though the Academy would probably open it for him anyway. I grab my shoes and follow him down the hall, and we head to the cafeteria together. I don’t even bother pointing out that he is still technically suspended and that he isn’t meant to be going there at all during normal mealtimes. I didn’t really want to go on my own anyway. Lunch is… Uncomfortable. Everyone is staring at me. Not subtly either. Some people glance away quickly when I look at them, but others just openly stare like I’m some kind of exhibit in a museum. A few students whisper behind their hands. Someone across the room very obviously pulls out their phone, probably trying to get a picture when they think I’m not looking. Blake notices, of course. He glares at everyone like he’s daring them to try something. It’s the same cold look he used in the cafeteria the other day when he made his point with Aaron. The result is immediate. People either look down at their food or suddenly become very interested in conversations with the people next to them. No one comes near us. We eat quickly and leave. After lunch we go straight back to my room. Blake follows me in and settles in like this is the most natural thing in the world. He pulls up a movie on my laptop and we spend the afternoon watching one after another. It’s… Strangely normal. That is, if I ignore the fact that people are probably talking about me everywhere, and that there are likely photos of me circulating online… Okay, well that actually IS pretty normal for me recently. Well then… It almost feels like a regular lazy weekend. Eventually dinner time rolls around, and we repeat the same routine. Cafeteria. Staring students. Blake glaring at anyone who looks at me too long. Quick food. Then back to my room again. By the time we settle in for another movie, I’m starting to feel restless. I try suggesting we go to the library, but Blake doesn’t seem even remotely interested. He barely reacts to the suggestion at all, just shakes his head and scrolls through the streaming options like I didn’t suggest anything particularly appealing. I suppose that makes sense. The library was interesting to him when he was trying to figure out what I was. Now that mystery is solved. Unicorn. Case closed. So the library has probably lost its appeal. Or maybe he’s still tired. He didn’t sleep.much yesterday and he stayed up late again while I was reading. Dragons probably need sleep just like everyone else. More likely though… He’s worried about keeping me safe. The thought makes me feel warm for a moment. It’s nice that he cares that much. But I can’t just stay in my room all the time. The walls already feel a little too close, and it’s only been a day. I still want to go visit my parents. Tomorrow if possible. I miss them, and honestly I think I could really use a proper hug from my mum right now. I’ll talk to Blake about it in the morning. I know it’s only been a day, but I’m not going to suddenly be safer next week than I am this week. Or next month. Or next year. I don’t think waiting until it’s safe is a very good way to live my life. What if it’s never safe? Life is going to keep happening whether I participate in it or not, so I may as well do my best to keep living it. Right? And no matter what Blake says, things are going to be different now. There will probably be things I just can’t do anymore. Or maybe things I technically could do, but shouldn’t because it would be stupid and dangerous. But I still have goals for my life. Things I want to do. So I suppose the real challenge now isn’t pretending everything will stay the same. It’s figuring out what I still want… And how I can have it anyway. Then preparing for whatever comes next.
3
Eventually it gets late and Blake reluctantly leaves so I can get some sleep. He lingers for a moment in the doorway like he’s debating whether he should argue about it again, but in the end he just nods and heads back to his room. The door closes behind him and the hallway goes quiet. I am more tired than t thought I’d be, considering I didn’t really do much today. Then again, I did magically burn myself out yesterday, so I’m probably still recovering from that. Seventeen hours of sleep apparently wasn’t enough to fully recharge whatever magical battery unicorns run on. Still… It’s really cool that I can apparently purify poisons. The thought drifts through my head as I brush my teeth and change into pyjamas. It’s not something I’d ever really thought about before, but it seems like a pretty useful ability. I wonder if that kind of thing comes up often in healing work. If someone came in poisoned, could I just… Remove it? I pause for a moment while tying my hair up. I suppose purification probably doesn’t have to be limited to poisons, right? When I was learning healing spells for cuts and injuries, the first step had always been clearing the wound. Cleaning it. Purifying it. “That part had come naturally to me even before I knew what I was doing. Maybe that instinct is connected to whateyer unicorn magic actually is. Ilm. As tired as I am, I figure I’ll probably fall asleep quickly. But nope. I lie in bed staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours. My brain refuses to shut up, bouncing between thoughts about unicorn magic, my parents, Blake, the principal’s warning, and the uncomfortable fact that people might literally be hunting me now. Which is why, at three in the morning. I’m pacing around my room. I’m restless and I basically can’t sit still at all. My feet carry me from one side of the room to the other in slow loops. The floor creaks softly under my steps and the dim light the Academy turned on casts long shadows across the walls. Earlier I had been feeling confident Determined. Like I had things under control and could handle whatever come next. Then I turned out the lights. Now every little sound makes me jump. The wind brushes against the window and the branches of the trees outside scrape softly against the glass. Somewhere down the hall a door creaks faintly. Pipes shift in the walls with quiet knocking sounds. The Academy put on a dim light for me at some point, probably noticing that I kept switching the lamp on and off. but it’s not really helping. I feel the way I used to as a teenager after watching a really freaky horror movie. The kind where some girl gets murdered while she’s alone in her house. Even though my parents would be asleep in the room down the hall and I knew there was realistically no chance that some killer was lurking behind the shower curtain waiting to jump out at me, my heart would still race every time the house creaked. My brain would start inventing shapes in the shadows. Faces where there weren’t any. Except… This time it’s not just my imagination. This time there actually is a chance that someone might be out to get me. The threat is real. Is it paranoia if there really are people who might want to haunt you? Eventually I sigh and stop pacing
“Is Blake awake?” I ask the room. A second later the Academy unlocks my bedroom door. Okay. So I guess he’s up? I step into the hallway, rubbing my armis
1/2
2:38 pm
Chapter 96 96- Never Let Him Stay In Your Room After Midnight
slightly. The corridor is quiet and dimly lit. Blake’s door is cracked open, which is weird. Did he leave it open on purpose or by accident? My heart speeds up a little. What if something happened? I start walking toward his room just as a heavy thump echoes from inside followed immediately by Blake’s startled yell.
“WHAT THE HELL, ACADEMY?!” He demands angrily. I cringe. Oh… So the door unlocking wasn’t the Academy telling me he was awake. It was the Academy informing me that it was about to wake him up. Oops!
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Lisa McNew
love how you throw a little humor into a tense situation
7 days ago
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
