Chapter 62 - Awakened

Blake stopped me on my way to the library, right where the eastern corridor bent toward the older wing, the stones there always colder underfoot as if they remembered too much. I was already running late for my so called sessions with Ethan, the kind that were half research and half indulgence, but the moment I saw Blake standing there, shoulders stiff and eyes carrying that familiar heaviness, I knew I was not going anywhere soon. I had seen that look far too many times now, sadness mixed with hesitation, longing dressed up as restraint, and I clocked the problem instantly even before he opened his mouth. He needed something. No, he needed me. That realization landed warm and sharp in my chest, not with sympathy but with recognition. Still, I pretended not to notice, smoothing my expression into something soft and accommodating, tilting my head as if I were merely curious rather than already three steps ahead of him.