The walk back was quiet with neither of them speaking. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the path, and a gentle breeze carried the distant sounds of voices from the main grounds.
"You're quiet," Ziyan finally said, breaking the silence. His tone was casual, his hands inside his pockets as walked next to her. But from the corner of his eyes, he was watching her, observing her face though all he saw was a blank canvas.
"Just thinking," Astra replied.
"About?"
"You're dangerous." Her voice held no judgment, just a simple statement of fact.
Ziyan stopped walking. For a heartbeat, something flickered across his face before that familiar lazy smirk returned. He spun around and began walking backward, his dark eyes fixed on her face. Though Astra did not look at him and continued walking.
"And yet you don't seem scared," he pointed out.
"Should I be?"
"Most people are."
"I'm not most people."
"No," he agreed, his voice dropping slightly. "You're definitely not."
They walked in silence for a few more steps before Ziyan spoke again. "So, if I'm dangerous, and you're not scared..." He let the sentence hang in the air between them.
"Are you asking if I'm dangerous too?" Astra's voice remained neutral, but there was something in her tone that made Ziyan's smirk widen.
"Are you?"
For the first time since they'd started walking, Astra turned to look at him directly. Her silver eyes met his dark ones, and for a moment, neither of them moved.
"I guess you'll have to figure that out yourself," she finally said.
Ziyan laughed. "Oh, I intend to."
Ziyan turned to walk properly beside her again. They walked a few more steps in silence before Ziyan spoke again. "The boy and the ones who put him up to it will be expelled from school. I will make sure of that."
Astra nodded slightly. "Good."
"That's it? Just 'good'?"
"What else is there to say?"
Ziyan shook his head, unable to suppress his smile. "You really are impossible to read, you know that?"
Maybe you're just not looking hard enough," she said.
Before Ziyan could respond, they heard Rowan's voice calling out from ahead. "ASTRA! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?"
"And there goes our peace and quiet," Ziyan muttered.
They rounded the corner to find Rowan looking considerably worse for wear. His clothes were disheveled, his lip was split, and there was definitely going to be a bruise forming around his left eye. Behind him, Emrys was sporting a bloody nose and holding what looked like someone's shoe. Meanwhile, Silas seemed to be the only one who'd emerged relatively unscathed, though his usually neat hair was sticking up at odd angles.
"Where were you?" Rowan demanded, marching up to them. His eyes narrowed as they darted between Astra and Ziyan. "And why are you two together?"
"Taking care of business," Ziyan answered.
"What kind of business?"
"The kind that ensures no one tries to kill you with a horse again."
Rowan opened his mouth, likely to demand more details, but Astra cut him off. "You're bleeding."
"Huh?" Rowan touched his split lip. "Oh, yeah. But you should see the other guy! I totally—"
"We should get you cleaned up," she interrupted, already walking past him toward the ranch house.
"But—"
"Now, Rowan."
******
It was not long before Astra and Rowan went home with Astra making a mental note to never step out of her room until the school officially began. When they entered the living room, they came across Calix who seemed to be on a phone. He paused for a second, his eyes fixed on the two.
"Something urgent just came up. I will call you sometime later," he told the person on the phone and ended the call before he could receive a reply.
"Are you hurt?" He questioned, his feet already taking him towards the two.
"Oh, this is noth—" Rowan stopped mid-sentence when Calix passed him without so much as a glance, heading straight for Astra.
"I am fine," Astra responded.
But Calix still ran his eyes all over her, looking for a sign of injury, and sighed in relief when he found none.
Rowan's face twisted with mock betrayal. "Why aren't you asking me? I'm the one who's actually hurt!" he exclaimed, pointing at himself dramatically.
"You'll survive," Calix said flatly, not even looking at him.
"You...you..."
"Master Rowan! What happened?" Rosetta, who was informed the two had returned gasped when she saw Rowan's injured face. She ran to him and grabbed his face in her hands, examining his face.
"Nanny Rose," Rowan dramatically stiffened, "I knew there was at least someone who cared about me."
"Of course, I care about you, my child. Tell me, who did this to you?" Rosetta asked him as if she was a mother consoling her toddler.
"Don't worry, Nanny Rose. They are just some small injuries from a war that I won," Rowan grinned. "You should have seen the other person's face."
"Did you get into a fight again?" Rosetta asked him and took a few steps away, "You remember how angry Master Lennox was last time, right?"
She then looked at Astra, eyes narrowing in slight disapproval. "And you just stood there and watched him? Why didn't you try to stop him?"
"And why should I have done that?" Astra tilted her head. Her silver eyes met Rosseta's, unblinking and utterly calm.
Rosetta nearly choked on air at the response. She looked at Astra, disbelief written clearly on her face.
"What do you mean, 'why'? He's your brother! Family looks out for each other, they don't just stand by while—"
"It's not her fault, Nanny Rose. I'm the one who picked the fight," Rowan cut in.
But she—" Rosetta began again, but the words seemed to stall in her throat when she felt Calix's sharp gaze on her.
"I believe you have work to attend to," Calix told her. Calix would be stupid if he had not noticed the animosity Nanny Rosetta held for Astra.
Rosseta's mouth opened and closed several times before she managed a stiff nod. "Yes, Master Calix."
She turned and hurried from the room, though not before throwing one last disapproving glance at Astra.
Once it was just the three of them left, Calix turned his attention to the two. "So...what exactly happened?"