The room felt colder.
I didn't remember how long I sat there, drowning in misery, but when I finally blinked back my tears, the library was steeped in eerie silence. The dim glow from the high windows had turned the color of blood—sunset.
Evening.
My stomach twisted. The library had been full of students earlier, their quiet murmurs and the scratch of pens on paper filling the air. But now… nothing.
Where did everyone go?
A sharp shiver ran down my spine. I hadn't heard the bell. Hadn't noticed the shuffle of footsteps leaving. Had they all left me here?
I swallowed hard, my throat raw. I forced myself to look up, to move, but a heavy presence lingered in the air—watching, waiting.
And then I saw him.
Blaze.
Leaning lazily against one of the bookshelves, arms crossed, his piercing eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. He had been there. Watching me cry. Watching me break.
I felt the fresh bite on my neck pulse, a cruel brand marking me as his.
