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Memories rushed back to me. Memories of a ring with the letter J engraved on the inside, of his reaction when I had dropped the rings... of my reaction.

A strand of champagne-blond hair fell across Quentin's forehead as he concentrated on writing something down.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my pounding heart.

Who could have guessed that he would be wandering through the snow-covered courtyards of Vanderwood this Wednesday afternoon?

The most sensible thing I could do was turn around and leave, but Buddy had already reached him and was sniffing his shoes.

My cheeks flushed.

Quentin spotted Buddy and lowered his notebook.

“I know you, don't I?” he said and... smiled.

Instead of calming down, my heart began to beat faster. And it didn't get any better when he crouched down and ruffled Buddy's fur.

“You're the dog of...”

His smile vanished instantly.

A knot formed in my heart.

Quentin looked around, scanning every passageway until his eyes reached the one where I stood, still as a statue, staring.

I wasn't prepared for him to rise without breaking eye contact, before he began to size me up as if I were a potential threat.

The knot in my chest tightened.

Erik would hate me if he found out the truth...

“You should be careful,” he began, pointing to Buddy, who was already chasing the next raven across the courtyard. “Don't let your four-legged friend run off again and break his paw.”

Confused, I tried to process the meaning of his words.

“I...” I began, feeling slow to understand. “He broke his paw?” Realization hit me. “You healed him?”

Slowly, I stepped into the courtyard, looking between the dog rolling in the snow and Quentin.

“Don’t even think about thanking me,” he muttered, slamming his notebook shut before tucking it into his inner coat pocket. “I did it for the dog.”

At the time, I had been worried that Buddy would disappear forever. And when I had found him, Quentin had been nearby.

He had healed him. Or at least channeled his bodily fluids so precisely that all the wounds had sealed.

And I had already wondered why Buddy had been limping irregularly for a while, where the scar on his paw had come from.

I wanted to be grateful to Quentin, but he didn't seem to want to accept my gratitude.

Still, I couldn't help but smile.

“What a wonder,” I laughed softly and approached him, knowing that I didn't know what I was doing here, that I should go back. But something wanted me to stay with him. “The grim professor has a heart for animals.”

The fact that the grim professor was Erik only confused my feelings even more.

I looked up when he didn't respond, catching him staring. With those far too warm peridots glistening in the afternoon sun.

This could have been our first encounter. Erik and me in the courtyards of Vanderwood. In another life...