The red sun bled into the horizon, painting the sky with the hues of red, orange, and purple.
A canvas, Severine thought as she took in the sight before her.
Under the evening glow, students moved as their shadows danced along the academy hallways.
As she walked toward her dorm room, the past week's events flashed through her mind.
Although most of her time had been spent curled up in pain and then dozing off back into oblivion, she had enough consciousness to recall what she had done during one of her fits.
She had sensed a familiarity around her and, like a child instinctively finding her guardian, she had grabbed onto it.
So, when she woke up, she saw bright red marks on Killian's hand. Worse yet, she was still clutching it.
"You are awake," Killian said with downcast eyes. His voice was hoarse, exhaustion seeping into his every gesture.
When he tried to check her temperature, she hastily tightened her grip.
The silence that followed blazed in her ears.
