Magical Bonds class was held in a different room. Smaller.
The walls were made of dark stone, with symbols carved into the pillars. The air felt heavier there—like every word spoken had an echo that never quite faded.
— "Marks," the professor began, pacing between the desks, "are not decorations. They are alive. And they don't forget."
A shiver ran through me.
Not from the cold.
From something deeper.
The class went on, students sketching runes and notes, but I could barely focus.
My back... was burning.
Right where the mark was.
That strange symbol no one ever explained.
The one I shared with someone who now pretended I didn't exist.
I couldn't help it—I turned my head.
He was there.
Gael.
Still. Calm. Writing.
But his fingers…
They were trembling.
Just a little.
But enough.
And then—
It happened.
For a second, I wasn't in that classroom.
I was running.
A little girl again.
Laughing.
With him.
The same Gael. Younger. His eyes full of something they no longer held.
> "Naia, I'll protect you,"
he said.
"Even if you don't believe me."
The memory vanished as fast as it had come.
I gripped the desk, breath shallow.
How could I remember something…
I didn't even know I'd forgotten?
---
When class ended, I didn't move.
Everyone else left.
Even him.
But right before he stepped out,
he paused.
Just for a moment.
And without looking back, he said—softly:
> "The mark doesn't lie.
Even if we do."
And then he was gone.