I can’t tell him.
Hunter closes the distance between us again before taking hold of the back of my head, and the exact moment he does, the classroom door suddenly opens.
Panic slams into me so fast I nearly stop breathing.
Then a deep laugh echoes through the room.
“Am I interrupting something?”
I look up to find Milo Markev standing by the door, and I instantly feel some of the tension leave my body.
A slow grin appears on his face as his eyes move between the two of us before he lifts his brows knowingly.
Hunter lets go of me reluctantly, then turns to Milo and sends a dark glare in his direction.
“Has no one ever taught you basic manners?” Hunter asks flatly.
“Nope,” Milo replies without a trace of shame.
I quickly gather my bag.
“I was just leaving,” I mumble, carefully avoiding eye contact with either of them.
I walk towards the door as calmly as I can when what I really want to do is run.
Once I step into the corridor, I finally breathe a little easier, though the relief barely lasts a second before the anxiety returns all over again.
I have to go see Julian now.
He promised that if I followed the rules, I’d be allowed to stay at the academy.
The problem is… I’m no longer sure he believes I have.
Chapter 11
Piper
As I walk towards the main academy building with music blasting through my headphones to drown out the rest of the world, I allow myself to appreciate the fact that Elaris Island is unusually mild this morning.
There’s even a bit of sun for once.
I barely slept last night.
Every time I closed my eyes, yesterday’s conversation with Julian replayed itself in my head until eventually I stopped bothering trying to sleep at all.
By five in the morning, I was already out of bed because there seemed little point in lying there staring at the ceiling any longer.
So I threw on my training clothes and went to the rink.
The ice was empty when I arrived, which wasn’t surprising considering the hour.
And for a little while, it almost felt like the entire place belonged to me.
I skated alone until my legs burned, letting muscle memory take over while my thoughts slowly quieted for the first time since yesterday.
Eventually, though, the quiet started disappearing.
Voices echoed from outside the rink, followed by the sound of lockers opening and slamming shut.
