(Nova POV – Continued)
After Lucien walked me out of the hallway and vanished into the shadows like he'd never been there, I stood in the courtyard for a long minute, wrist still tingling where his fingers had rested. The school bell had rung ages ago—everyone was gone or heading home. I should have gone straight to my dorm. Should have collapsed on my bed and tried to forget the day.
Instead, I turned toward the Blackwood mansion.
Routine had become muscle memory now. After school, if there was no group meeting about the Eye, I went to the mansion. Clean. Organize. Endure. Pay the debt. One more week, maybe two, and I'd be free.
I told myself that every day.
The walk felt longer today. My legs were heavy from training with Kieran earlier, my mind still spinning from Serena's ambush and Lucien's quiet rescue. The curse was calm for once—no flares, no black veins—but the anger lingered, low and simmering. Anger at Serena. At Kieran. At Damien.
Mostly at Damien.
