Eric I woke up with a start, jerking upright in bed as the shrill beeping of my alarm finally pierced through my deep sleep. Cursing under my breath, I slammed my hand down on the nightstand, silencing the alarm with a groan. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I squinted at the numbers glowing in the dim light. 7:45am. I was already fifteen minutes behind schedule. 

Rowena That day passed by in a blur. Everywhere I went, it felt as though a thousand eyes were trained on me—judging, scrutinizing my every move for any hint of guilt or truth. I knew that no one could tell yet that those were my glasses taped to the bulletin board, but the weight of it all still felt like it might crush me. I kept my head down, avoiding conversation and eye contact wherever possible. Dr. Reynolds’ battered face had quickly become the center of attention, and

Rowena The crisp evening air hit me like a slap in the face as we burst out of the cafeteria—the chaos inside still ringing in my ears even as we put distance between us and the furious mob of angry students. My lungs burned, my heart thundered in my chest, but I couldn’t even feel it. Not after what had just happened. 

Eric I woke up with a start, my entire body tensing as my eyes snapped open. For a disoriented moment, all I could process was the dim light filtering in through the curtains—and burning my eyes. Sitting upright, I winced as a sharp twinge of pain worked its way through my shoulder—the events of the previous night rushing back. Those damn feral warriors. 

Rowena Eric’s wide blue eyes stared down at me for a moment, his broad frame practically blotting out the light streaming into the hallway through the large windows before I managed to collect my bearings. “How’s your arm?” I blurted out, taking a step back and adjusting my satchel on my shoulder.