The evening air was cool, the academy grounds hushed except for the faint rustle of leaves.
Lira trailed Darel to a shadowed corner near the greenhouse, her watch humming softly.
Darel spun around, his eyes sharp with mockery. "Your life's on the line, and you're flirting with boys?"
Lira's cheeks burned, anger flaring. "Nico's my friend. Stop judging me anyhow." Her voice cracked with fury.
"Everybody who knows about my problem has been comforting me, but you make me feel like hell."
Darel froze, his gaze narrowing.
"Who knows?" he asked, his voice low.
Lira stared, her breath catching as she realized she'd slipped. Silence hung heavy, tension thick.
"Who knows, Lira?" Darel pressed, stepping closer.
She sighed, shoulders sagging. "I told Nina and a friend, Victor."
"I know Nina," Darel said, frowning. "But who's Victor? The boy I saw you with?"
"No," Lira said, shaking her head. "Victor sees visions like me. If I don't make it, you can work with him to find the ritualist."
"Were you ever going to tell me this?" Darel asked, his tone sharp.
"I was," Lira said, her voice steady. "But not now."
"You still don't trust me," Darel said, his words cutting.
"No," Lira admitted, holding his gaze.
Darel's jaw tightened, but he let it go.
"I don't have a plan yet because I don't know what to expect. But if you can reach out to him, the ritualist? He reaches you, so there's got to be a connection."
"I can't, even if I wanted to," Lira said. She showed him her watch, its eerie hum signaling a block.
"It's possible," Darel said. "You don't need your powers. Just find something that connects you to him."
"I don't know what's connecting him to me," Lira said, frustration creeping in.
"You need to find it," Darel urged. "It would help us track him, know his moves."
"That would actually be helpful," Lira said, a spark of hope flickering.
"I know," Darel said, a faint smirk appearing. "I want to meet Victor."
"He's not desperate like me," Lira said. "If I take u to him you to be nice to him."
"Who are you to tell me how to act?" Darel snapped.
The clocktower bell rang, its chime cutting through the quiet.
"I've got practice now," Lira said, turning to go.
"You can skip," Darel said. "I've got your back. Take me to Victor. Where's he at?"
"The quadrangle, probably," Lira said, hesitating before leading him.
Victor sat in the quadrangle, sketching under a dim lantern, his pencil scratching faintly.
Lira approached, Darel beside her, her steps slow with reluctance.
"Hey, Victor," Lira greeted, her voice soft.
"Hey," Victor said, looking up. His face hardened at Darel's presence. "Why's Darel here?"
Darel's eyes flicked with recognition—a rough past.
"Lira says you see too" he said.
"He's here to help," Lira said, trying to ease the tension.
Victor's voice rose, furious. "I don't want his help."
"Calm down," Lira said, her tone gentle.
"Just hear me out."
"I trust you, Lira," Victor said, his voice sharp. "I believe Darel can help you, but I never said I needed help. I'm okay how I am, unlike you i don't mind dying."
He looked at darel with rage in his eyes, grabbed his sketchbook and stormed off.
Lira turned to Darel, her voice low. "He's not always this angry, I don't understand why he's acting like that."
"I know why," Darel said, cutting her off.
His voice was heavy. "Last year, I was Year 3, Victor was Year 1, it was a new semester. I use to bully him. Burnt his drawings, called him a freak. Me and my friends would mess with him—stick his face in the toilet, run off with his clothes. I can't explain why I did it. I just saw him as a freak."
Lira's eyes widened, disgust twisting her face. "Why would you do that? Why make someone feel like that?"
"That was my past," Darel said, defensive.
"Let me guess," Lira said, her tone biting.
"You had to change your ways because you were going to be a prefect."
Darel stayed silent, guilt flashing in his eyes.
"I was always right about you all along," Lira said. "You only got angry at me because you didn't want to accept the truth."
"Watch your mouth," Darel snapped. "I'm the only one who can help you."
"Do you really care about Morgan, or you just want to prove a point?" Lira asked, her words piercing.
Darel froze, her question cutting deep.
"I don't want help from a disgusting person like you," Lira said. "I'll do what I should've done right from the beginning—help myself."
She walked away, her steps firm.
"Lira—Lira, come back here!" Darel called.
She didn't answer.
"You need me, Lira!" Darel shouted, but she kept going.
Alice stepped from the shadows, her prefect badge catching the lantern light. "What's going on?" she asked.
"It's nothing," Darel said, his voice tight.
"I was watching," Alice said, raising a brow.
"Aren't you in charge of decorations?" Darel said, deflecting. "Why aren't you coordinating?"
"I was heading there when I saw Hollywood productions filming," Alice said, smirking.
Darel laughed despite himself. "The fuck."
"I'm going anyway," Alice said, turning.
"Stay," Darel said, his voice softer. He hesitated, careful not to mention Lira's visions or the ritualist.
"I messed up with Victor last year—bullied him bad. Burnt his stuff, mocked him. I was a mess back then, picking fights, thinking I was untouchable. Morgan changed that. He caught me after I'd roughed up some kid, sat me down, and didn't judge. He said I could be more than a bully, that I had potential to protect instead of destroy. He showed me how to use my strength for something good, like he did as a prefect. But he's gone now, murdered, I'm sure.
It eats at me, knowing someone took him."
Alice nodded, her tone gentle. "You're kind of aggressive and rude, Darel, but don't change who you are. Just try to see things from a good angle. Sometimes you've got to take a step back to make a big jump. You understand?"
"I'm getting you," Darel said, a faint smile breaking through.
"You can't always be strong," Alice said. "Sometimes you need a shoulder to cry on. You understand?"
Darel laughed. "I do."
"Do what feels right," Alice said. "Even if it means taking a step back." She waved and left.
Darel stood alone, Morgan's words echoing in his mind, urging him to be better.
In the headmaster's office, Gaius entered, a report in hand.
Talus sat at his desk, talking with Elara, her red boots glinting in the firelight.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Gaius said, cautious.
"No," Talus said, his voice cold. "Elara, leave."
Gaius watched Elara slip out, her steps too quiet, suspicion prickling. "I came to deliver a report," he said.
"Drop it," Talus said, his tone sharp.
Gaius set the report down and turned to go.
"If you love your friend Darel, tell him to mind his business " Talus said, his voice cutting. "Or he'll end up, just like Morgan."
Gaius paused, hand on the door, then left, unease coiling in his gut.
Night draped the academy, lanterns casting eerie glows as the decorating team strung lights, though the celebration was still weeks away.
The singing team's voices sharpened, their songs echoing for the Alignment. Practice ended, students scattering.
Lira spotted Victor leaving the academic area, his sketchbook tucked under his arm.
"Victor, I'm sorry," she said, approaching. "I didn't know, I'm no longer working with him,"
"You're not at fault, please don't apologize," Victor said, his voice soft.
"You're a good person, Lira. I'm grateful for meeting you. You don't deserve to die." He paused, eyes softening.
"Don't leave Darel because of me. He's badmouthed and annoying, but he can help you."
Lira laughed lightly. "He'll start barking like a dog if I go back now."
"I'll talk to him, then," Victor said.
"Don't bother," Lira said. "I'll sort myself out. I've got till the 16th night."
They walked to their hostels, parting with a quiet nod.
Lira sat on her bed, her roommates asleep.
One mumbled, "Good night, Lira," before drifting off.
"Good night," Lira replied, her voice barely audible.
She stared at her watch, its hum a grim reminder of her fate.
"What I've I done?" She gasped.If only darel could just make things right again, she thought, her chest tight with longing for normalcy, for a plan that didn't end in her death.
The weight of her visions, the ritualist's shadow, pressed down, making her feel alone in the dark.
A clink at her window startled her—a stone.
Another hit, and she peered out, heart racing.
Darel stood below in the moonlight, his figure small against the vast academy.
A third stone grazed her forehead. "Ow!" she yelped, rubbing the spot.
"Sorry for hitting you!" Darel called, his voice softer than usual. "Come down, I want to talk."
He grinned, but it faltered, his eyes betraying a flicker of nervousness.
Lira hesitated, her anger from earlier clashing with a flicker of hope. She closed the window, and Darel's shoulders slumped, thinking she'd ignored him.
But she lingered, her hand on the frame, torn. He's hurt me before, she thought, but what does he want to say? She took a breath, grabbed her jacket, and slipped out quietly, her steps deliberate.
Darel looked up as she approached, her face stern under the dim lantern light.
He shifted, hands in his pockets, his usual bravado gone.
"I'm sorry," he said first, his voice low, catching her off guard.
"Your words hit me deep this evening. I sat alone after you left, thinking about how I've been to you. I've got a bad attitude, Lira, and I know it. I've been trying to be better, but I keep messing up. I don't want to use you to find Morgan's killer. I want to help you, protect you, like he would've wanted. I want to start over as better allies. I need another chance."
Lira's jaw dropped, her eyes wide. "Wow, I didn't expect that," she said, her voice trembling slightly, caught between distrust and his raw honesty.
"A friend told me sometimes you've got to take a step back to leap forward," Darel said, his gaze steady.
"Morgan taught me that, too. He saw something in me when I was just a bully, and I don't want to let him down."
Lira's throat tightened, her anger softening. "You'll have to apologize to Victor, too," she said, testing him.
"I was bad to him," Darel said, his voice heavy with regret. "I've always wanted to apologize. I owe him that."
"I can't believe I just did all that," Darel said, a small laugh escaping, breaking the tension.
Lira laughed too, the sound fragile in the quiet night.
But mid-laugh, a vision struck.
Darel vanished, the sky turned red, thunder rumbling.
Fiery writing burned on the hostel wall: Your death is inevitable, come or not. She gasped, snapping back, her legs buckling.
Darel caught her, his hands firm on her shoulders.
"What did you see?" he asked, his voice urgent, eyes searching hers.
Lira's heart raced, the fiery words searing her mind, her body trembling in the moonlight