Liam and Asher grabbed trays and moved down the food line, Asher piling on enough food to feed a small squad, while Liam, as usual, kept it simple—a protein-heavy meal with little fuss. As they walked toward their regular table near the far window, Asher slung his tray onto the table and slid into a seat between Charlotte and Dylan without hesitation. That left Liam with the only available space—right beside Sheila.

He took it wordlessly.

The table buzzed with chatter and laughter, plates clinking lightly as the group dug into their food. Dylan, as always, took center stage with animated hand gestures and a voice just a bit too loud for a cafeteria.

“Okay, okay—so get this,” Dylan began, pointing dramatically at Sheila, who was already smirking. “Yesterday, Miss Ice Princess here tried to freeze an entire boulder during elemental training. Not a wall. Not a target. A boulder. I asked her why, and you know what she said?”

“Oh gods,” Sheila murmured, trying to cover her face with one hand.

“‘I was trying to impress my instructor.'” Dylan mimicked in a high-pitched voice. “And instead of freezing it—she slipped on her own ice and smacked into it!”

The table exploded in laughter.

Max nearly choked on his drink. “No way! You slipped?”

“She landed like this,” Dylan said, reenacting her fall with a theatrical flop onto the table.

“Dylan!” Sheila groaned, clearly embarrassed but also laughing.

“I knew something was off with her walk yesterday,” Charlotte chimed in, grinning. “You were totally limping.”

“She was,” Ariana added with a giggle. “She even denied it when I asked. Said it was the boots.”

“Boots, my ass,” Asher laughed. “That’s the limp of someone who got owned by nature.”

Even Sheila cracked, letting out a laugh while shaking her head. “Alright, alright. Laugh it up. But next time, I’m freezing you.”

“You can freeze me anytime,” Dylan quipped with a wink.

“Oh my god,” Ariana muttered, pushing her tray away as she laughed.

As the group continued to joke and banter, Liam remained quiet. He ate slowly, his expression neutral, eyes mostly on his plate. The noise, the laughter—it wasn’t annoying per se, but it rubbed against his already-frayed nerves. Asher gave him a sideways glance once or twice, sensing something was off, but didn’t say anything.

Sheila, however, noticed the silence.

She leaned a little toward him, brushing some of her white hair behind her ear. “Hey,” she said gently. “You okay? You’ve been quiet.”

Liam didn’t look up. “I’m fine,” he replied bluntly, voice flat, almost cold.

Sheila blinked at the response. It wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t the Liam she’d grown used to these past few months. He wasn’t exactly talkative on most days, but there was a difference between reserved and this… wall.

Her smile faltered, and she pulled back a little. “Right. Sorry I asked,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.

Liam didn’t react—not outwardly. But inside, he felt the brief sting of guilt.

Brief.

It wasn’t that he meant to be rude. He was just… exhausted. Almost completely, utterly drained. Two nights of no sleep, constant Myst output, high-alert thinking—his nerves were raw. Even the sound of laughter felt sharp in his ears. He knew none of this was Sheila’s fault—or anyone’s—but keeping his irritation from surfacing was like balancing on a blade’s edge.

Still, he gritted his teeth and kept himself in check, silently reminding himself why he was doing all this.

Within minutes, lunch break came to an end, and the cafeteria gradually emptied as students filtered out in groups or pairs, heading toward their next classes. Liam and his friends parted ways, each heading off in their own direction.

As usual, Liam and Charlotte made their way to Tactical Espionage together. The corridor buzzed with idle chatter and the sound of hurried footsteps, but Charlotte’s attention was fixed entirely on Liam. She noticed him rubbing his eyes repeatedly, his expression tight and unfocused.

“Hey, babe,” she said in a low, teasing purr. “I can smell your irritation from here. But tell me—what’s with all the eye rubbing? You look like you just got out of a dungeon.”

“Not in the mood, Charlotte,” Liam muttered, squinting against the light, his tone dull and restrained.

Charlotte tilted her head slightly, falling back a few steps before swinging in front of him and walking backward with a dancer’s ease. Her amber eyes scanned him thoughtfully.

“Mmm, I see it now. You haven’t slept properly, have you?” she hummed. “Poor thing. It’s eating away at you, huh?”

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning softly. “Charlotte. Please. Be quiet for a minute.”

But Charlotte was far from done. She leaned in, her voice practically dripping with mischief. “Oh come on, admit it—you need someone to keep you warm at night. Lucky for you, I’m right he—”

“Shut up, or I shut you up.”

The words came like ice—cold, calm, and cutting. Liam’s voice was low, almost too soft to be threatening, but the look in his one visible eye said everything. That deep red glow glimmered beneath his lashes, like the edge of a burning coal.

Charlotte froze.

Her breath caught in her throat as her heart skipped a beat. For a moment, everything else blurred—until she backed straight into the wooden door of the classroom, the impact snapping her back into reality.

Liam didn’t spare her another glance. He pushed open the other side of the double doors and walked into the classroom without a word.

Charlotte remained still, caught in a strange daze. She wasn’t scared—far from it. There was a thrill in the way he’d said it, in the way his gaze pinned her in place like a force of nature. It left a fluttering in her chest she didn’t quite know how to interpret.

After a few seconds, she blinked herself out of the haze, straightened up, and followed him inside. But even as she took her seat, she couldn’t get that look—or that tone—out of her head.

“Sit up straight, you lazy little shits,” Kaine barked from the front of the classroom, arms clasped behind his back as his cold gaze swept across the room.

“Today, we’re continuing with the tracking module. Just like yesterday, you’ll be identifying and following bootprints.” His voice was sharp, devoid of patience. “Now get up and let’s—”

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of soft, elegant laughter echoing through the corridor—two silky female voices drawing everyone’s attention as the door opened.

Seraphina and Mystica entered the room side by side, stealing every eye in the room with their commanding presence. Mystica wore her usual dark elegance, while Seraphina carried her trademark smirk, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

“Oh come on, he didn’t actually say that,” Seraphina laughed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

“Would I ever lie to you?” Mystica replied with a knowing smile.

“Well, that’s true,” Seraphina said, halting near the front of the class. “Now that we’re here, I suppose you’re going to steal my charming little boy away, aren’t you?”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m into young men the way you are, Sera,” Mystica replied with a chuckle. “I’m only borrowing him.”

“Same difference.”

Mystica’s violet gaze scanned the room until they landed on Liam. “Liam, would you mind coming with me for a bit?” she asked casually.

Liam, visibly tired, gave a blank stare before rising without a word and walking toward her.

“Well, since you didn’t say no, let’s go,” Mystica said, turning on her heel and leading the way out, Liam silently following.

“Bring him back in one piece,” Seraphina called after them with a sly smirk.

“No promises, sweetheart,” Mystica replied playfully as the door closed behind them.

With the two gone, Seraphina turned her focus back to the class. Her smirk deepened. “What? You all think just because he’s gone I won’t have someone else to remind you how pathetic you are?”

She took a slow step forward. “My dear Charlotte, would you be a darling and fill in for Liam today?”

Charlotte grinned, clearly enjoying the opportunity. “With pleasure, Lady Seraphina.”

Meanwhile, out in the corridor, Mystica and Liam walked side by side in silence, save for the gentle hums coming from Mystica.

After a moment, she asked, “So, how have you been?”

“Not great,” Liam muttered, rubbing and squinting his eyes again.

Mystica noticed right away. “Ahh, so that’s what the eye rubbing is about,” she said, her voice teasing. “Care to share?”

“Nothing major. Just pushed a spell too far. Now it’s messing with my head and vision,” Liam replied flatly.

“Hmm, nasty,” Mystica said, though her tone carried more curiosity than concern. “Anyway, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Liam scoffed softly. “What a coincidence. So do I.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep