Next day, at noon, Alaric sat in dining hall.
Having lunch with Oliver.
They’d talked about classes, upcoming assignnts, Oliver’s ongoing struggle with complex techniques. And other normal things.
But eventually, Oliver had excused himself, sothing about eting study group mbers before afternoon practicals.
Alaric had stayed at the table for a few more minutes, then rose and walked out into the gardens.
He needed to think. To process.
Last night had been a failure.
Not complete, they’d confird the vials, seen the coordination between the infiltrators, gathered intelligence. But they’d been forced to retreat. And worse, now those people knew soone was investigating them.
He paced along the stone path, hands in his pockets, jaw tight.
What am I missing?
First, the hooded figures. Then the strange girl on the rooftop with the tail that had knocked him unconscious with a glance. Elena and the others with their wrong essence signatures, gathering information, storing student essence samples.
Were they separate incidents? Or connected?
And why ?
That night with the Valtairs the girl had appeared specifically when he was vulnerable. Elena had been watching him.
What the fuck do they want?
His frustration built with each step. He’d co to this world with advantages, the system, knowledge from his past life, strategic thinking that surpassed most people his age. He’d been careful, thodical, always three steps ahead.
But now he felt like he was stumbling in the dark, reacting instead of controlling, being watched by forces he couldn’t identify or understand.
I need more information. More power. More...!
He’d walked farther than intended, into a quieter section of the gardens where fewer students ventured. The paths here were narrower, less maintained, with overgrown bushes providing natural screens.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sensation.
Soone was watching.
Alaric stopped mid-step. His awareness sharpened, essence senses extending outward.
There. Behind the hedge to his right. A presence, poorly concealed.
"Who’s there?" he called out, turning toward the hedge.
Then he saw, the clumsy movents as if soone trying to retreat.
Alaric moved quickly, rounding the hedge.
A figure startled backward, foot catching on an exposed root. She dropped hard onto her back with a pained wince.
"Ouch!"
Alaric blinked.
"Livia?"
The girl looked up at him with wide grey eyes, her inky black hair disheveled, face flushed with embarrassnt.
She clutched the pendant at her throat, her other hand pressed against the ground where she’d fallen.
"I-I didn’t..." Her voice ca out strangled, mortified. She tried to scramble backward, putting distance between them.
Alaric’s frustration evaporated, replaced by confusion and sothing like concern. "Are you hurt?"
"I’m fine!" She wouldn’t et his eyes. "I was just... I wasn’t following you, I was just—"
"Taking a walk?"
"Yes! Exactly. A walk. I didn’t know you were here. I was just..." She was rambling now, words tumbling over each other. "I should go. I’m sorry. I’ll just—"
"Livia." Alaric stepped forward, extending his hand. "It’s fine. Let help you up."
She stared at his hand like it might bite her. Her fingers twitched toward it, then pulled back. "I can get up myself."
"I know you can. But you don’t have to."
After a long hesitation, she took his hand.
Her grip was light, trembling slightly.
Alaric pulled her to her feet carefully, noting how she imdiately tried to withdraw her hand once she was standing.
He didn’t let go imdiately. "Are you sure you’re alright? That looked like a hard fall."
"I’m fine." Her voice was quieter now, so of the panic fading. "Just... embarrassed."
"Don’t be." He released her hand, giving her space. "Everyone’s clumsy sotis."
She finally t his eyes for a brief mont, then looked away quickly. "I really wasn’t following you. I co here sotis. To be alone. I didn’t realize anyone else knew about this spot."
"I didn’t either. I was just walking, thinking." He studied her for a mont. "You co here often?"
"Sotis." She was fidgeting with her pendant again. "When things get... overwhelming. It’s quiet here."
Alaric nodded slowly. He recognized that need for solitude, for spaces away from watching eyes and expectations.
"I understand that." He paused. "But maybe don’t hide behind hedges next ti? You startled . I thought soone was watching ."
Her face went even redder. "I wasn’t watching! I was just... when I heard footsteps, I panicked and tried to stay hidden so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone, and then I realized it was you, and I didn’t know what to do, so I just—" She cut herself off, realizing she was rambling again.
Despite everything, the frustration, the confusion, the weight of mysteries pressing down, Alaric found himself almost smiling.
"Relax. I’m not angry." He gestured to a nearby bench. "If you want to stay, you’re welco to. I was just thinking. You won’t bother ."
"I should go," she said quickly. "My brother will worry if—"
"Your brother isn’t here right now."
She hesitated, conflict clear on her face. Want versus fear. Curiosity versus self-preservation.
"I really should—"
"Livia." Alaric’s voice softened. "Don’t do that again. The hiding, I an. If you want to be sowhere, just be there. You don’t need to hide from people."
"Easy for you to say," she muttered.
"Is it?"
That made her look at him properly for the first ti. Really look, not just a glance before fleeing.
"You’re..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "Never mind."
"I’m what?"
"Nothing. I need to go."
She turned to leave, but Alaric spoke again. "You know, you’re allowed to exist in the sa spaces as other people without apologizing for it."
Livia stopped but didn’t turn around. Her shoulders were tense, rigid.
"I know that," she said quietly.
"Do you?"
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, she turned back slightly. "Why do you care?"
"Because you looked genuinely terrified just now. Over sothing as simple as being in a garden." Alaric tilted his head. "That’s not normal."
"Maybe I’m not normal."
"No one is. But there’s a difference between being unusual and being afraid of your own shadow."
Her hands clenched around that pendant. "You don’t know anything about ."
"No, I don’t." He acknowledged that easily. "But I know what fear looks like. And whatever you’re afraid of, it’s not . Not really."
Livia was quiet for a long mont, her eyes searching his face for sothing like mockery, maybe, or hidden cruelty.
Finding neither seed to confuse her more.
"I should go," she said again, but with less conviction.
"If you want." Alaric stepped closer, just one step, testing. She didn’t retreat this ti. "But if you ever need a quiet place to think, and I’m here? You don’t need to hide. Just say hello. It’s easier than falling on your back trying to avoid being seen."
Despite herself, a tiny, reluctant smile flickered across her face. "That’s not funny."
"A little funny."
"Not even a little."
"Objectively, it was at least sowhat amusing."
This ti the smile stayed a beat longer. Then it faded, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "Thank you. For not... being angry. Or an about it."
"Why would I be an?"
"Most people would be." She said it matter-of-factly, like stating an obvious truth.
That gave Alaric pause. "Have people been an to you?"
Her expression shuttered imdiately. "I really need to go now."
Before she could turn away again, Alaric reached out and caught her hand. Not gripping, not restraining. Just... touching.
She froze, staring down at their hands.
"Livia." His voice was quieter now. "Whatever happened to make you this afraid... I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve it."
Her breath hitched. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. "You don’t know that."
"Yes, I do." He said it with certainty. "No one deserves to feel like they have to hide from the world."
A tear escaped, tracking down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly with her free hand, embarrassed.
"I’m fine," she whispered. "I’m handling it."
"Are you?"
"I have to be." Her voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear it. "There’s no other choice."
Alaric’s thumb brushed gently across her knuckles, a soft, grounding touch.
"There’s always a choice. Sotis they’re all terrible, but they exist."
She looked up at him then, and sothing in her expression cracked.
"Why are you being nice to ?" The question ca out almost accusatory. "You don’t even know that much."
"We had already t before and are good friends, do I need any other reason?"
"Everyone has reasons."
"Then maybe mine is that I recognize soone who’s drowning and pretending they’re fine." He held her gaze steadily. "I’ve been there. It’s exhausting."
Livia’s lower lip trembled. She pulled her hand away, not violently, just... withdrawing. Creating distance.
"I need to go," she said for the third ti. "My brother really will worry."
"Alright."
She turned to leave, then paused. Without looking back, she spoke quietly. "Thank you. For not making feel stupid."
"You’re not stupid, Livia. You’re scared. There’s a difference."
She didn’t respond to that. Just walked away, her steps quick but not quite running.
Alaric watched her disappear around the hedge, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
Shaking off the encounter, he turned back toward the main campus paths.
He had work to do. Mysteries to solve. Gas to win.
But part of his mind remained on that brief interaction, on the fear in Livia’s eyes, on the way she’d looked at him.
What happened to you?
He didn’t know.
But he’d find out eventually.
Whether he want it to or not.
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