A few days had passed since the incident in the alley, and life at the academy had settled back into its usual rhythm. The hushed whispers about Lucien Falkner had faded, replaced by fresher gossip—who was dating who, which professor was rumored to be leaving, and, most importantly, the upcoming academic rankings.
For Evelyn Mercer, it was a much-needed distraction.
She sat in the student lounge, legs crossed, flipping through a textbook. Not because she needed to—she had most of the material memorized—but because it helped her focus. Across from her, Lena Davenport rested her chin on her palm, eyes scanning the lounge with an air of boredom.
"You know," Lena said, tapping a pen against her notebook. "You've been zoning out a lot lately. Don't tell me you're actually stressing over the rankings."
Evelyn arched an eyebrow. "Unlike you, I care about maintaining my position."
Lena laughed. "Oh please, as if anyone's going to dethrone you. You're literally untouchable in academics."
Evelyn hummed in response, but her mind wasn't entirely on the conversation.
"Speaking of rankings," Lena continued, leaning closer with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I heard a rumor that our brooding new student, Lucien Falkner, actually did pretty well on the last test."
That caught Evelyn's attention.
"Who said that?"
"Some guy from our class. Apparently, he barely studies but still manages to pass everything. And get this—one of the math professors made a comment about how 'his answers were too precise for someone who doesn't try.'"
Evelyn processed that information carefully. Too precise.
She had already suspected that Lucien wasn't as indifferent to academics as he pretended to be. The way he carried himself, the way his eyes scanned a room, the way he reacted during that night—he was far from ordinary. And now, even his test results hinted at something deeper.
"You're thinking too hard," Lena teased, snapping Evelyn out of her thoughts. "Don't tell me you're interested in him now?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "No. I just think he's... unusual."
Lena smirked. "Unusual, huh? That's one way to put it."
Before Evelyn could retort, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.
"Alright, let's go," Lena said, standing up. "I need to suffer through another lecture before I can go home and pretend school doesn't exist."
Evelyn sighed, closing her textbook and rising to her feet.
As they made their way back to class, she told herself that Lucien Falkner was just another student. Another name in the academy's long history.
Yet, deep down, she knew that wasn't true.
And she hated how much she wanted to find out why.
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End of Chapter 8