Windsor's POV
Zion still hadn't returned.
Days had passed since our last encounter, and his absence felt like a weight pressing against my chest. The Academy Wars Finale loomed ahead, the match that would crown this year's victorious academy, yet his empty desk mocked me during every class. When professors called his name, silence answered back. Even his closest friends seemed genuinely puzzled by his disappearance.
My thoughts circled him constantly, despite my efforts to concentrate on the upcoming competition. Everything else felt muted and distant without him around.
Lost in these distracting thoughts, I turned the corner of the east hallway and crashed directly into someone's solid frame.
"Sorry," I mumbled, automatically stepping backward.
Then his scent hit me, and my blood turned cold.
Mr. Sinclair.
His eyes found mine, that familiar cruel smile playing across his lips. "Windsor Wade," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "I actually remembered your name this time."
