gaze.
"You know exactly when."
It was a secret known only to the two of us.
And that worked in my favor.
Because it gave me leverage.
Not that I would have used it...
If I hadn't wanted the truth so badly.
"I'm not digging through those girls' pockets," he said quietly but firmly.
"Then distract them while I do it."
"No."
"You know..." I began.
But I was interrupted by Ria's voice as she walked up beside us.
"What are you two arguing about?" Ria asked.
I looked at her and blurted out,
"Please don't tell me we were talking loudly enough for you to figure out we were arguing."
"I figured it out from your faces," she said. "You were practically whispering. So... what was it about?"
I stepped closer, leaning down slightly because of the difference in our heights.
"We need to steal one of those girls' maps."
Ria gave me the exact same look Kaeron had a few minutes earlier.
"Have you decided to take up a new hobby?" she arched a brow. "I don't think kleptomania suits you."
"There's something really important on it." I pressed my lips together.
She studied me in silence for a couple of seconds before saying something I hadn't expected.
"Then distract them. I'll do it."
I nodded and turned back, quickly assessing the situation. Just then, I noticed Pria walking toward us.
Perfect.
Smiling brightly, I waved both hands and headed in her direction, "accidentally" bumping into the trio along the way.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," I giggled. "I'm just so excited I stopped noticing anyone around me."
The three girls rewarded me with amused smiles, but I pretended not to notice.
"I still can't believe we actually made it through the Selection and officially became Istmond students."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ria quietly slip behind them.
The girls stayed silent.
Meanwhile, I wondered how much longer I could keep up this painfully sweet act.
"Sorry," Taylor said, draping an arm around my shoulders. "My friend can be a little... enthusiastic sometimes."
Feeling his hand brush the back of my neck, I looked up and found him wearing a smug grin.
I plastered on another smile and discreetly jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow, hoping he'd get the hint and let go.
When I glanced back at the girls, I noticed all three of them were staring—not at me—but at the scorpion asleep on Taylor's shoulder.
Then I caught Ria's eye.
She gave me a tiny nod before slipping away toward Kaeron.
"Well... I'd better get back to my friends," I chirped.
Then, with a playful wink, I added,
"I'd recommend being a little friendlier to your fellow students."
Without waiting for an answer, I hurried back to Ria, who was smiling, and to Kaeron, whose expression looked as though he had been the one stealing maps.
"So," Taylor whispered, flashing a full thirty-two-tooth grin, "how did my two little thieves do? I hope I can count on getting my share for helping out." He gave me a playful wink.
"We'll see," I replied with a smile. "That depends on your behavior."
Turning back to Ria, I felt her slip our prize into the hidden pocket sewn inside my dress.
Illariana Arden's POV
Falling behind the others, I headed briskly toward the dormitory, hoping Airis had lost sight of me in the crowd. At the same time, I couldn't stop wondering what Stasia planned to do with the maps.
The academy brooch resting against my chest felt surprisingly heavy. The crystal at its center shimmered, shifting through different shades of violet, as though it were quietly marking yet another turning point in my life.
I let out a slow breath, trying to ease the tension in both my mind and body.
But the thoughts wouldn't stop.
Neither would the memories.
I avoided looking at my hands, where Seris's fingernail marks still scarred my skin.
Stasia had said that mourning—even in silence—would only make it harder for Seris's soul to move on.
Holding myself back from grieving took more strength than I wanted to admit.
The ceremony had been torture.
Not only because Seris had died...
But because of Airis.
And because of my own foolish heart.
The upper-year students had witnessed every one of my memories during the Scorpio Trial. Since then, they hadn't stopped whispering behind my back, throwing me mocking glances—or worse, pitying ones.
The moment I finally forced myself to step past my fear and admit my feelings...
I'd become the perfect target.
Another weary breath escaped me as the full weight of the day settled over my shoulders.
It had drained me completely—body and soul.
I couldn't imagine how I was supposed to fall asleep after everything that had happened.
As the main entrance to the dormitory came into view, I noticed someone waiting beside it.
A lone figure leaned against the iron railing of the steps, watching me approach.
I bit the inside of my cheek hard, silently cursing my traitorous subconscious for refusing to stop noticing just how infuriatingly handsome he was.
Airis tilted his head slightly, his arms folded across his chest, while his eyes seemed to roam over every inch of me with almost unsettling intensity.
If I'd had the power, I would've wished myself out of existence right there in front of him.
Unfortunately, I was only a fire mage with an abnormal affinity for death magic.
Disappearing wasn't one of my abilities.
"How long are you planning to avoid me?" he asked, a hint of accusation coloring his voice.
"You should get used to it," I replied evenly. "Because this is all you'll ever get from me now."
Keeping my pace steady, I headed for the staircase, quietly proud of how well I was holding myself together.
"I'm your mentor."
"I don't care."
I was about to step onto the first stair when his broad frame moved in front of me, blocking my path.
Our eyes met.
His—cold, unwavering.
Mine—wanting him to feel at least half the pain he'd left me with.
"I protected your memories," he said. "And the people you care about."
Maybe I should've been grateful.
No—I was grateful that Gwendolyn, Dwayne, and Mike were safe.
I would've protected them at any cost.
And I had.
The price had simply been my broken heart.
"Then thank you for that." My voice remained calm. "Now let me pass."
I tried to step around him.
He blocked me again.
"Ria..."
The unexpected gentleness in his voice struck me like a bolt of lightning, and before he could continue, I cut him off.
"Stop tormenting me." The words broke through the calm I’d been clinging to. "Stop looking at me like that. Do you have any idea how unbearable it was during the entire ceremony?"
My voice cracked.
Anger carried me one step closer to him.
"From now on, you speak to me only about my training. About anything that concerns your duties as my mentor—and nothing else."
I saw irritation flash across his face, and before I could stop myself, I added,
"You know what? I think I'll ask Draxsen to assign me a different mentor after all."
"No one else will be standing beside you."
The words came through clenched teeth.
For a split second, I was genuinely surprised.
Airis had lost control.
Only for an instant.
But it had happened.
"That's not your decision to make."
"It is."
Our eyes remained locked, each of us refusing to look away.
My mind betrayed me, replaying every gentle moment we'd shared.
Every laugh.
Every glance.
Every touch.
A traitor to both my pride and my self-respect.
For one impossible second, all I wanted was to fall into his arms.
To stop fighting.
To let go of everything this miserable day had forced me to carry.
Instead, I said only one word.
"Leave."
"No."
"I said leave."
He didn't move.
Something inside me finally shattered.
"Why the hell do you keep hurting me?" I demanded, my voice rising. "Wasn't it enough that I was wrong about you? Wasn't the lies and the fear enough? Wasn't everything that happened during those damned Trials enough?"
My voice cracked on the next sentence.
"Wasn't it enough that today... I let someone else die instead of me?"
That was the point of no return.
The tears came all at once, impossible to hold back any longer.
I was so tired.
Tired of all of it.
To my surprise—and to the secret, traitorous part of me that hated itself for hoping—Airis stepped forward without hesitation and pulled me into his arms.
I buried my face against his chest and finally let the emotions take over.
It felt as though, for the first time all day, every thread that had been dragging me downward had finally snapped.
As if I could breathe again.
It didn't mean I'd forgiven him.
It didn't erase what he'd done.
I'd already drawn my conclusions.
My heart was lost to Airis Kairos forever.
From now on, he could only ever be my mentor.
Nothing more.
And he would never again be allowed to become the reason for my pain.
At least...
That was what I desperately wanted to believe.