11. Bonfire

The crowd seemed to part for him, instinctively stepping aside as though some invisible force demanded it.

His white hair caught the bonfire's glow like molten silver, his violet eyes glinting with sharp, unnerving light. He didn't rush, but every step was deliberate.

"Shit," Freya muttered under her breath the second she spotted him. Her hand clamped around my arm, nails digging in just enough to sting. "We're leaving. Now."

Before I could even ask why, she was pulling me backward, weaving through clusters of first-years and dodging bodies like we were escaping a war zone.

"Freya—" I hissed, nearly tripping over someone's bag. "What is your problem?"

"My problem," she snapped, "is that he's coming this way, and I'm not letting you do something stupid like talk to him."

My head whipped around, and instantly, I wished I hadn't. Lucian D'Amaris was still cutting through the crowd, his gaze locked on me. Not the crowd. Not Freya. Me. My stomach twisted.

We were a breath away from the edge of the field when we slammed into four very familiar, very smug faces.

The Silver Circle.

"Well, look who's here," Nyla, the blonde ringleader, sneered. Her icy blue eyes slid over me like I was a stain she couldn't scrub out. "Scholarship girl playing dress-up? How cute."

I stiffened, my dislike for them bubbling hot and sharp under my skin.

"Not tonight, Nyla," Freya snapped. "We don't have time for your games."

"Oh?" Nyla tilted her head, her smirk widening. "Running away already? Guess you don't belong here after all."

The black-haired girl beside her, tall and sharp as a blade, gave me a slow, deliberate once-over before muttering, "Pathetic."

"Move," Freya ordered, her tone low and dangerous now.

Instead of moving, Nyla shoved me. Hard.

My feet stumbled backward, straight into something solid. Something warm.

My entire body froze.

It wasn't a wall.

I turned around, my breath caught halfway up my throat.

Lucian.

He was right there. So close that I could see the faint shadows under his cheekbones, the sharp curve of his jawline. His violet eyes burned into me, cold and unblinking, like he was peeling me apart one layer at a time.

"Oh my god…" the black-haired girl breathed, her smirk faltering. Her gaze darted between me and him. "Alpha—"

The pink-haired one smacked her arm hard enough to make her yelp. "Shut up," she hissed.

Alpha? My brain stuttered on the word like static, but I had no time to process it. The Silver Circle girls scurried away.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Lucian's voice cut through the night, smooth but carrying a weight that sank into my bones.

"Uh…" I forced my lips into something like a smile, though it probably looked more like a grimace. "Yeah. Totally. Great party."

His gaze lingered on me for a second too long, unrelenting, before flicking briefly to Freya.

Freya's hand trembled slightly on my arm, but her chin stayed high. I could almost feel her silently begging me not to say something dumb.

Lucian tilted his head, voice dropping lower. "You. Leave us."

Freya stiffened, her grip on me tightening. "Well...I'm not sure she wants me to."

His eyes narrowed, violet fire glinting in the dark. "That wasn't a request."

"Then maybe," I shot back, my voice sharper than I intended, "you should learn how to ask instead of ordering people around like you own them."

Freya's head snapped toward me like I'd just committed a crime.

Lucian stared at me.

Then, slowly, he smiled.

It wasn't warm. It wasn't kind.

"Careful, Sinclair," he said softly, my name rolling off his tongue like a challenge. "Learn to mind your business. Or you won't last long here."

My pulse thundered, but I didn't look away.

Then, as if dismissing us, he stepped aside.

Freya exhaled like she'd been holding her breath for hours. "Okay," she muttered, dragging me away, "that was terrifying. And he knows your name too."

"Yeah," I breathed, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

Freya shot me a look that was equal parts disbelief and exasperation. "Girl, why are you always talking back to them? Do you ever learn?"

I scowled. "What do you want me to do? Bow down and kiss his royal boots?"

"Yes!" she whisper-hissed, throwing her hands up. "Or at least pretend you don't have a death wish!"

"Fine! I'll do that next time!"

Kai's voice broke through the tension like a splash of cold water. "You two okay?"

We turned to see him striding toward us, dark-blue hair messy from the breeze, his grin easy but faintly concerned. "I saw Lucian talking to you. He didn't, like, threaten to rip your head off or something, did he?"

I laughed nervously. "Not exactly. Unless 'learn to mind your business' counts as a threat."

Freya snorted, crossing her arms. "With the way she keeps talking back to them, I'm shocked her head's still attached."

"Hey!" I shot her a glare.

Kai smirked. "Eh, that's basically his love language. And once again, you're very ballsy Maeve." He clapped his hands together. "Besides that, you both look incredible tonight. I mean, I should be charging people to stand next to you."

I rolled my eyes. "Pretty sure no one's paying for that."

"Wrong," he said, with a mock bow. "I'd pay for that."

Freya sighed. "Are you going to keep flattering us, or are you finally going to hand me a drink?"

"Patience, my queen." Kai grinned and pulled two paper cups filled with a pale pink liquid that shimmered faintly under the firelight. "Tonight's masterpiece is something I call Sweet Eclipse. One sip and you'll see stars."

Freya raised a brow. "If I die, I'm haunting you."

"Please," Kai scoffed, handing me the second cup. "I'm a genius. You're going to love it."

I took a cautious sip and blinked in surprise. "Okay… wow. That's actually good. Sweet, tangy, and—" I took another sip, "—addictive."

Kai winked. "Told you."

As Freya teased him about being the "self-appointed bartender," my gaze drifted, against my will.

And there he was.

Lucian.

Sitting near the bonfire, Elias and Rowan flanking him like silent guards. Even from across the field, I felt his gaze on me.

Stop staring, Maeve.

Then a girl with sleek black hair and a glittering silver dress slid onto his lap like she'd been waiting for this moment.

He didn't stop her. He didn't even blink.

His arm draped lazily around her waist, and then… he kissed her.

Just like that.

The sight hit me like a sucker punch. I didn't know why my chest felt tight, like someone had knocked the air out of me. I shouldn't care. I didn't care.

But I turned away so fast I almost spilled my drink, my heart hammering like I'd just sprinted across the field.