Silverleaf Academy (XVIII)

[Aestrea's POV]

I simply walked away from there.

No direction or plan.

Just… forward.

My fists were clenched so tight my nails dug into the skin.

I could feel the sting, but I give a single fuck.

Couldn't.

The cheers, the gasps, the looks...

All of them meant nothing now.

My boots scraped against stone, then shifted over dirt, grass. I barely noticed when I stepped into the garden.

The flowers swayed in the breeze. 

But my body wasn't.

Haaagh—!!

I stumbled to one knee, clutching my ribs as a mouthful of blood burst from my lips. It hit the grass in splatters—dark red against the soft green.

"Guh…"

I groaned, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve.

My vision blurred for a second.

Not from the blood loss.

But from something deeper.