Evaline:
The weekend slipped by far too quickly.
It had been warm, full of laughter and touches, stolen kisses and lingering embraces. Ti spent with my mates always seed to bend around , disappearing before I could cling to it. And this ti was no different.
By Sunday afternoon, after the promised massage therapy session that left so relaxed I nearly fell asleep in Oscar’s arms, I found myself being dropped back at the Academy gates.
Draven leaned over from the driver’s seat, a teasing smile playing at his lips as his fingers brushed over mine before I climbed out.
"Don’t stress yourself too much about the exams. You have got this."
His voice carried the kind of steady reassurance I had co to rely on. I smiled, nodded, and waved him goodbye before heading inside. And just like that, the real world ca crashing back in.
From the mont I stepped into my dorm room, I forced myself to set aside all thoughts of Oscar, Draven... even Kieran. My textbooks sprawled open on the coffee table, notes scattered everywhere, my mind already buzzing with runes, history, potions, and formulas.
The days blurred together after that.
Morning classes bled into afternoons of project deadlines. Evenings were a haze of study groups with Mallory, Kyros, Rowan, Noah, Selene, and Ria.
I had to admit - despite the looming pressure of exams, there was sothing oddly comforting about our little circle. We would huddle together in the library, heads bent over notebooks and ink-stained fingers, exchanging notes and helping each other morize complicated rune patterns or potion recipes.
Of course, between all that, my mind kept drifting.
Too often.
To them.
The Thorne brothers.
River didn’t speak to during the week. He never did. He was the one who existed on the periphery of my life, looming like a shadow I couldn’t quite shake. But ever since that afternoon in his office - the way he had pressed his lips to my neck, the way his scent clung to , the way he pulled back just when I thought I would fall - I found myself thinking of him more than I should.
His restraint unsettled . His intensity lingered in my bones. And every ti I replayed that mont, heat pooled low in my belly, sha quickly chasing it away.
Oscar and Draven, on the other hand, were too busy to keep distracted from River’s ghost.
Oscar had his duties as an instructor. I would sotis catch a glimpse of him in the dining hall, his sharp profile tilted down at his tablet even while sipping coffee, too focused to notice staring.
Other tis, I passed him in the hallways, and our eyes would et for a brief second - enough to make my heart stutter before we both carried on as though nothing happened.
Draven was no better. As a second-year, he was just as consud by exam preparations. His break from library duty only ant we couldn’t et. And while we exchanged quick ssages or the occasional short call, his presence felt fleeting at best. I missed his teasing smiles and warmth.
And then there was Kieran.
The man I shouldn’t be thinking about.
He looked much better now, healthier, sharper, but I still found my gaze drifting to him during Herbs and Potion classes. The way his hands moved over delicate plants, the calm authority in his voice, the steadiness of his posture. He was magnetic, and every ti I caught myself staring too long, I snapped my attention back to my notes, my cheeks burning.
It didn’t matter that he had told he already had a mate. That he harbored feelings for another girl. It should have been enough to stop these stray thoughts from clawing into . But no matter how much I scolded myself, I would lose control, again and again.
Each ti it happened, guilt gnawed at .
Mallory’s words haunted .
Her crazy theory... that since I was already mated to three out of the four brothers, maybe fate intended to be mated to the fourth as well.
I told myself she was wrong. That Kieran’s confession about his mate and the girl he had feelings for should have closed that door forever.
And yet...
I hated myself for even letting the thought linger.
Another weekend rolled by.
But unlike the last, this one was empty.
Oscar and Draven were buried in preparations for the upcoming exams, and I didn’t have ti for romance either. River didn’t show up at the HQ at all. And just like that, I was left with nothing but my books, my friends, and the gnawing ache of loneliness I couldn’t admit out loud.
The week blurred, one day folding into the next. And then, almost without warning, the exams arrived.
January 25th.
The date lood like a thundercloud, and when I woke up that morning, the first thing that hit was the weight of it. My first exam - Runes.
I sat on the edge of my bed, rubbing my temples, inhaling deeply as I tried to steady my nerves.
Fifteen days of battle stretched ahead of .
Fifteen days of exams that would test everything I had learned, everything I had morized over the past couple of months.
And so it began.
My life shrank to nothing but laptop, pen, parchnt, and whispered study sessions.
Days and nights spent in the company of my friends.
They kept sane.
Together, we transford the library into our battlefield. The long oak tables beca our fortress, lined with stacks of books and ink-stained fingers. Sleep beca a luxury, als were eaten hurriedly, conversations strayed only to exam questions and whispered jokes to ease the pressure.
Every now and then, I caught myself drifting again. Thinking of the brothers. But then Rowan would ask to check a rune sequence, or Mallory would swat my arm and tell to focus, and I would snap back into the present.
And slowly, painfully, the days ticked by.
One exam. Then another. And another.
Each one leaving drained, but also oddly exhilarated... because I was surviving it, or more like acing it.
And with each passing day, the finish line drew closer.
Reviews
All reviews (0)