Velka had been acting strange all day.
Not the kind of strange that would usually set off alarm bells, but sothing subtler. Sothing softer, hidden beneath careful glances and lingering smiles that didn't quite reach her eyes. It was the sort of quiet difference you only noticed when you knew soone inside and out like a chord slightly off-tune in a familiar song.
I watched her across the dining hall, feeling oddly unsettled. She sat with Mara and Elira, laughing at sothing Mara had said. It wasn't her laugh at least, not the one I was used to. This one was lighter, warr, less guarded. More confident.
And Velka Nightthorn was never less than guarded. Her defenses were like the obsidian walls of Arcanum itself: immovable, unbreakable. But today, she seed different. Easier. Happier, maybe.
I didn't like it.
A gentle poke at my side snapped from my thoughts. I glanced down sharply, nearly spilling my soup. Riven raised an eyebrow, his usual smirk softened into sothing suspiciously concerned.
"Earth to Elyzara," he drawled. "You've been staring at her like you're trying to light her cloak on fire with your mind."
"I have not," I protested imdiately, heat rising in my cheeks. "I was just…thinking."
"Dangerous pasti," he replied, stealing one of my dinner rolls. "Especially with that face you were making."
I glared at him. "What face?"
He shrugged, unconcerned. "You know, the one where you look like soone replaced your favorite knife with a spoon."
Aria leaned forward, eyes twinkling with amusent. "Riven's right, Elyzara. Is sothing wrong with Velka? You're staring at her even more intensely than usual."
I felt my face burn hotter. "I was not staring—"
"Relax," Aria laughed, nudging playfully. "We're your friends. We notice these things."
My eyes drifted involuntarily back to Velka. As if sensing my gaze, she glanced up, eyes locking onto mine. For a heartbeat, everything seed normal. Then she smiled slow, deliberate, dazzling and waved slightly, fingers delicate as petals drifting through air.
I blinked in surprise. Velka didn't wave. Velka barely even smiled in public. Yet here she was, openly affectionate, publicly charming.
My stomach twisted with confusion. I waved back awkwardly, then quickly returned to my soup, praying my embarrassnt wasn't visible from across the room.
"See?" Aria giggled, nudging Riven. "That's not the usual Velka."
"Well, I don't know," Riven mused thoughtfully, "maybe she's just finally cracked. Happens to the best of us around here."
I shot him a glare, but my mind raced. Sothing wasn't right.
After dinner, I headed out into the softly lit corridor, lost in thought, when a quiet voice called from behind.
"Elyzara?"
I turned swiftly, heart skipping unevenly. Velka stood near the archway, shadows flickering gently across her pale skin. Her dark hair cascaded around her shoulders like ink in moonlight. It was undeniably her, yet…
"Hey," I said softly, carefully neutral. "Is everything alright?"
Velka smiled again brighter, warr than usual. "Everything's fine. Better than fine, actually."
I frowned slightly, stepping closer. "You sure? You've been…different today."
She laughed lightly. "Different? Good different or bad different?"
I hesitated, unsure. "Just…different."
Velka tilted her head, stepping closer still, eyes softening into a gentle warmth. "Maybe I've just realized so things. About us."
"Us?" My voice cracked embarrassingly. "What about us?"
Her lips quirked into another smile, softer now, almost shy. "I was thinking—maybe we could spend so ti together. Alone. Without everyone else watching our every move."
My heartbeat quickened sharply. "You an, like a…date?"
Velka hesitated for only a fraction of a second, barely noticeable. "Yes. Exactly like a date."
I stared, utterly speechless. Velka the Velka who stumbled over words, who refused even the gentlest teasing was boldly asking on a date. In public. Without blushing, without stumbling, without second-guessing herself.
It felt…wrong.
And yet my heart stubbornly skipped with hope. Maybe, just maybe, Velka was finally letting down her guard. Maybe this was real.
"Where?" I asked finally, my voice breathless despite my suspicion. "When?"
"Tonight," she answered softly, her eyes locked onto mine. "There's a small clearing outside the academy gardens. It's quiet, secluded."
A small warning stirred at the edge of my mind, an intuition whispering caution. But I ignored it. Because this was Velka, wasn't it?
"I'd like that," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I'll et you there."
Velka smiled again, stepping closer, fingers brushing briefly over mine. "I'll be waiting."
Then she turned, disappearing down the shadowed corridor, leaving standing frozen in place, heartbeat hamring chaotically in my chest.
I stood there a mont longer, torn between excitent and unease, before finally turning away and heading quickly toward my dorm room. Every step echoed loudly, but it wasn't enough to drown the lingering doubts swirling in my mind.
Velka Nightthorn was different today maybe dangerously so.
Yet, despite every whispered warning, I found myself hoping desperately that whatever had changed might finally bring us closer.
Perhaps tonight would finally give answers.
Or perhaps, whispered that nagging voice again, tonight would change everything forever.
The sky had darkened, stars twinkling gently as I stepped into the clearing. Moonlight filtered softly through the leaves, illuminating the gentle slope, flowers glowing softly, their petals edged silver.
Velka was already there, standing with her back toward . Her silhouette was ethereal, impossibly beautiful against the shimring moonlight. My heart stuttered again, hope and fear tangling together.
"Velka?" I asked softly, approaching carefully. "I'm here."
She turned slowly, eyes bright in the darkness. A tender smile curled at her lips. "I'm glad you ca."
I stopped a few steps away, uncertainty fluttering beneath my ribs. " too. But Velka, I—"
She raised a finger gently, stepping closer until she stood inches from . Her eyes glittered softly. "No questions, Elyzara. Not tonight."
Her voice, gentle and soothing, drowned my doubts. Before I could respond, she leaned forward, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my cheek. Heat flooded my face, warmth spreading fiercely through .
"Just us," she whispered softly, fingers brushing gently along my cheek. "Tonight, let everything else fade away."
And in that mont, beneath the pale moonlight, with Velka's warmth so close, so reassuring I let go of suspicion.
I smiled softly, nodding. "Just us."
But sowhere deep inside, a quiet voice still whispered, still doubted.
Is it really her?
And in the shadows, hidden from sight, the leaves rustled faintly like a warning I'd already ignored.
The night wrapped itself around us like velvet, thick and soft, whispering with the hush of wind-dancing leaves. Velka's hand lingered in mine. It was warm. Solid. Gentle. But… sothing felt off. Not wrong, exactly just not her. Not quite.
She tilted her head toward the sky, admiring the stars as if she didn't feel my hesitation through our fingers. As if she couldn't see the way I kept glancing at her from the corner of my eye, trying to align this version of Velka with the one I had co to know. The Velka who blushed at complints, who rolled her eyes like a reflex but always softened when I spoke her na. The Velka who never made the first move.
This Velka had kissed my cheek like it was easy. Like it was normal. And that… wasn't.
"You're awfully quiet," she murmured, gaze still lifted skyward. "Am I that boring?"
My stomach twisted. The tone was teasing, but sothing beneath it rang artificial. Like an echo mimicking warmth. I forced a soft laugh.
"No," I said, maybe too quickly. "Just… tired, I think."
Lie. Half-lie. Maybe a quarter. I didn't know anymore.
She finally looked back at , her crimson eyes catching silver moonlight. For a second, they looked almost glassy. Too perfect. Too polished.
"You're always thinking," she said, taking a step closer. "It's one of the things I like most about you."
My heart stumbled in my chest. Those were the words I wanted to hear. Just… not like this. Not wrapped in unease and wrapped again in moonlight.
"Velka," I started carefully, "can I ask you sothing?"
She smiled, and my gut clenched. It was the sa smile I'd seen earlier at dinner the one that didn't belong. The one that stretched just a little too wide, as if drawn from mory instead of instinct.
"Anything," she said, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
I stepped back slightly.
And that's when I felt it barely, just a flicker in my chest.
My magic pulsed. Subtle. Subterranean. Like sothing deep inside didn't trust what it was seeing.
I tried to ignore it.
"Do you rember the first ti we talked alone?" I asked. "In the library?"
She tilted her head again. "Of course," she said smoothly. "You were reading that book on dinsional warping."
I stared.
I hadn't been.
I'd been pretending to read about celestial rituals while eavesdropping on Mara and Elira's argunt behind a bookshelf. Velka had called out on it with a snort and a, "You're about as subtle as Riven's fashion sense."
But this Velka? She got the book wrong.
And Velka Nightthorn never forgot a book title.
My chest tightened. "Yeah," I said softly. "That was a weird day."
She laughed again, that sa airy sound. And I realized sothing awful.
She hadn't once insulted tonight.
Not once.
Not even a sarcastic jab about my inability to fold laundry or my dramatic sighs when I used too much magic.
No teasing. No exasperated eye-rolls.
Nothing real.
I took a slow step back.
Velka stepped forward to follow.
"I should go," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "Early class tomorrow."
She blinked, surprised. "Already? But we just—"
"I'm tired," I cut in, forcing a yawn. "Really. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She hesitated. Just a beat. But enough.
Then she nodded, slow and sweet. "Alright," she said, "but only if you promise not to dream about anyone else."
I smiled tightly. "No promises."
And I turned and walked away.
Fast.
I didn't look back.
My hands were sweating, my heart pounding hard enough to rattle my ribs.
That wasn't Velka.
It couldn't be.
The second I stepped back into the academy's shadowed halls, the system's voice purred quietly in my head.
[Took you long enough,] it said.
"You noticed it too?" I whispered aloud, voice shaking.
[Of course I did. I've seen taxes with more personality than that thing.]
I winced. "Why didn't you warn ?"
[Because,] it said smugly, [you needed to see it for yourself. Emotional confusion builds resilience. Character developnt, darling.]
"Remind to uninstall your entire existence."
[You won't. I'm adorable.]
I blew out a breath, half-laughing, half-terrified.
The worst part?
I wanted to believe it had been her. I'd wanted it so badly, I'd ignored every red flag even the ones on fire.
But now?
Now I had questions.
And the real Velka?
Wherever she was?
She was going to give answers.
Even if I had to drag her out of the void by her cloak.
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