Chapter 34
An hour later, we were back in Istmond, having said nothing about what had happened on the balcony.
My thoughts and emotions were a tangled mess.
Meanwhile, Airis had retreated behind the mask of the serious mentor once again.
We approached the student residence in silence and found Tarven standing near the entrance.
With a girl I didn't recognize.
I tensed slightly as I noticed the way they smiled at each other.
The way neither of them seemed in any hurry to avoid physical contact.
Stasia was nowhere in sight.
A moment later, the unfamiliar girl noticed Airis.
A bright smile immediately spread across her sun-kissed face.
And suddenly, my heart tightened too.
There was something in her eyes when she looked at him.
Admiration.
Perhaps even adoration.
Or maybe the balcony had left me seeing rivals where none existed.
“Airis,” I heard her melodic voice call. “I'm so happy to see you.”
I swear, the brunette looked seconds away from throwing herself into his arms.
And somehow, that irritated me even more.
“Thanks for walking me back,” I blurted out.
Before anyone could respond, I quickened my pace toward the entrance, giving Tarven a brief nod of greeting as I passed.
The moment the doors closed behind me, I stopped listening to the conversation outside and practically flew up the stairs toward my floor.
We'd been assigned rooms on the fifth and top floor.
And somehow, I managed to climb four flights in record time.
It was amazing what jealousy and irritation could do to a person's speed.
I barely noticed when I reached the room Stasia and I had been sharing.
But I nearly jumped out of my skin when I spotted Gianna lying on Stasia's bed.
She wore a long blue robe, her red hair pinned up in curlers.
A book rested in her hands.
She snapped it shut immediately, looking almost as startled as I felt.
“What are you doing here?” I asked at once.
Only then did I notice that the room itself had changed.
Stasia's green decorations had been replaced with blue ones.
A marine theme.
Everywhere.
“Living here,” Gianna replied with a small, apologetic smile. “Draksen Ardevayne somehow found out about the roommate change, so we had to move.”
Damn.
“How did he find out?”
“No idea.” Gianna shrugged.
She opened her mouth to continue, but I interrupted her before she could.
“And where's Stasia now? With Joel?”
“Actually...” Gianna's fingers began tapping nervously against the cover of her book. “She's not here.”
I froze.
“Twenty minutes ago, she came back from the infirmary and left the studio after getting upset.”
“What?” I stared at her. “The infirmary?”
“About three hours ago, she and Tarven returned from Magicslan. Stasia was taken straight to the infirmary with multiple fractures.”
My lungs tightened.
Making it difficult to breathe.
“I don't know exactly what happened...”
At that moment, Louis appeared in the doorway.
And I nearly jumped for the second time that evening.
“Stasia's on the roof,” he said.
I didn't even wait for Gianna to finish speaking.
Truthfully, I'd stopped listening several seconds earlier.
I was already heading for the door.
I knew I was behaving terribly toward Gianna.
But damn it.
I've never been particularly good at pretending to like people I don't.
I've never mastered the art of smiling politely while meaning the exact opposite.
That's why I usually avoid them altogether.
It's safer than saying something I might regret.
I had no idea where the roof access was.
Fortunately, Louis did.
I followed him up a narrow staircase until we reached a hatch.
Pushing it open, I climbed through.
Cold air immediately hit my face.
And there, perched on the ledge, sat Stasia.
Staring out into the distance.
She turned at the sound.
And the moment she saw me, something flickered across her face.
“I thought you and Airis were staying the night in Magicslan.”
“We were,” I said, closing the hatch behind me. “Until the bracelets came off.”
I sat down beside her.
My gaze swept over her automatically, searching for any sign that she wasn't as healed as she claimed to be.
Stasia noticed.
“Yeah, they fixed me up. Completely.” She smirked.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
I was worried about her.
Which was yet another sign that I was getting attached.
“And who was that girl I saw with Tarven?”
I watched Stasia's body tense.
A pause followed.
Then a heavy sigh.
“That was Rosalie. Tarven's youngest sister.”
I stayed quiet.
“A few hours ago, her abilities awakened.”
Another pause.
“And I happened to be the one who experienced them firsthand.”
“What kind of ability?”
“Breaking bones.”
Stasia didn't even flinch as she said it.
And I froze.
Completely stunned.
Any questions I'd had about how an earth mage could physically affect another person suddenly disappeared.
Everything made perfect sense now.
“So we're going to have an unstable mage walking around who can break people's bones?” I asked, arching a brow.
At the same time, silently thanking fate that Gia was still my roommate.
“I don't know how strong her demonic bloodline is,” Stasia said, staring out into the distance. “I can't even begin to guess whether she'll end up among the strongest first-years.”
She exhaled slowly.
“And I'm prepared to pray every second of every day that she doesn't.”
Her voice trembled.
And something inside me twisted uncomfortably.
I hated seeing people cry.
Mostly because I never knew how to help.
“You two don't get along?” I asked. “Did she lash out at you in anger, or were you simply the unlucky person who happened to be standing closest?”
Stasia didn't answer right away.
And for probably the first time in my life, I found myself understanding that silence instead of growing impatient with it.
“She's the second person after Alicia who wouldn't blink if I died right in front of her.”
She was trying to hold herself together.
I could see it.
I could feel it.
“Maybe I'm just a terrible person if two people already want my head on a platter.”
“No, Stasia.”
The sharpness in my own voice caught me off guard.
I felt irritation flare instantly.
“You don't get to blame yourself for the way other people choose to see you.”
It was something my grandmother used to say.
All the time.
“Even if the way they see me makes them want to hurt me?” she asked quietly.
“You know...” I sighed.
Then paused.
Because suddenly I realized where my answer was coming from.
Mike used to repeat those words all the time.
And I used to call him insane for it.
I never saw any logic in them.
And now I was about to say them myself.
“Nobody can truly hurt you unless you give them the power to.”
Silence settled between us.
Damn.
Maybe some part of me actually believed that.
“That's exactly what my mom always says,” Stasia replied. “And I've always thought it was complete nonsense.”
I bit my lip, trying to suppress the laugh bubbling up inside me.
Where had that even come from?
“You know,” I said, finally snorting despite myself as I covered my face with my hands, “I used to think the exact same thing.”
“And you're trying to comfort me with advice you don't even believe?” Stasia asked.
I lowered my hands and looked at her.
“You know, I think there's more truth to it than I ever wanted to admit.”
“Oh, stop.” She waved me off with a slight frown. “There's no logic in it. If someone wants to stab me, they'll stab me.”
“Well, if you stand there and let them, then yes,” I replied with a thoughtful nod.
Stasia stared at me.
Then shook her head.
“Let's just move on.”
But the corners of her mouth betrayed her, twitching upward despite her best efforts.
Like she was fighting not to laugh.
Unlike her, I remained serious.
A single thought had lodged itself deep in my mind.
I didn't want Airis to become the only thing keeping me grounded in this world.
I simply couldn't allow that to happen.
Because I was used to losing people.
And if I lost the only thing keeping me afloat—
I wasn't sure I'd survive it.
My gaze drifted to Stasia.
Lost in her own thoughts.
She looked every bit as lonely as I felt.
Especially now that Tarven was no longer someone she could lean on.
And in many ways, we were alike.
Two anomalies better off hidden from the world.
“You know,” I said, meeting her healing-green eyes, “I think your visions are a lot more real than I wanted to admit.”
A small smile touched my lips.
“I'd be glad to have someone here I can genuinely trust.”
Unlike me, Stasia had always been more open.
More willing to let people in.
The moment my confession left my mouth, she let out a snort of laughter and covered her mouth with her hand.
My brows shot up.
“What?”
“Damn it.” She laughed. “You and Airis are exactly the same.”
I was already preparing to object, but she continued.
“Our friendship became official the day we met. You don't need to break every bone in your body trying to make it official all over again.”
I looked away.
“Am I really that terrible at talking to people?”
“Yes,” Stasia answered immediately.
“You're unbelievably bad at it.”
The smile in her voice was impossible to miss.
A comfortable silence settled between us afterward.
I wished the same peace would settle somewhere inside me.
That Airis would finally leave my thoughts.
Instead, every passing second seemed to feed the fire inside them.
I sighed.
Remembering the game Dwayne used to make me play.
Count to five.
Alright.
Today I willingly climbed onto a flying metal death trap.
That was one.
Two—I actually agreed to learn how to control it.
Three—I kissed Airis.
Four—I followed my own desires and finally admitted them out loud.
Not completely.
In my own complicated way.
But I still did it.
And five—
I took the first step toward a real friendship.
A genuine one.
Dwayne would've been proud of me.
Anastasia Lang’s POV
As Ria and I made our way back to the studio, I spotted Miloran standing outside our door with his arms crossed over his chest.
He looked exactly the same as he had an hour and a half earlier, during my treatment.
The memory hit me like a lightning strike.
Two healers had been working on me—Sulfur and Cyant.