Selene had forgotten how noisy classrooms could be. The scrape of chairs, the shuffle of papers, the endless hum of chatter—it was all so normal it hurt.
She sat by the window, chin propped on her hand, sunlight spilling across her desk. From here she could see the courtyard, where autumn leaves spiraled down in shades of copper and gold.
Adrian was at her side, sketching something on the margin of his notebook instead of taking notes. He leaned close, his voice pitched low so only she could hear.
"Look," he said, nudging the page toward her. A messy caricature of their teacher glared back, the head comically oversized.
Selene stifled a laugh behind her hand. It was such an Adrian thing to do. In her first life, she had missed this—the way he made dull moments lighter, the way he always turned toward her first when he wanted to share a joke.
This time, she thought, I'll make sure that smile belongs to me alone.
At lunch, she lingered by the vending machine with him, deliberately brushing her hand against his when she took her drink. He looked surprised, then grinned wider, but said nothing. Later, when they walked home together, she slowed her pace, letting the silence between them thrum like an unspoken question.
"Adrian," she said softly.
"Mm?"
"Do you ever think… about the future?"
He shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing at her sidelong. "What kind of future?"
She let her gaze drop, pretending to study the ground. "Like… us. Being more than just friends."
The air shifted. For a heartbeat, she thought she'd gone too far, too fast. But then Adrian laughed, awkward and a little breathless.
"Wow. You really do look different these days." He scratched the back of his neck. "You're serious, aren't you?"
Selene's heart hammered. She nodded, biting her lip.
Adrian's grin returned, brighter now. "Then… I guess I'll have to take you seriously too."
The world seemed to still in that moment. A rush of warmth bloomed in her chest, so fierce it nearly brought tears to her eyes. This is it. This is what I wanted. My second chance. My love.
And yet—
That night, when she fell asleep, her dreams were not of Adrian's smile.
They were of crimson eyes, watching her from the dark.
Veythar's voice curled like smoke in her ear.
"So eager to bind yourself again, little bride. But tell me—does his touch set you aflame? Does his gaze strip you bare? Or do you cling to him only because you fear what waits in the shadows?"
Selene jolted awake, heart racing, sheets twisted around her limbs. The warmth of Adrian's tentative affection still lingered… but so did the burn of the Demon Lord's words.
And for the first time, she wondered if love was as simple as she had dreamed.