Xin
Marion waited in the Academy garden, the small jewelry box trembling in his damp hands. When Tamara finally approached—elegant as ever, a faint smile on her lips—his breath caught in his throat.
"Marion." She stopped in front of him.
He swallowed, opened the box, and held out the necklace with the copper rose. "For you. A gift. Because… because you mean more to me than I can put into words."
For a moment, she said nothing. Then she smiled—warm, soft—and fastened the necklace around her neck. Before he could react, she leaned forward and kissed him. A brief, gentle kiss—but for Marion, it felt like the world stopped breathing.
She took his hand and held it tightly. "Thank you. It's beautiful." Then her voice dropped, almost to a whisper. "But I need to tell you something."
His heart skipped. "W-what?"
"Yesterday… I was on my way back to the dormitory. And I met a girl." She hesitated, searching his face. "Blue hair. Blue eyes. About my height. She called herself Xin."
Marion's stomach twisted.
"She was beautiful," Tamara continued. "Probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen at the Academy. But…" She grimaced slightly. "She was strange. Her clothes were worn out, and she smelled unpleasant. She just walked up to me and asked why a dead deer isn't a good gift for a woman you love."
Marion's pulse thundered in his ears.
"She really said that?" he forced out.
Tamara nodded seriously. "Yes. She even explained which parts of a deer taste best raw. As if that were completely normal." A shiver ran through her. "I tried to brush her off, but she wouldn't leave. Only when I was about to call for my friends did she… just disappear."
Marion's heart pounded. She was here. She was with Tamara.
Tamara squeezed his hand. "It was… frightening, Marion. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want them thinking I've lost my mind."
He could only nod stiffly.
She offered a faint smile. "But you know what? You're with me. And that's enough."
She kissed him again, softly, then rested her forehead against his.
Marion couldn't enjoy it.
Only one name echoed in his head:
Xin.
Shadows
The Academy lay quiet, only a few windows still glowing with light. Night crept between the ancient walls—deep and black—and within it sat Nix.
She crouched on a ledge in the shadows, knees drawn to her chest, moonlight gleaming faintly on her copper skin. In her hands she held a freshly killed rabbit, its throat slit clean. Without hesitation, she bit into it. Blood ran down her chin. For her, it was as natural as breathing.
But her eyes were empty.
She chewed and swallowed, thinking of those who were no longer there. Her small friends. The trembling lesser goblins who had stolen sheep only because they were hungry. All dead. Cut down by shining steel. Burned by sparks.
She closed her eyes.
I want them back. I don't want to be alone.
A tremor passed through her body. For a moment, anger flared hot and sharp. She saw Adrian's face in her mind, his sword raised, shining in the torchlight—confident, radiant, a hero.
She wanted to kill him. Bind him in shadow. Tear out his throat. Snuff out his light. It would have been easy. One arrow, and he would have fallen like a sheep.
But then she heard Marion's voice in her memory—how he had spoken beside him. How he had called him "friend."
And something inside her froze.
She bit down harder, blood spraying.
He lives only because he is Marion's friend.
Slowly, she let the carcass drop. Her gaze drifted toward the tower where Marion now met with Tamara. Two humans, hand in hand, in their small paradise.
Nix pressed her forehead to her knees.
She wanted someone like that too. Friends who wouldn't leave her behind.
But she had only the darkness.
Sleepless
The candle in Marion's room had long since burned down, but he was still awake. Moonlight filtered through the window, casting pale light across his bed.
The empty jewelry box lay on the table beside him. Tamara had accepted the necklace. She had kissed him. She had said she loved him.
He should be happy.
He had to be happy.
But he wasn't.
Her words echoed again and again:
"Blue hair, blue eyes. She called herself Xin.""She explained which parts of the deer taste best raw."
Marion turned restlessly under the blankets. His heart raced each time the thought returned.
She was with Tamara. She spoke to her. She knows who she is.
He pressed his hands over his face. "Why… why her?"
The images refused to fade: copper skin, the dead rabbit, that childlike smile that didn't belong with blood-soaked fingers. He heard her voice whisper in his ear:
"Nix caught. For you."
He pulled the blanket over his head as if he could hide.
But the shadow in the corner of the room remained—deep, dark, unmoving—and yet he felt watched.
His stomach twisted. "She's gone. She's not here. She's gone." He repeated it like a mantra until his voice turned hoarse.
Sleep never came.
Only fear.
And the chilling certainty:
It was no dream.
Under Observation
The next morning's lessons dragged endlessly. Numbers, formulas, ancient rune histories—everything slid past Marion without meaning. His eyelids were heavy. His thoughts circled one image:
blue hair, blue eyes.
He jerked awake when the teacher shot him a sharp look and stared down at the blank parchment before him. His quill hadn't written a single line.
Students whispered nearby, snickering quietly when he flinched again. Tobia and Manuel threw him brief looks—a mixture of "Bro, what's wrong?" and "Please don't fall asleep in front of everyone."
But someone else noticed more clearly.
After class, Tamara waited in the corridor, leaning against the wall, hands folded together. When Marion stumbled out, pale and hollow-eyed, she tilted her head.
"Marion." Her voice was soft but firm.
He stopped immediately, trying to smooth his expression—but failed. "Tamara…"
She stepped closer, studying him seriously. "What's wrong with you? You look like you didn't sleep at all."
His heart stumbled. He wanted to tell her everything—about Xin, about the rabbit, about the blood. But her words from yesterday still echoed:
Don't tell anyone.
So he forced a smile. "I… couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts. Exams, you know?"
Tamara held his gaze far too long, as if trying to see past his mask. Then she sighed softly.
"You're a terrible liar."
Marion froze.
Before he could explain, she took his hand. "It doesn't matter. As long as you promise me you'll take care of yourself."
"Of course." His voice was barely a whisper.
She squeezed his fingers. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Marion. Promise me."
He nodded, unable to meet her eyes.
If you only knew…