"Since the housemasters are unwilling to cooperate. I'll have to teach you sword fighting." Julian says.
"I can't believe I landed a strike!" I squeal with joy.
"I can't believe someone can be so happy about losing."
"My goal was never to win. It was just to-"
"Well, your goal should be to win. You said you didn't want the others to think low of you, right? Then prove your strong."
"You're right, but how can I prove that when I can't use my magic?"
Julian stands so close too close, his gaze locking with mine, and for a moment, the world seems to blur. "Those golden eyes of yours," he murmurs, his voice low and sincere, "they're not just eyes. There's something in them—something rare, something magical. I can feel it. Just wait… keep learning your magic, and one day you'll see it too."
I can hardly focus on his words as I'm lost in the warmth of his presence. He's so impossibly handsome, with his tousled brown hair falling just enough to frame his face, his ruby eyes glowing with an intensity that makes my heart race. He's so tall that I have to tilt my head back just to meet his gaze—his strong, broad frame towering over me. Everything about him feels impossibly perfect, like a dream I'm afraid to wake from.
I swallow, trying to steady my breath, but it's hard when he stands so close, his scent lingering in the air around me, so familiar, so intoxicating.
"Sera! Julian told me you were in a sparring match. Are you okay?" Albert interrupts.
Julian moves aside.
"I'm okay. I managed to strike him once, and then surrendered."
"Great job."Albert says patting my head like I'm a child. I smile.
"But, you know it's not over yet. You'll have to fight next time, and the time after that, so you need to become stronger."
"Julian just said the same thing."
"All the more reason to listen."
"Don't worry, Albert. We'll start training before sunrise."
"I'll help then too. Now go get some sleep."
"Okay."
Instead of going to sleep I spend the night studying. I'm still trying to figure out how Julian was able to see past the illusion at the mansion. I know it has something to do with ability users, but I want to know the details specifically. I look at Julian, who's fast asleep and then look at the clock. It's 4:45 am, I doubt anybody will be awake. I can just go to the library get the book I want and come back. But first I should write a letter to Julian in case he wakes up. I swiftly get a sticky note and write "I'm in the library," and stick it to the door before opening it. I make sure I don't wake Julian up and quietly sneak out.
The library is empty, not to mention pitch black. With the lamp I'm carrying I search for the book I want on the shelves when I immediately feel someone cover my mouth and grab me. I drop the lamp and the glass shatters everywhere. With dark magic someone ties my legs, arms and covers my mouth. I try screaming but the magic rope tying me won't let me. I see a familiar face come in closer in the dark. Brian.
"You think you can make a fool out of me and get away with it?"
What does he mean? How did I make a fool out of him? He's the one who won when we were sparring.
I try to say something against the rope. "Mm! Mm!"
Brian grabs my cheek. "You know you're not really my type, but you've gotta nice body. Maybe you can pay me back for stricking me with sword?
He's angry because I struck him?
"And because you're a hopeless women, you won't be able to do anything." I squirm as Brian tries to pull the straps from my dress down.
"Tie her body to the floor!" Brian shouts at someone in the dark. Someone I can't see. The unknown person lurking the dark obeys and puts another rope around my abdomen to the floor.
Bam! A fireball sends Brian flying into the wall. "You son of a bitch!" Julian shouts. Swiftly the anonymous person teleports me and Brian outside but this time the ties around me are gone. I scream as loudly as I can and this time Albert appears grabbing the tying the anonymous person with black magic.
Where'd Brian go? I hastily look around when the The ground trembles violently beneath me, the earth groaning as it shifts and heaves. My body is jerked upward, my feet barely able to find any purchase, and I scream—raw, terrified. The cliff beneath me quakes, as though the very stone itself is alive, fighting to swallow me whole.
"Albert!" I shout, panic rising in my throat, my voice lost to the howling winds.
The cliff suddenly tilts, a sharp lurch to the right, and I feel myself slip—my legs flailing in the air, grasping desperately for something, anything to hold on to.
"Seraphina!" The cry is a lifeline in the chaos, but it feels too distant, too late.
I'm falling.
The world spins, a blur of colors and shadows, and my stomach lurches violently. Is this how I'm going to die? The thought hits me with a cold, paralysing clarity. My chest tightens with the weight of it, the fear clawing at my throat. I don't want to die. I can't die. Not like this. Not when everything is still unfinished.
Tears well up in my eyes, and before I can stop them, they spill down my cheeks, hot and bitter. My hand shoots out, grasping at the empty, unforgiving air as if I could catch something—anything—to save me from the inevitable fall. The sky is so distant, so unreachable, and yet I stretch for it, desperate, my fingers trembling as they claw at the nothingness.
I don't scream. I don't shout. There's no point. My voice is lost in the wind, swallowed by the vastness of this endless descent. It feels like time is stretching, pulling everything into slow motion. Each second drags on, endless, suffocating. The air slaps at my skin, cold and sharp, and my chest aches with each ragged breath I draw. I can't breathe. It's like the weight of the fall is pressing down on my very lungs.
I don't want to die. Please, please, I don't want to die.
The seconds turn to minutes, my heart pounding with a rhythm that matches the sickening feeling in my gut. Every beat feels heavier than the last. The ground is coming, I can feel it. It's coming, and I can't stop it. The desperation clings to me, making my chest ache even more. I'm falling so fast, and I can't do anything. I can't fight it. I can't save myself.
I close my eyes, tears flowing freely now, mingling with the wind against my face. I can't look at it anymore. I can't stand the thought of dying like this.
But I still reach. Still pray.
Please, don't let this be how it ends.
I gasp, my breath stolen from me, and my eyes fly open to find Julian's strong arms enveloping me, his body slick with sweat, his chest rising and falling in frantic rhythm. His eyes meet mine, dark and intense, filled with a quiet urgency.
"Julian!" My voice cracks, panic flooding my every nerve, my heart hammering in my chest.
His grip tightens around me, grounding me, his voice a low murmur that soothes like a balm. "It's okay... It's okay, I've got you."
"W-Where's Brian?" My words stumble out, fear clawing at my throat.
"I've got him... I've got Brian," Julian reassures me, his hands gentle yet firm as he sets me down. But I can't pull away. I throw my arms around his neck, collapsing into him, my tears spilling freely.
For a long moment, he holds me, as though he's afraid to let go. His touch is tentative at first, his hand brushing down my back, before he pulls me even closer, his arm wrapping securely around my waist. His fingers gently stroke my hair, his presence a steadying force amidst the storm of emotions inside me.
I tremble against him, my whole body quaking, and I cry harder, my face buried against his chest. In that moment, nothing else matters but the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear, the warmth of his embrace, and the undeniable pull between us.