Page 229 of House Ignis

I aimed for casual. I missed by a mile. “Just checking on Jules,” I said. “She missed our study session.”

“Oh, yeah.” Darcy waved a hand like it was nothing. “She got called to Zephyrion. Something about a family prayer ritual.”

“Prayer?” I repeated, forcing a hum like it was perfectly normal. Inside, every alarm bell I possessed was screaming.

Jules wasn't the leave without a word type.

“Mm.” Darcy puffed again, completely unconcerned. “Don’t know when she’ll be back, though.”

“Thanks,” I said with a tight smile, though my insides were twisting into knots.

She winked and darted back. I stood there, frozen.

“That’s strange,” I muttered.

“Curly hasn’t missed a session since we met her,” Aether said darkly through the bond.

My gaze snagged on Ezra across the field.

His grin had slipped, his gaze searching mine for the source of the fracture.

Shit.

I plastered on a fake smile and lifted a hand in a casual wave toward him.

Like everything was fine.

Like I wasn't falling apart.

Like my chest wasn't a fucking hurricane.

By the time I made it back to Ignis, my legs felt like they were made of wet sand.

I hadn’t realized how hard I’d been pushing myself all day until the adrenaline finally started to drain out of my system.

Every hallway felt longer than the last.

Every step heavier.

My muscles screamed from the morning session with Ezra, my lungs felt scraped raw, and my stomach twisted with that familiar, deep, aching burn that came when my magic flared too hard for too long.

No amount of stubbornness could fix it.

Gods. I just wanted quiet.

I pushed open my dorm door and stepped inside, shutting out the Academy in one firm motion.

Cool spring air drifted through the open balcony doors, carrying the faint scent of jasmine and sun-warmed stone. Everything was still. Peaceful. For once.

I didn’t bother changing. I didn’t bother thinking.

I crossed the room and flopped straight onto the bed, face-first, arms spread like I’d just been dropped there from a great height. My eyes closed instantly.

Sleep didn’t come. Not properly. It hovered just out of reach—like everything else lately.

I lay there listening to my own heartbeat. Too fast. Too loud. The empty space in my chest where the bond should have been pressed in on me like a bruise.

I missed him.