The morning was cool. Fine wisps of fog drifted across the schoolyard as Lina passed through the gate. Her fingers clenched around the straps of her backpack, and in her pocket, her phone was still vibrating, even though she had read the message a hundred times already.
Tomorrow. 7 PM. Be there.
Three words, unassuming, yet they stuck in her head like paint that wouldn't dry. She had stared at them through the night until the letters blurred. Had it really been him? Or someone who knew how she'd react when he wrote?
The assembly hall smelled of damp clothing, dust, and cleaning products. Students ran past, voices echoed, doors slammed. Everything seemed louder than usual, brighter, more impatient.
Then she saw him.
Alaric stood at the end of the hallway, half in shadow. The hood hung at his neck, his gaze empty but sharp. Around him, the movements of others flowed as if they belonged to a different world. Only he stood still.
