The knot in my chest loosens, just a little.
“You didn’t have to—” My voice cracks, and I swallow. “Thank you.”
Nolan grins, handing them over. “Of course. You looked like you needed it.”
I tuck the apple into my bag, fingers trembling slightly as I unwrap the sandwich. The smell alone reminds me how emptymy stomach is. I take a bite, even though with my nerves it might make it come back up.
Nolan’s gaze flicks over me, concern deep in his eyes. “What...what did they say?”
I take another bite, buying a moment. The bread is dry, but it helps.
When I finally answer, I say softly, “I have to undergo a Veilbind. With Raiden Tsukino.”
Nolan’s eyes widen. “Raiden? But that’s...”
“Yeah.” I take another breath, shaky. “Apparently, I don’t have a choice. And it’s intimate. And I have to cleanse myself. Do you know how insane all of this actually sounds?”
Nolan shifts, clearly wanting to say more but stops himself.
Instead, he nudges my elbow lightly. “You’ll get through it. It might be all of that stuff, but if the headmaster thinks you need it, then it will help.”
I nod, though my stomach still churns. A chime echoes faintly through the hall—one of the ward bells. It reminds me that I still need to get ready before the hour is up.
I force a breath and straighten. “I need to go.”
Nolan’s brow knits. “Do you want me to?—”
“No.” I manage a small smile. “But...thank you. For everything.”
He hesitates, then gives a crooked smile. “Raiden’s not a bad guy. You could have a Veilbind to someone worse.”
"Yeah. Lucky me." I clutch the sandwich tighter and head for the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last.
By the time I make it back to the overflow dorm, the hallway is empty. No whispers. No footsteps. Just the low hum of whatever faint magic pulses through the walls and the creak of the old floorboards under my boots.
No one’s in the room. Or if they are, they’re quiet behind drawn bed curtains. Hiding or pretending not to notice me. Fine by me.
I move automatically toward my spot by the window and sink onto the edge of the mattress. The springs groan beneath me like even they’re bracing for what’s coming.
I glance down.
The sandwich in my hand is completely crushed.
I drop it into the small waste bin at the foot of my bed with a sigh and pull the apple from my bag and set it on the nightstand. I’m not hungry anymore. How could I be?
Because apparently, food’s no longer the priority—not when I’m about to be tethered to someone I barely know. Not when my magic, myexistence, is unraveling something as terrifying and invisible as the Veil.
The Veil. The thing separating the mortal world from everything else—from the Underworld, the Fae realms, the magic-soaked dimension I now live in. The only thing standing between this place and a full-blown collapse.
And I’m a walking, ticking, magic-laced fuse.
My fingers dig into the blanket beside me as I stare at the faint glow of the charm light above. It flickers once, then steadies.
Raiden said the bond is intimate.
Professor River said it’s necessary.
The headmaster made it sound like the only option.
