After the fight with Jace, I couldn't sleep. So, like always, I ran into a dream.
I tried to walk—but my legs were heavy, like roots sunk deep into the earth.
A cloaked figure in violet stepped toward me—yet did nothing. She just stood there. Waiting.
The surrounding space shifted, melting into the corridors of my school.
But she was still there—unchanged.
Her eyes… muted gold, as if they had seen me before I even saw her. Taller than me, standing at an angle that obscured most of her face. The way she stood—like he sometimes stands in front of me. Not threatening, but not backing down either.
Why does she feel so familiar? Why does she always come back?
She smelled like wet earth after a storm. Familiar. Almost comforting—and at the same time, chilling.
And then it hit me—it was just a dream.
I jolted awake. My heart raced, pounding behind my temples. A heavy feeling gripped my chest, and I trembled. It took me a moment to realize it was only a nightmare. But even with my eyes open, she was still there—inside me: the earth, the gold, the fear.
Something shifted at the edge of my vision. A breath that wasn't mine. A shadow on the wall. A shape.
I jumped, my heart pounding as if it might burst—
Then came his voice: "Are you okay?"
Oliver.
My eyes adjusted; his figure sat at the edge of my bed.
"Oliver?" I whispered, still dazed. "What are you doing here? How did you even get in? Everyone's asleep—"
"I used a silence-passage spell," he said in a low voice. "Didn't turn on any lights. No one saw me." He shrugged, quieter than usual. "I couldn't sleep… thought maybe you couldn't either. And then… I ended up here."
He shouldn't be here. This wasn't a typical lesson. Not even a regular hour. But instead of yelling at him, I got up. Why?
I glanced at the window—the air was too still, the trees trembling in the faint wind. I tapped my phone screen.
"Five in the morning? You're serious? You wake me for a lesson from hell? I'd rather go back to sleep."
"One—I didn't wake you. You were already up. And two…"
I rolled my eyes, leaning into my pillow.
"You don't want to just get this lesson over with?"
Fair enough.
"But why here? And how did you even know where I live?"
He shrugged again, then looked at me with an unreadable expression. His fingers fidgeted with the ring on his hand, as if speaking without words.
"I used a tracking spell. I had to make sure you were okay." His tone ran deeper than a smirk, though he tried to smile.
"Would you rather Jace be the one showing up in your bed?" He added, half-whispering, half-smiling—trying too hard to hide something raw.
He didn't expect an answer, but his gaze darted away the moment I mentioned Jace. His lips parted, as if about to say what neither of us dared. But he stayed silent. And I… didn't breathe until he leaned back.
"It's a secret," he finally said. "But I'll reveal it—if you beat me. What do you say? Deal?"
I sighed. "Deal." I rose and shook his hand.
I doubted Jace ever got a midnight visit like this—just me.
I threw on something comfortable. Sporty. He stood behind me—too close—and touched my arm. His hand was warm. Almost burning. And the current that rose through my skin made me forget where I was. My breath hitched—like my body forgot how.
Is this torture—or a clumsy attempt at protection? Or maybe… even he couldn't tell the difference anymore. And that scent—just like in the dream. Rain-soaked earth.
Why him? Why does he get under my skin? Maybe because he sees what I try to hide. Maybe… because he's not afraid of who I am.
His hand retracted, as if realizing too late just how close he was. His breath brushed the back of my neck.
"Close your eyes," he whispered.
When I opened them, we were no longer in my room.
We stood in a place that seemed ancient, like a memory from a dream—carved stone pillars, flickering orange torchlight, and the scent of ash and dust. Footsteps echoed in the stone corridor, while the wind whispered behind the walls.
We had passed through a crack in the air. One blink—and the world had changed.
For the first time, I understood what a timeless lesson meant.
I knew this place. We had been here for my first water lesson, the day when I came close to drowning. Not just familiar—it returned, as if fate kept dragging me back until I learned.
I realized his tests never start when I'm ready.
I turned. He was still behind me. His touch still lingered on my skin.
And what unraveled me most was that I no longer trusted my own body.
I stepped back. That same feeling—like I stood at a cliff's edge, not knowing whether to jump or run. My heart hammered. No—it was just adrenaline. Sure.
I knew exactly why he got under my skin. And that confused me more.
Jace made me feel safe. But Oliver… he made me think of danger—the kind I didn't know whether to flee or chase.
Maybe I wasn't drawn to him. Maybe he drew me in by seeing me. But seeing me didn't make him safe.
It wasn't just because he was my teacher. It was because he knew how to hurt me.
And how to make me want to stay.
"Okay, so what are you testing me on?" I asked, shifting the subject, my steps unsteady.
He gestured for me to follow. The corridor narrowed. Stones cracked with age.
We found a side door—better than the others—and entered a semicircular room. Torches fixed along the low ceiling flickered against the walls.
Then—a gust. Wings. A sharp whoosh.
I spun in panic—he flew at me and tried to knock me down.
The stones scraped my knees, but I rose before I felt the pain.
He landed steady, ran at me, and stopped an inch away. No space between us. His eyes read every inch of me.
My breath caught—like I forgot again.
"I was testing your reflexes."
"And you couldn't have warned me?!"
"That's the point," he said, no smile this time. "To see how you react when there's no time to think."
He turned. "Come. Now we move on to elemental spells."
I followed without protest.
"What do you know about them?" His voice had an unsettling calmness.
"I remember we studied this last time."
"Yes," he said, "but you struggled to move even a drop of water. Not exactly impressive."
We reached a circle carved into the floor's center. His gaze sharpened.
"Now try fire."
That word alone made my pulse stutter.
"It's an element that responds to rage, to passion… or to fear," he added under his breath.
No smile. And that terrified me more.
Something shifted. This wasn't just another lesson. Not just a test.
His jaw tightened, as if unspoken words were choking him. His hand moved to his sleeve—like he was losing his edge.
I took a deep breath. My hand trembled.
One torch flickered—then the flame jumped forward, licking toward his sleeve.
One second more, and it would have touched him.
My hand shook. I did that.
If I had scorched him, I would never forgive myself. Not because he was my teacher, but because he was the only one who ever made me tremble like this.
And that didn't just scare me. It broke something inside.
He moved fast, grabbed my wrist, and stopped the flame.
"Enough." His voice cut through the air. The flame vanished.
The distance between us returned—but inside, nothing went back.
I almost set him on fire.
What would I have done if I had?
He was my teacher. And tonight, I didn't know who was teaching whom.
And even though I should've been afraid, all I wanted to know was—did he feel it too?
Because that flame rises only when he is near.
Maybe I'm not afraid of my power.
Maybe I'm terrified of what my heart is willing to do—for someone I shouldn't love.
He looked at me too long, then turned away without a word.
And that silence… was the loudest thing he said all night.
And me? I don't know if he realizes what he awakened in me.
And even if he does—
I'm not sure it makes a difference.